Construction of the Step Pyramid
The Step Pyramid complex at Saqqara, built for Pharaoh Djoser by his chancellor and chief architect Imhotep between roughly 2650 and 2630 BCE, represents a revolution in monumental architecture. Before this, royal tombs were mud-brick mastabas (flat-roofed rectangular structures). Imhotep began with a mastaba, then superimposed five progressively smaller mastabas on top to create a six-step pyramid rising 62 metres. Equally revolutionary was the use of dressed limestone throughout — the first time stone had been used on such a scale anywhere in the world. The surrounding funerary complex, enclosed within a recessed panelled wall 1.6 kilometres long, included temples, courts, and dummy buildings reproducing the essential institutions of the state in miniature for the pharaoh's use in the afterlife. Imhotep was eventually deified and worshipped as a god of medicine and wisdom.
- Year: 2650 BCE
- Category: Cultural
