Saqqara: Secret Chambers and tunnels - Walking Tour Inside Step Pyramid The Oldest Stone Building

Saqqara Necropolis and the Step Pyramid Saqqara is a large necropolis or burial area for the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis. It is located west of the Nile River about 30 km south of Cairo. It is one of the richest locations on planet Earth with monuments, ancient tombs and artifacts. Saqqara remained as an important burial area for more than 3,000 years. It was even used during Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Other neighboring areas, Arbusir and Darshoa were also used as necropolis or burial areas. This is the Ozekath Pyramid It is in a complex next to Step Pyramid Complex. The Pyramid of Ozekath was built 2490 BC by Pharaoh Ozekath. Ozekath is the first king of 5th Dynasty. The Ozekath Pyramid Complex also have a mortuary temple, a chapel and also a cult pyramid. The Ozekath Complex also included a separate pyramid and mortuary temple for the wife of Ozekath, Queen Neferhetipes. After it was ruined in ancient times, the pyramid went through some restoration work after 1500 years by Khemwaset, one of Ramses II's sons. Later on it was used as a burial ground by late dynasties. At this crossroads you can see the directions to different locations that you can visit in Saqqara. Some of the places to visit include. It may be difficult to visit all those locations in one day. The name Saqqara is maybe derived from the ancient Egyptian deity, Soka. It may also be derived from a local tribe called Bani Saq. We first arrive at the parking area of the Step Pyramid. This is the Pyramid of Xhosa, or the Step Pyramid. You are now looking at the oldest pyramid in the world. Now we start a walking tour around the Step Pyramid. The Xhosa complex used to be surrounded by a wall 10.5 meters or about 34 feet high that stretched for over 1.6 kilometers or about 1 mile around the complex. This is what remains of that wall today. On the side of the pyramid the remains of 25 naked Banif chapel buildings were found. They symbolized southern and northern Egypt and the pharaoh's worthiness for ruling all of Egypt, after succeeding in the Heb Sed test. This is the Colonnade Entrance, it takes you from the high fence wall to the south side of the complex. There are two distinct passageways extending approximately east-west. The first passageway is about 1 meter wide by 6 meters long cut into the enclosure walls. The second passageway is a wider corridor with 40 limestone columns on both sides. Each column is about 6 meters, or 20 feet tall. They are designed in the shape of reeds. The entrance leads to the south court of the complex. The court is located between the pyramid and a tomb located on the south edge of the complex. The court was intended as part of the Heb Sed ritual, performed by the pharaoh after 30 years of ruling, to prove he is still fit for ruling. The Step Pyramid is a six-tier pyramid and it is the earliest stone pyramid in history. It was built around 2700 BC for the pharaoh Xhosa of the Third Dynasty. The Step Pyramid is probably the earliest man-made large stone construction. It is about 62 meters or 200 feet high. The Step Pyramid is now open for visitors after it was closed for 14 years for restoration. The restoration process was required as the pyramid condition was deteriorating, especially after the 1992 earthquake. The Step Pyramid is the evolution of a mastba which is a roofed burial room. This is Temple T. It was probably used for the Heb Sed rituals. The architect of the pyramid was Imhotep. He is the first known architect in history. Imhotep used the concept of the mastaba and developed it to build six layers pyramid. He created a high structure that can be seen from the capital city at that time, Memphis. The recorded name of the king is Negerikot. Xhosa on the other hand is a name given by visitors from the New Kingdom thousands of years later. Building this pyramid out of stones required intensive labor and resources. This suggests the government reached a relatively high level of power and status at that time to be able to provide the required resources for a huge project like this one. The success of this project paved the way for the building of more pyramids later on including the larger and more complex pyramids of Giza. These are more chapels on the northern side to the east of the pyramid. They are called Houses of Upper and Lower Egypt, to symbolize the pharaoh's reign on all of Egypt. One of these houses is more on the northern side representing Northern or Lower Egypt. The southern house represents Upper or Southern Egypt. As the Nile flows from southern to northern Egypt. Southern Egypt is called Upper Egypt and the north side of Egypt is called Lower Egypt. The columns and ceilings are carved out of stones to resemble wooden logs or reeds. This helped continue the tradition from previous constructions that were actually made from these materials but with the intention to make it last for eternity. A network or a maze of tunnels and chambers were built under the pyramid that extends to about 6 km. All these structures were meant to make the complex an eternal living place for the pharaoh. Over the years, many Egyptologists worked on restoration and excavation efforts around the Step Pyramid complex. One of the most famous Egyptologists to work in this area was Jean-Philippe Lauer. Jean-Philippe Lauer spent over 75 years around this area. He led and participated in excavations and restorations around the Serdab area, the Mortuary complex, and the enclosure wall. He also worked on excavations of the under-the-pyramid chambers and tunnels, and the discovery of the three blue-fence chambers. These are the remains of the Mortuary Temple, where the daily rituals and offerings to the dead pharaoh could be performed. The Serdab is here on the northern side of the pyramid. It is a fully enclosed structure that has a statue of the pharaoh representing his car. This helps the pharaoh witness the temple ceremonies. For ancient Egyptians, the car is the spirit of a person. The car survives the death of a body, and can inhabit a picture or statue of a person. The Serdab has two holes that are set in the direction of the north star to shine on the king every night. The current statue is an imitation of the original one. The original statue is at the Egyptian Museum. You can see it through the holes looking back at you. The Serdab is directly overlooking what used to be the Mortuary Temple that is dedicated to the king. Here is the northern entrance to the pyramid. This is the original entrance that was built during the time of Zosa. This entrance is currently not open for visitors. At the height of 62 meters, the pyramid has a base area of 140 meters by 118 meters. As we can see here. This is the type of stones and mortar used to build the step pyramid. The stones used here are cut relatively small compared to the stones used to build the Giza pyramids. Most of them can be carried by one or two persons. Walking on the western side of the pyramid, we will go back to the southern court. Here, we are at the southern entrance to the pyramid. This entrance was built 2000 years after the pyramid was originally built. It was built by the 26th dynasty. The tunnel leads to the shaft overlooking the king's burial chamber. And here it is. The burial chamber of the king. It is 28 meters or more than 90 feet down this shaft. The burial chamber is at the center of a network of tunnels and rooms under the pyramid. These tunnels and rooms were used as burial places for royalty members. And for storing supplies needed for the king in the afterlife. The mummy of the king was never found. And all the treasures were robbed in ancient times. The ground stones here in the southern court mark the limits of a Hepsed track. The step pyramid complex stands as a witness for the great innovations started by ancient Egyptians more than 5000 years ago. Thanks for watching!