Saqqara is a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. It contains numerous pyramids, including the world-famous Step pyramid of Djoser, and a number of mastaba tombs. It remained an important complex for non-royal burials and cult ceremonies for more than 3,000 years.
About Saqqara in brief
Saqqara is a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. Located some 30 km south of modern-day Cairo, Saqqara covers an area of around 7 by 1. 5 km. It contains numerous pyramids, including the world-famous Step pyramid of Djoser, and a number of mastaba tombs. It remained an important complex for non-royal burials and cult ceremonies for more than 3,000 years, well into Ptolemaic and Roman times. The area running from Giza to Dahshur has been used as a necropolis by the inhabitants of Memphis at different times, and it was designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. The oldest complete stone building complex known in history was built, the Pyramid of djoser, built during the Third Dynasty. Another sixteen Egyptian kings built pyramids at Saqqar, which are now in various states of preservation. Some scholars believe that the name is not derived from an Egyptian funerary deity, Sokar, but from a local Berber Tribe called BeniSaqqar.
During the New Kingdom Memphis was an important administrative and military centre, being the capital after the Amaran Period. From the Eighteenth Dynasty onward many high officials built tombs atSaqqara. While still a general, Horemheb built a large tomb here, although he later was buried as pharaoh in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes. Other important tombs belong to the vizier Aperel, the Vizier Neferrenpet, the artist Thutmose, and the wetnurse of Tutankhamun, Maia. Prince Khaemem II, son of Pharaoh Ramesses II, made repairs to buildings at Ramesses. Among other things, he enlarged the Serum of Unas, the burial site of the mummified Apis bulls and was later buried in the catacombs of Serapeistes. The Serum, containing the tomb of an Apis bull and the tomb. of an undiscovered lion, was rediscovered by the French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette in 1851.
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This page is based on the article Saqqara published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 04, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
