The Second Exodus – Egypt – CLXXIV. A Return Visit (3 of 15)
Date Posted: January 3rd, 2013
Saqqara
Saqqara has a charm all of its own. I profess a weakness for the step pyramid.
The Saqqara site is more in the desert than Giza. The surroundings are quieter and the circus-like atmosphere of the Giza plateau does not exist. There were less tourists, and accordingly less of the individuals offering their services or their wares to them.
Saqqara is derived from Sokkar, the memphite god of the dead. It spans some 4,000 years of history and is a real treasure trove for archaeologists; it has yielded monuments, works of arts, texts and vases. The excavation of the site is a work-in-progress, there is so much that’s awaiting discovery. It’s impossible to tell how many secrets are held in abeyance under the desert’s sand.
As already mentioned, Zoser’s step pyramid is a series of mastabas; in it, one sees a stone architecture which replicates the use of bricks in its sizes. The sheer genius of Egyptian civilization was to obtain their stones from the rock, and on a large scale to make it into a building material unsurpassed to this day. And it started at Saqqara, and evolved in the technology used to build the great pyramids, future Egyptian monuments, and indeed other great monuments left to us by other civilizations.
Zoser’s Pyramid is 62 meters in height, it was built of fairly small limestone blocks, far smaller than the gigantic blocks at Giza. You will marvel as to how regularly the courses are laid, both of the mastaba and the pyramid as a whole, and how well shaped and fitted the stones are. The whole pyramid was then sheathed in fine limestone. Some of this casing can still be seen today.
The above mentioned pyramids are not the only ones you can see. There was one more pyramid on my schedule, the Meidum pyramid.
As already mentioned, this pyramid was a spectacular failure. It is an amazing sight: a steeply inclined tower rising from a low hill. The crumbly remains are all around the core. One can surmise that the lessons learned here made the building of the great pyramids possible.
