MegalithFringe siteThe Copper Age
Saqqara
Also known asSaccara
DatedEst. 4000 BCE–600 CE
Photo Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0Source file on Wikimedia Commons
Overview
About this site
Overview
Saqqara is a village in the markaz (county) of Badrashin in the Giza Governorate, Egypt, and the site of the necropolis of the ancient Egyptian capital Memphis. It contains numerous pyramids, including the Pyramid of Djoser (the Step Pyramid), and a number of mastaba tombs. It lies some 30 km (19 mi) south of modern Cairo and covers an area of around 7 by 1.5 km (4.3 by 0.9 mi).
The Pyramid of Djoser, built during the Third Dynasty, is the oldest complete stone building complex known in history. Burial at Saqqara continued for more than 3,000 years, into Ptolemaic and Roman times.
Read on Wikipedia3 min readCC BY-SA 4.0
Where it sits in time
The site's dated range, placed against world reference points.
The scale is logarithmic: each step to the left is about ten times older than the last.
Article
Saqqara
Another sixteen Egyptian kings built pyramids at Saqqara, which are now in various states of preservation.
DescriptionSources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): SaqqaraCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): SaqqaraCC BY-SA 4.0
Another sixteen Egyptian kings built pyramids at Saqqara, which are now in various states of preservation. High officials added private funeral monuments to the necropolis throughout the Pharaonic period, and it remained an important complex for non-royal burials and cult ceremonies for more than 3,000 years.
To the north of Saqqara lies the Abusir pyramid complex and to its south the Dahshur pyramid complex. Together with the Giza Pyramid complex to the far north, they form the Pyramid Fields of Memphis, or the Memphite Necropolis, designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979.
HistorySources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): SaqqaraCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): SaqqaraCC BY-SA 4.0
The earliest burials of nobles at Saqqara go back to the First Dynasty, on the northern side of the plateau, while the royal burial ground of that time was at Abydos. The first royal burials at Saqqara, comprising underground galleries, date to the early Second Dynasty reigns of Hotepsekhemwy, Raneb and Nynetjer. Djoser's funerary complex was built by the royal architect Imhotep.
Under the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties Saqqara was again the royal burial ground. Unas, the last ruler of the Fifth Dynasty, was the first king to adorn the chambers of his pyramid with Pyramid Texts. Courtiers were customarily buried in mastaba tombs close to the pyramid of their king, which produced clusters of private tombs around the pyramid complexes of Unas and Teti.
From the Middle Kingdom onward Memphis was no longer the capital and few private monuments of that period have been found at Saqqara. During the New Kingdom many high officials built tombs there. Prince Khaemweset, a son of Ramesses II, repaired buildings at Saqqara, restored the Pyramid of Unas and enlarged the Serapeum, the burial place of the mummified Apis bulls.
Research historySources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): SaqqaraCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): SaqqaraCC BY-SA 4.0
In 1842 and 1843, as part of a Prussian expedition, Karl Richard Lepsius studied, mapped and reported on the remains at Saqqara, and the expedition was the first to number the monuments systematically. Auguste Mariette excavated at the site from 1851 until 1855 and discovered the Serapeum. Later excavators included Alessandro Barsanti (1899 to 1901), James Edward Quibell (1905 to 1914) and, in the 1950s and 1960s, the Egypt Exploration Society.
In 2011 an excavation team at the dog catacomb, led by Salima Ikram, together with an international team led by Paul Nicholson of Cardiff University, uncovered almost eight million animal mummies.
NameSources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): SaqqaraCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): SaqqaraCC BY-SA 4.0
Some scholars believe that the name Saqqara derives not from the funerary deity Sokar but from a local Berber tribe called the Beni Saqqar, although no tribe of this name is documented. Medieval authors also refer to the village as Ard as-Sadr (Arabic, 'land of the buckthorn').
ConservationSources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): SaqqaraCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): SaqqaraCC BY-SA 4.0
Saqqara and the surrounding areas of Abusir and Dahshur suffered damage by looters during the 2011 Egyptian protests. Store rooms were broken into, but the monuments were mostly unharmed.
Tradition and region
About this kind of monument
Pharaonic stone monuments of Egypt
Egypt's stone monuments are the best dated and the most famous in the Atlas. The pyramid took shape from the mastaba, a flat-roofed rectangular tomb with sloping sides built of mudbrick or limestone, which marked the burial sites of eminent Egyptians in the Early Dynastic Period and Old Kingdom. The Great Pyramid of Giza, the tomb of the Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu ("Cheops"), was built about 2600 BCE over a period of about 26 years. It was originally 146.6 metres high and remained the world's tallest human-made structure for more than 3,700 years. Most of the smooth white limestone casing has been removed over time, which has lowered the pyramid's height to the present 138.5 metres.
Temples were just as large. The Karnak Temple Complex near Luxor is a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels and other buildings. Construction began in the reign of Senusret I (1971 to 1926 BCE) in the Middle Kingdom and continued into the Ptolemaic Kingdom (305 to 30 BCE), though most of the surviving buildings date from the New Kingdom. An obelisk, which the Egyptians called tekhenu, is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument, usually a single block of stone, with a pyramidal top.
Egyptian monuments are dated by the reigns of the kings who built them, and many carry their names. This is a strong contrast with the prehistoric megaliths of Europe, which can be dated only by radiocarbon or by comparison.
The Atlas files these monuments among the megaliths only because they are great works in stone.
When visiting, look at the scale of the blocks and at the inscriptions and reliefs that give the names of the kings.
Paraphrased from Wikipedia: Pyramid, Wikipedia: Great Pyramid of Giza, Wikipedia: Temple of Karnak, Wikipedia: Obelisk, Wikipedia: Mastaba · CC BY-SA 4.0
From the article
Dated moments in the story
- 1842
In 1842 and 1843, as part of a Prussian expedition, Karl Richard Lepsius studied, mapped, and reported on the remains at Saqqara.
Source - 1851
From 1851 until 1855 Auguste Mariette excavated at Saqqara, discovering the Serapeum.
Source - 1858
He returned to Egypt as Director of Antiquities in 1858 and worked periodically at Saqqara until his death in 1881. Under the remaining Directors in the 1900s, Gaston Maspero and Jacques de Morgan the focus at Saqqara, as in the rest of Egypt, was on uncovering monuments in support of tourism.
Source - 1927
One of the excavation reports was delayed until 1927. Cecil Mallaby Firth, collaborating with Quibell, excavated at the site in the 1920s until his death.
Source - 1939
The last time a similar mask was found was in 1939. The eyes were covered with obsidian, calcite, and black hued gemstone possibly onyx.
Source - 2011
Saqqara and the surrounding areas of Abusir and Dahshur suffered damage by looters during the 2011 Egyptian protests.
Source - 2018
In July 2018, a German-Egyptian research team headed by Ramadan Badry Hussein of the University of Tübingen reported the discovery of an extremely rare gilded burial mask that probably dates from the Saite-Persian period in a partly damaged wooden coffin.
Source - 2018
The tombs discovered most recently (in 2018) form part of the younger, so-called Upper Necropolis.
Source - 2018
In November 2018, an Egyptian archaeological mission located seven ancient Egyptian tombs at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara.
Source - 2018
Also in November 2018, the Egyptian government announced the discovery at Saqqara of a previously unknown 4,400-year-old tomb.
Source - 2019
In October 2019, a cache of 30 coffins with mummies was discovered, at the time Egypt's largest in more than a century and the first cache to be discovered by a solely Egyptian mission.
Source - 2020
In September 2020, a 36-foot (11-meter) deep burial shaft revealed almost 30 sarcophagi that had remained completely sealed since their interment.
Source - 2020
On 19 October 2020, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery of gilded, wooden statues and more than 80 coffins in three burial shafts.
Source - 2020
In November 2020, archaeologists unearthed more than 100 delicately painted wooden coffins dating to the 26th Dynasty and 40 statues of the local god Ptah-Soker.
Source
Photographs
8 photographs, each with its author and licence
More photographs
Lore
Evidence & Lore
What the sources actually support — and, kept apart, what has been claimed.
What the evidence supports
Dates
Est. 4000 BCE–600 CEHow this date was established: Type comparisonTypological estimate, not a date for this site: a other in North Africa is normally dated between 4000 BCE and 600 CE (Atlas typological table).Source for this date
Measured facts
- Mainstream position
- The traditional explanation derives Saqqara's name from the ancient Egyptian funerary deity Sokar.Source: Mainstream position
- Location
- Giza Governorate, EgyptSource: Location
- Ancient role
- Necropolis for MemphisSource: Ancient role
- Oldest complete stone complex
- Pyramid of DjoserSource: Oldest complete stone complex
- Burial and ceremonial use
- More than 3,000 yearsSource: Burial and ceremonial use
- UNESCO designation
- Memphite Necropolis designated in 1979Source: UNESCO designation
- Major monument
- SerapeumSource: Major monument
- Culture
- Ancient EgyptSource: Culture
Alternative claims
Alternative claims about this site, kept in their own block and labelled with where they stand.
Saqqara may be named after the local Berber tribe Beni Saqqar rather than the funerary deity Sokar, although that tribe is undocumented.
Where it stands
Egypt
The pin marks the monument itself — its exact point.
- Coordinates
- 29°51′00″ N, 31°14′00″ EFor a GPS or map app: 29.85000, 31.23333
Access is as our sources describe it; we have not visited the site to check.
Nearby
The closest sites in the Atlas, by straight line.
Pyramid of Djedkare-Isesi4000 BCE–600 CE- MegalithPyramid of Inenek-Inti3150 BCE–300 CE
mortuary complex of Pepi I4000 BCE–600 CE- MegalithPyramid of Nubwenet3150 BCE–300 CE
- MegalithPyramid of Ankhesenpepi II3150 BCE–300 CE
- MegalithPyramid of Behenu3150 BCE–300 CE
- MegalithPyramid of Reherishefnakht3150 BCE–300 CE
- MegalithHaram ash Shawwāf3150 BCE–300 CE
Sources
Every record behind this page, with the link it came from.
2 sources behind this page
- 01Wikidata Q192134wikidata.org
- 02Fringe claim sourceen.wikipedia.org
Image files
- Saqqara, Ancient Egypt.jpgVyacheslav ArgenbergCC BY 4.0
- Saqqara pyramid ver 2.jpgCharles J. SharpCC BY-SA 3.0
- 26650- View south to the Red and Bent Pyramids from Saqqara.jpgPanegyrics of GranovetterCC BY-SA 2.0
- 26651- Pyramid of Unas.jpgPanegyrics of GranovetterCC BY-SA 2.0
- 26658- the Nile valley as seen from Saqqara.jpgPanegyrics of GranovetterCC BY-SA 2.0
- 26664- an inviting path through Saqqara.jpgPanegyrics of GranovetterCC BY-SA 2.0
- 26665- pyramid of Unas.jpgPanegyrics of GranovetterCC BY-SA 2.0
- 26667- pyramid of Unas and its outbuildings.jpgPanegyrics of GranovetterCC BY-SA 2.0
Report a correctionWrong date, name, photograph or source? Tell us and it will be put right.
Lore, kept apart
Legends and claims
These are stories and claims reported by the sources. They are not evidence, and they never stand in for the dating above.
- Tested: not supported
Saqqara may be named after the local Berber tribe Beni Saqqar rather than the funerary deity Sokar, although that tribe is undocumented.
Source
Around this place
The ten nearest sites, by compass
Credit
Text, licence and sources
Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Saqqara" (English), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; authors are listed in the page history. Reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikipedia · Edit history and authors
- Wikipedia (English): SaqqaraCC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikidata Q192134CC0