The Old Kingdom
This is the age of
the great pyramids and mastabas, when the kings ruled from Memphis
The Third Dynasty (2778-2723 B.C.)
Sanakht
Sanakht may have been Nebka, who was known to Manetho,
and listed on both the Turin Cannon and the Abydos king list as the first king of this dynasty. We base
our belief that he was Nebka on a source that lists his Horus name, Sanakhte, together with a
second name that ends with the element "ka". Most of the information we have on this king
refers to him as Nebka. In fact, some sources list the two as separate kings,
with Nebka founding the 3rd Dynasty and Sanakhte ruling later.
However, despite
this, mud seal impressions bearing the name of Nethery-khet Djoser from the Abydos
Many theories regarding the rule of Sanakht have been advanced,
including the possibility that Sanakht, as a member of a former ruling family,
usurped the throne from the ruling family at the beginning of the dynasty.
Hence, Djoser could have indeed buried his father, Khasekhemwy, and won back
the throne from the usurper, Sanakhte. However, some Egyptologists do believe that he was a latter
king of the Dynasty, even though most current documentary resources continue to
equate Sanakhte with Nebka, as the 1st King of Egypt's 3rd Dynasty who probably
ruled from This near Abydos
Little is
known of this king, despite a reign of probably.18 or 19 years. His reign is
missing from the Palermo Stone. However, Nebka is mentioned in Papyrus Westcar. The
only large scale monumental building that can possibly be attributed to him is
at Beit Khallaf (mastaba K2 ).
His name also
appears on the island of Elephantine in southern Egypt
near Aswan and on a fragment
of a sandstone relief from Wadi Maghara in Sinai. It would seem
that he, along with Djoser, began the exploitation of Sinai, with its rich
deposits of turquoise and copper. It shows the king's name in a serekh before
his face. The relief depicts Sanakht, who is about to smite an enemy, wearing
the Red Crown of Lower Egypt. We also know of a priest of
Nebka's mortuary cult who appears to have lived in the reign of Djoser.
Sandstone relief of Wadi Maghara
depicting Sanakhte with the Red Crown smiting an enemy
Netjerikhet Djoser
Netjerikhet Djoser
was the 2nd King of Egypt's 3rd Dynasty, and was probably the most famous king during this
period. His Horus and Nebty-names are: Netjerikhet, "the divine of
body". His Birth's name is: Djoser. The latter appears only in later
records. The earliest evidence that the two names belong to the same king is
found on a long inscription on a large rock on the island
of Sehel at Aswan.
According to
the Turin King list, Netjerikhet Djoser ruled for about 19 years, following the
20 year long reign of Nebka
(Sanakhte). However, some archaeological sources have shown that
Djoser may be considered as the first king after Khasekhemwii, the last king of
the 2nd Dynasty. The order by
which some predecessors of Kheops are mentioned on the Papyrus
Westcar may confirm that Nebka must be placed between Djoser and Huni and not before
Djoser.
Statue of Djoser at the
In view of
Djoser's building projects, particularly his monumental
complex at Saqqara, the number of
years credited to him by the Turin King list has been in doubt. Djoser may have
ruled up to 37 or 38 years.
Ni-maat-hap,
the wife of Khasekhemwi, is known to have held the title "Mother of the
King". This makes it likely that Netjerikhet Djoser was her son, with
Khasekhemwi his father. Three royal women are known from during his reign,
including Inet-kaw-es, Hetep-her-nebti and a third one whose name is destroyed.
One of them might have been his wife while the others were perhaps daughters or
sisters. The relationship between Netjerikhet and his traditional successor,
Sekhemkhet is not known.
Stela of the Famine
It is possible that during Djoser’s reign the king managed to extend Egypt 's southern border as far as Elephantine at the Nile 's First
Cataract. The inscription upon the “Stela
of the Famine near modern Aswan on the Island of Sehel, which is a
Ptolemaic text cut by the priests of the god Khnum of Elephantine during the reign of Ptolemy V, mentions
a famine that came upon Egypt in Djoser's time and Imhotep advised him to
present the offerings to god Khnum, the god of the First Cataract, which was
considered to be the source of the Nile.. The text goes on to record Djoser's
attempt to find the origins of the Nile flood
and to understand the role played by Khnum in the inundation. He then offered
the grant of land to the temple of Khnum in order to end the famine in Egypt Nile to rise up for you.
There will be no more years when the inundation fails to cover any area of
land." Consequently the Nile
supplied again its regular water in abundance.
Netjerikhet Djoser’s policy was to establish
Egyptian presence in economically important places. He sent several military
expeditions to Sinai, during which the local Bedouins were defeated, and an
inscription at Wadi Maghara would indicate that he also had turquoise mined in
the region. The Sinai owed its
importance to the Egyptian economy for its valuable minerals turquoise and
copper. It was also strategically important as a defense border between the Beduins
tribes and the Nile valley.
He built for
himself two tombs. The first one is a huge mastaba of brick at Beit-Khallaf,
north of Abydos Saqqara .
Djoser's Step Pyramid and a part of
the enclosure wall
Netjerikhet
Djoser is the owner of the Step Pyramid at Saqqara
and the complex surrounding it. This is often recognized as the first
monumental building made of stone. The architect who planned and constructed the
first stone buildings in the world was the high-priest and vizier Imhotep, who
may also have built the Step Pyramid of Djoser’s successor, Sekhemkhet. Imhotep must have been a supreme
genuis of his time. He had a great reputation in wisdom, magic, medicine and
architecture. In later times he was deified at Memphis
The step Pyramid
is the earliest large structure of stone in the whole world. Its external form
indicates the intermediate stage of evolution between the mastaba and the real
pyramid. Around this pyramid he built a great enclosure wall of limestone,
measuring 550 metres by 280metres. In between this enclosure wall and the
pyramid, he erected his funerary temple and many other buildings which show a
sudden and amazing progress in architecture in his time.Besides the
technological advances and the Ancient Egyptian craftsmanship, the building of
Djoser's funerary complex at Saqqara also
demonstrates the organizational skills of the central government.
Djoser is also
attested by fragments from a shrine in Heliopolis, a seal impressions in the tomb of Khasekhemwy in Abydos, a seal impression from tomb 2305 in Saqqara, a seal
impression from the tomb of Hesy in Saqqara, seal impression from Hierakonpolis and seal impression from
Elephantine.
The Step Pyramid and its complex
The Step Pyramid
The original structure of the Step
Pyramid was an underground burial chamber topped by a huge square mastaba. The
burial chamber lies 28m deep with a vertical shaft leading to it. The entrance
was sealed with a 3 ton piece of granite. A mastaba of fine Tura limestone was the first stage of the superstructure. It was
then enlarged all around with ten feet of additional limestone and then again
with an extension on the eastern side. The extension was twenty-five feet of
limestone to make the mastaba rectangular. Again, it was enlarged and a
two-tiered structure was made. A series of corridors and chambers were dug.
Some of the chambers are lined with blue tiles. The only other site that has
similar tiling is in the South Tomb.
After the third stage was finished,
the process to make it a true step pyramid was begun. Over 200,000 tons of
stone was used to make the additional two steps that went above the existing
two-stepped structure. An additional two steps were added above the existing
four to make it into the six-stepped pyramid. A casing of Tura limestone was
added on.
On the
northern side of the pyramid, a few blocks of the casing remain. The casing
blocks from the Great Pyramid rested on the individual blocks of the core
masonry. The casing blocks on the step pyramid were set at an angle to take up
the thrust of the successive layers. Djoser’s funerary complex as the first
stone building shows clear evidence of hesitancy about the strength and
capabilities of the new building material. This is to be especially noticed in:
a-the small size of blocks b-the use of engaged rather than free-standing
columns.
The enclosure wall
The Step Pyramid
stood at the centre of a large rectangular area surrounded by a stone enclosure
wall built in the form of a palace facade. There were 14 entrances in it, but
13 were non-functional and only one, at the southern end of the east side,
allowed access to the complex. The panelled enclosure wall may represent the
outer palace facade of the earlier mastabas.
The Heb-Sed Court
The entrance leads
into a roofed corridor lined with engaged columns. The corridor opened into a
large open court lying to the south of the pyramid and containing two B-shaped
objects stones with a stone platform approached by steps, probably marking out
a ceremonial course connected with the Heb-sed festival. During the
Heb-sed festival the king was magically rejuvenated. The existence of this
court within the funerary complex of Djoser should guarantee that the king
could continue to perform the rituals of kingship eternally.
The mortuary temple
The mortuary temple was built to
the north side of the pyramid, facing the imperishable stars. This was the
place where the daily rituals and offerings for the dead king could be
performed. To the east of this building was a small closed chamber, the serdab,
that housed a life-size, seated statue of the king. Two holes were cut in the
north wall of the serdab in order to link the dead king with the world
of the living.
The Southern Tomb
It was situated at the southern end
in a corner of the Heb-sed court. Its substructure is very similar to that of
the Step Pyramid with a granite burial chamber at the bottom and a vertical
shaft with a hole in the roof plugged by a granite bock. The burial chamber was
too small to have accommodated a body. The south tomb was either a false tomb
for an enacted sacrifice of the king during the ceremonial jubilee or a canopic
burial for the internal organs of the deceased king, which were removed before
mummification and were often wrapped and buried separately.
The House of the North and the
House of the South
They represent the Archaic shrines
of Lower Egypt (Buto) and Upper Egypt
(Hierakonpolis).
Notice: There was no valley temple
and no causeway at Djoser’s funerary complex.
King Sekhemkhet
The name
Sekhemkhet means ("Powerful in Body"). He had an unfinished pyramid
at Saqqara , which is known as the Buried
Pyramid. There is also a scene bearing his name depicted at Wadi Maghara in
Sinai. It is a military scene showing Sekhemkhet, with his raised mace, about
to smite his desert enemies. This relief actually shows a procession of three
figures of Sekhemkhet. In front of the smiting king, who is wearing the White Crown is a second depiction of the king wearing the Red Crown, and in front of him, another of Sekhemkhet back in
the White Crown.
A relief showing a procession of
Sekhemkhet's figures
According to the
Turin King-list, Djoser's immediate successor was identified by his personal
name Djoser-Ti (Djoserty), and ruled for only six years. Most Egyptologists
believe Djoser-Ti and Sekhemkhet are the same person, though some might still
argue otherwise. His reign would have been from about 2649 until 2643 BC.
The Buried Pyramid
The
Pyramid of Sekhemkhet (the Buried Pyramid) at Saqqara ,
another possible building project of Imhotep, duplicated elements from the Step
Pyramid of Djoser, and may be denoted as the second Pyramid in history,
though unfinished. Sekhemkhet's step pyramid was perhaps first noticed by a
young Egyptian archaeologist named Zakaria Goneim while he was working at Saqqara excavating the pyramid of Unas. Nearby he discovered a huge, rectangular
structure barely visible beneath a sand dune. Soon it was clear that this was the
base of a 3rd Dynasty pyramid. The
facade of the enclosure wall, ornamented with deep niches and a number of false
doors, was very similar to the enclosure wall that Djoser had built for his
complex.
Remains of the enclosure wall of
Sekhemkhet's complex
Plan of Sekhemkhet's unfinished
Pyramid
It has been difficult to
determine whether the core of the pyramid was originally planned as six or
seven steps, but apparently, the pyramid itself was never completed. Since the
pyramid was unfinished, there was never any casing applied. The pyramid
probably had a square floor plan, with sides about 119 meters in length.
An entrance to the pyramid was
found in front of the north wall, leading into a corridor that eventually
communicated with the burial chamber. However, this corridor was interrupted by
a vertical shaft that extended up into the masonry of the pyramid itself. This
was a type of security system also found in other Egyptian tombs, specifically
at Beit Khallaf, dating to this period. Within the shaft, Goneim found the
bones of various animals, including cattle, rams and gazelles, that were
doubtless offerings to the deceased. He also found 62 papyri from the 26th Dynasty written during
the reign of Ahmose II. Below these were some seven hundred stone vessels
and remarkably a gold treasure cache from the 3rd Dynasty.
These artifacts included 21
bracelets, small mussel shells, and faience corals covered with gold leaf. The
items are, so far, the oldest gold ornamentation discovered in Egypt
Clay vessel stoppers bearing
Sekhemkhet's name were also discovered close to the burial chamber, which is
another reason why the pyramid is attributed to him.
The burial chamber, almost 30 m
deep below the base of the pyramid is lined up precisely with the pyramid's
vertical axis. The walls within this north-south oriented burial chamber were
left unfinished. A highly polished alabaster sarcophagus cut from a single
stone was found inside it. This is very rare, for the only other alabaster we
know of used in such a way was in the coffins of Queen Hetepheres I, of the 4th Dynasty, and Seti I, of the 19th Dynasty. It also had no cover, but rather a sliding
partition.
A number of unfinished subterranean
galleries connected with the burial chamber through a corridor may have been
intended to lead to a larger mortuary apartment, similar to the one in Djoser's
complex.
Outside of the pyramid within the
complex on the south, just as in the case of Djoser's complex, there is also a
symbolic South Tomb. The superstructure of the tomb consisted of a mastaba
built of limestone blocks. The burial chamber in the south tomb was small. Though
this tomb had probably not been meant for a burial, the excavators found the
fragments of a small coffin that had held the remains of about a two year old
child. Fragments of thin gold leaf imitating reed matting together with animal
bones and stone vessels were also found there.
Khaba
We know very
little about this king. His Horus name Khaba means "The Soul
Appears". His nswt-bity and nbty names are unknown. In the Turnin King
List, this king's name is marked as "erased", but is credited with a
reign of six years. The fact that his name was marked as "erased" may
mean that there were dynastic problems, or simply that the scribe who composed
the Turin King List was unable to read his name from more ancient records.
Khaba is attested
to at few sites in Egypt
Evidence of Khaba in Southern Egypt is
attested by sealings found at Hierakonpolis and Elephantine. There is also a diorite bowl of unknown provenance
inscribed with the serekh of Khaba that is now in London 's
Petrie Museum
Because of the
close architectural similarity between Sekhemkhet's unfinished pyramid and the one at Zawiyet el-Aryan (the layer pyramid), Khaba may be most plausibly
identified as Sekhemkhet's immediate successor, provided that the layer pyramid
indeed belongs to Khaba. The substructure of this pyramid is so very similar to
the pyramid of Sekhemkhet that it must have been built very near in time to
his.
We know nothing of
his family, or any of his building projects beyond the uninscribed Layer Pyramid, nor do we have any idea about his foreign or
domestic policies. He was apparently never buried in the layer pyramid, and his
body has never been identified.
Huni
Huni was the last
king of the 3rd dynasty. Huni paved the way for the great pyramid builders of the 4th Dynasty with his
substantial construction projects and the possible restructuring of regional
administration.
The
name Huni may be translated as "The Smiter". He is attested on
monuments of his time by his nswt-bity name, written in a cartouche.
Alternative readings have been suggested for his name, but none have been
agreed upon, so he is typically called Huni. He may also be Horus Qahedjet, though this is
uncertain.
A limestone stela in the Louvre museum is
inscribed with a Horus name Qahedjet. Some scholars believe Qahedjet to be the
Huni's Horus name. The stela was important to Egyptian art because it depicts
the earliest representation of a god (Horus) embracing the king. The carving is
superior, and the iconography is more developed.
The Turin Canon
provides a reign for Huni of twenty-four years. His position as the last king
of the 3rd Dynasty and Sneferu's immediate predecessor is confirmed by both the
Papyrus Prisse and by the autobiographical inscription in the tomb of Metjen at
Saqqara.
The most
impressive monument which can be attributed to Huni is a small granite step pyramid on the island
of Elephantine. Huni probably built either a palace or a
building associated with the royal cult on this island. This small pyramid,
together with others of similar size and construction located at Seila in the Fayoum, Zawiyet el-Meitin in Middle Egypt, South Abydos, Tukh near Naqada, el-Kula near Hierakonpolis and in south Edfu, appear to be unique, both in their size
and purpose.
Almost all of the
major pyramids in Egypt
The Meidum Pyramid
We are also very
uncertain about Huni's burial. The pyramid at Meidum was begun by him. It is probable that Senefru
finished the monument, as Middle and New Kingdom graffiti from the site credits Sneferu with its construction. There is no evidence of a
stone sarcophagus in the subterranean burial chamber of the Meidum Pyramid and
therefore no clear evidence that Huni was ever buried there.
Another theory suggests that he was actually buried in an unidentified
mastaba number 17 on the northeast side of the pyramid, where there is a
typical Old Kingdom, uninscribed granite sarcophagus.
The mother of Sneferu was probably Meresankh, who was a secondary wife of
Huni. Huni was also the father of queen Hetepheres I, Senefru's half sister
whom he later married. Little else is known about Huni's family relationships.
The Palermo
Stone lists an estate belonging to his cult during the reign of the 5th Dynasty King Neferirkara . The achievements
of Huni's reign are impressive, and he clearly contributed to the great culture
of Egypt 's Old Kingdom. The structure of provincial government during his
reign recorded in the tomb of Metjen probably signals a new phase of an absolute
central control of manpower and resources needed for the massive pyramid building of the 4th Dynasty.
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