more photos
site information
0900-1600 daily
E£20 entry
E£10 students
E£10 camera
E£100 video camera
avoid Friday, Sunday (crowded)
can also be reached by camel for E£150 (3 hours)
or by horse for E£100
(2 hours)
relevant links
history
old kingdom
dynasty III
djoser
sekhemkhet
dynasty IV
shepseskaf
dynasty V
unas
djedkare
dynasty VI
pepi I
Merenre
pepi II
details
70m (230 ft) high
in seven steps
(proposed)
Pyramid of Sekhemkhet
There are a number of poorly preserved pyramids in Saqqara, many of them looking like no more than piles of sand.
sekhemkhet's buried pyramid, seen from the foot
of the step pyramid
Just southwest of Djoser lies the rounded mound of Sekhemkhet's pyramid, a complete complex meant to have all the element of the Step Pyramid of Djoser, but apparently abandoned before it was finished (or so thoroughly destroyed that it is unrecognizable). it is often called "The Buried Pyramid"
The limestone casing was ever added, and the pyramid was never raised far above the retaining wall. There is a burial chamber inside, but it, too, was left unfinished even though it contained an alabaster sarcophagus. Many of the tombs we saw had sarcophaguses that were much too large to fit inside the corridors leading to the chamber, which makes it clear that they were put in place before the rooms were finished -- perhaps lowered in from above?
