The complex of Djoser

King Djoser
He was the son of the king kha skhem wy (the last king of the second dynasty) and
he is the founder of the third dynasty and his name with hieroglyphic inscriptions
(ntr khet) which means the divine god

Imhotep
He was one of the officials in the reign of king Djoser. He was known for his excellence
in architectural and medicine and was known for the ancient Egyptians as the son of
betah (the local god of Memphis city) and was known for the geeks as the god of
medicine (asclepios).
Imhotep was ordered by king Djoser to build him a large monument of stone. The
design of this monument was a monument in the the middle between the mastaba
and the pyramid.

Djoser complex site

Imhotep choose for the complex the plateau of Sakkara. This complex in a
rectangular shape measures (544x277) meter square surrounded with an enclosure
wall made of limestone over 10 meters high and in each corner, we found this wall
is decorated with outcomes and inputs so the souls can go in and out and we found
the complex surrounded with a stela bearing the name of king Djoser and his two
daughters. The entrance of the complex is in the east and there are 14 closed dummy
doors.
The entrance leads to a colonnade.
The colonnade: -
Consist of a narrow passage surrounded with 40 column, 20 column on each side
each column is attached to the other with a small wall and also there are columns
attached to the wall of the colonnade with a small wall and although this was less
artistic than the free-standing columns but it also has elegance inspired by attached
bunch reeds. It has been suggested that Those columns refer to upper and lower
Egypt because its number as it is the same number of the regions of upper and lower
Egypt in this time. The colonnade ending with an antechamber contains 8 columns
each two columns also attached together with a small wall.
Great court: -
Cover space over 15000 meters square and in the north of it we found the step
pyramid itself and on the east of it we found the attachments of the funeral complex
starting with the heb-sed court, southern house, northern house, the serdab and
the mortuary temple.
The step pyramid itself: -
In the north side of the complex and also of the great court
It consists of 6 unequal steps each step have different height:-
The 1st step:- 11.48
The 2ed step:- 10.95
The 3rd step:- 10.43
The 4th step:- 9.39
The 5th step:- 9.39
The 6th step:- 9.89
This step pyramid is a development of tomb construction as we said its in the middle
between the mastaba and the pyramid Although it was a simple mastaba underwent
some adjustments till it reaches its final form.
The burial chamber: -
It is 7-meter square and 28 meter deep which means that It lies exactly beneath the
center of the pyramid. It is surrounded by serious of chambers and maze of corridors.
Access to the burial chamber is by a stairway from the north of the the pyramid. The
burial chamber is decorated with blue faience bear the name of the king Djoser.

Heb-sed court: -
The heb-sed is one of the oldest religious festivals known from the 1st and the 2ed
dynasty and by the time it became a traditional festival and its purpose is for the king
to prove his competence in competence to rule the nation. The inscriptions in the
heb-sed court the attendees of the festival were the representatives of the regions
of upper and lower Egypt and they were holding their regional slogans or the statue
of their local god. The main event in the festival is the recoronation of the king as the
pharaoh do the rituals 4 times in each time he looks in a different place and wears a
different crown.

The southern house: -

Has a façade of engaged columns supporting a cornice that follows the curve of the
roof and we find its entrance between the two columns the 2ed and the 3rd column
and this entrance leads to a narrow passage ,a small chamber, 3 niches.
The northern building: -
Similar to the southern building appearance as on the east of the entrance we find
3 engaged columns styled in the form of a papyrus plant which look so close to
reality.
The serdab: -
Is a building in the north side of the complex which contains statues for king Djoser
made from painted limestone look exactly like the king which will see the offerings
through two small round halls and those statues where for the ka which needs its
mummy in order to survive so if the mummy vanished so do the ka so in order to
protect the ka king Djoser provided those statues.
Mortuary temple: -
In the north side of the complex. There is nothing left but the base od the columns
and the outline of the court. It is a funeral building for the priests to pray for the ba
or soul of the dead to go to heaven.

Southern tomb: -
It is placed in the southwest corner of the great court. It is a storeroom accessible
from the outside of the enclosure wall only.