In
addition to Djoser's, there are another
dozen or so pyramids on the site, in various
states of preservation or dilapidation.
That of the fifth-dynasty Pharaoh Unas,
located just to the south of the step
pyramid and on top of Hotepsekhemwi's
tomb, houses the earliest known example
of the Pyramid Texts – inscriptions
with instructions for the afterlife used
to decorate the interior of tombs, the
precursor of the New Kingdom Book of the
Dead. Saqqara is also home to an impressive
number of mastaba tombs. Because the necropolis
was lost beneath the sands for much of
the past two millennia – even the
sizable mortuary complex surrounding Djoser's
pyramid was not uncovered until 1924 –
many of these have been superbly preserved,
with both their structures and lavish
internal decorations intact. While most
of the mastabas date from the Old Kingdom,
one major figure from the New Kingdom
is also represented: Horemheb, the last
pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty, who had a
tomb built here for himself before he
assumed the throne in his own right, while
still serving as one of Tutankhamun's
generals.
In
addition to Djoser's, there are another
dozen or so pyramids on the site, in various
states of preservation or dilapidation.
That of the fifth-dynasty Pharaoh Unas,
located just to the south of the step
pyramid and on top of Hotepsekhemwi's
tomb, houses the earliest known example
of the Pyramid Texts – inscriptions
with instructions for the afterlife used
to decorate the interior of tombs, the
precursor of the New Kingdom Book of the
Dead. Saqqara is also home to an impressive
number of mastaba tombs. Because the necropolis
was lost beneath the sands for much of
the past two millennia – even the
sizable mortuary complex surrounding Djoser's
pyramid was not uncovered until 1924 –
many of these have been superbly preserved,
with both their structures and lavish
internal decorations intact.
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