The World’s First Pyramid Under Restoration

I saw this article on Biblical Archaeology Review’s site and had just been reading about it and so I decided to share it with my readership. The first pyramid in Egypt was the step pyramid created by a king of the Third Dynasty; King Djoser. Before him the tombs of Egypt that held their rulers were like those I mentioned in my first post. So from the Zero Dynasty through to King Djoser pyramids were unheard of. Miroslav Verner talks about the design of this first pyramid: “The oldest pyramid, that of King Djoser of the Third Dynasty, was surrounded by structures whose meaning is still debated. Egyptologists nevertheless generally agree that they were supposed to represent the ruler’s death residence, which might have been inspired to some extent by parts of his earthly residence. In this complex, the mortuary temple was placed – as it was in all the other known step pyramids of the Third Dynasty – in front of the north side of the pyramid. Here was located the entrance to the underground rooms, which also served as the exit from the inner part of the pyramid and the burial chamber, through which the dead pharaoh went north to become one of the eternal stars around the North Star that never set.” (Miroslav Verner, The Pyramids: Their Archaeology and History. New York: Grove Press, 1997, p. 45).

Here is the article from Biblical Archaeology Review:

World’s First Pyramid to Be Restored

Bible and archaeology news

Biblical Archaeology Society Staff   •08/10/2011

Egypt’s new antiquities chief, Mohammad Abdel-Maksoud, announced this week that the Supreme Council of Antiquities will take steps to fund the restoration of the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. The pyramid, the oldest in Egypt, was built to be the eternal resting place of Djoser (2630–2611 B.C.E.), the second pharaoh of Egypt’s third dynasty (2630–2611 B.C.E.). Egyptian media reported that the inside of the pyramid is falling down and in disrepair, as planned conservation and reconstruction efforts have been delayed because of lack of payments. Abdel-Maksoud said payments for the project will be restarted soon.