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The
Step Pyramid was designed for King Djoser (Dynasty 3) by his vizier Imhotep. The
pyramid is located in Saqqara, the main necropolis of Memphis. The multiple
uraei (plural of uraeus, a rearing cobra with a spread hood), on the left
in the foreground, are divine protectors of the king. The view is across the
South Court.
The
Step Pyramid is the first known monumental structure made of stone anywhere in
the world. As its name suggests, it is a series of six levels of stone
decreasing in size as they ascend to about 200 feet/60 meters in height. Until
this time, mastabas had been the principal form of tomb architecture. A mastaba
(Arabic for "bench") is a low rectangular structure which was built
over a shaft which descended to the burial location. The Step Pyramid originally
began as a mastaba, and it may have been visualized as a series of mastaba
shapes, decreasing in size, stacked one on top of another. Whatever the origin,
it creates an impressive geometrical form rising from the floor of the desert.
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