Step Pyramid of King Djoser

Step Pyramid of King Djoser

ca. 2630 BCE

1737

Step Pyramid of King Zoser

Imhotep

Egyptian

visual works

Third Dynasty (Egyptian)

pyramids (tombs or platforms)

block plans

Plan of the Step Pyramid of King Djoser at Saqqara, Egypt. "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,"--University of Memphis website.

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