Giza, Egypt
Constructed as the tomb of Pharaoh Djoser (Netjerykhet), in the 27th century BC (roughly 4,700 years ago), the Step Pyramid of Djoser was the first Egyptian pyramid ever built.
Established as the central feature of a 37-acre mortuary complex, the Pyramid of Djoser was the design of Imhotep, an architect and chancellor of the pharaoh who would later become deified for such achievements.
The pyramid initially started off as a mastaba tomb, but through a series of expansions, eventually, the site evolved into a 197-foot-high, six-layer pyramid consisting of 11.6 million cubic feet of stone and clay, surrounded by a 131-foot-wide dry “moat” where most of the material used to build the pyramid was once found. Beneath the pyramid lies a dizzying expanse of tunnels and chambers that contains at its center a 90-foot deep shaft leading directly to the burial chamber of King Djoser.
The earlier mastaba-style tombs provided little protection from grave robbers who might dig their way to the burial chamber from the top, and the pyramid’s final design is thought to be an attempt to thwart those efforts although eventually all of the items once contained in the burial chamber were looted, including the mummy of Djoser himself.
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