The Step Pyramid of Djoser
A
The pyramids
are the most famous monuments of ancient Egypt and still hold enormous interest
for people in the present day. These
grand, impressive tributes to the memory of the Egyptian kings have become linked with the country even though
other cultures, such as the Chinese and Mayan, also built pyramids.
The evolution of the pyramid
form has been written and argued about
for centuries. However,
there is no question that, as far as Egypt is concerned, it began with
one monument to one king designed by one brilliant architect: the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara.
B
Djoser was the
first king of the Third Dynasty of Egypt and the first to build in stone. Prior
to Djoser’s reign, tombs were
rectangular monuments made of dried clay brick, which covered underground
passages where the deceased person
was buried. For reasons which remain unclear, Djoser’s main official, whose name was Imhotep, conceived of building a
taller, more impressive tomb for his king by stacking stone slabs on top of one another, progressively
making them smaller, to form the shape now known as the Step Pyramid.
Djoser is thought
to have reigned
for 19 years, but some historians and scholars attribute a much longer
time for his rule, owing to the number and size of the
monuments he built.
C
The Step Pyramid has been thoroughly examined and investigated over the
last century, and it is now known that the building
process went through many different stages.
Historian Marc Van de Mieroop
comments on this,
writing ‘Much experimentation was involved, which
is especially clear
in the
construction of the pyramid
in the center of the complex.
It had several plans … before it became the first Step Pyramid in history, piling six
levels on top of one another … The weight of the enormous mass was a challenge for the builders, who placed
the stones at an inward incline in order to prevent the monument breaking
up.’
D
When finally
completed, the Step Pyramid rose 62 meters high and was the tallest structure
of its time. The complex in which it
was built was the size of a city in ancient Egypt and included a temple, courtyards, shrines, and living quarters
for the priests. It covered a region of 16 hectares and was surrounded by a wall 10.5 meters high. The
wall had 13 false doors cut into it with only one true entrance cut into the south-east corner; the
entire wall was then ringed by a trench 750 meters long and 40 meters wide. The false doors and the trench were
incorporated into the complex to discourage unwanted visitors. If someone wished to enter, he or she
would have needed to know in advance how to find the location of the true opening in the wall. Djoser was
so proud of his accomplishment that he broke the tradition of having only
his own name on the monument
and had Imhotep’s name carved on it as
well.
E
The burial
chamber of the tomb, where the king’s body was laid to rest, was dug beneath
the base of the pyramid, surrounded by a vast maze of long tunnels
that had rooms
off them to discourage robbers.
One
of the most
mysterious discoveries found inside the pyramid was a large number of stone
vessels. Over 40,000 of these
vessels, of various forms and shapes, were discovered in storerooms off the
pyramid’s underground passages. They
are inscribed with the names of rulers from the First and Second Dynasties of Egypt and made from different kinds of
stone. There is no agreement among scholars and archaeologists on why the vessels were placed in the tomb of
Djoser or what they were supposed to represent.
The archaeologist Jean-Philippe Lauer, who excavated most of the pyramid and
complex, believes they were
originally stored and then give a ‘proper burial’ by Djoser in his pyramid to honor
his predecessors. There are other
historians, however, who claim the vessels were dumped into the shafts as yet another attempt to prevent
grave robbers from getting to the king’s burial chamber.
F
Unfortunately, all of the precautions and intricate design of the
underground network did not prevent ancient
robbers from finding a way in. Djoser’s grave goods, and even his body, were
stolen at some point in the past and all archaeologists found were a small
number of his valuables overlooked by the
thieves. There was enough left throughout the pyramid and its complex,
however, to astonish and amaze the archaeologists who excavated it.
G
Egyptologist
Miroslav Verner writes, ‘Few monuments hold a place in human history as
significant as that of the Step
Pyramid in Saqqara … It can be said without exaggeration that this pyramid
complex constitutes a milestone in
the evolution of monumental stone architecture in Egypt and in the world as a whole.’ The Step Pyramid was a
revolutionary advance in architecture and became the archetype which all the other great pyramid
builders of Egypt would follow.
Questions 14-20
Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A-G.
Choose the correct
heading for each paragraph from the list of
headings below. Write
the correct number,
i-ix, in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.
List of
Headings
i The areas and
artefacts within the pyramid itself ii A difficult task for those involved
iii
A king
who saved his people
iv A single certainty among other less definite facts v An overview of the external buildings and
areas vi A pyramid design
that others copied
vii
An idea for changing the design of burial
structures
viii
An incredible experience despite the few remains ix The
answers to some unexpected
questions
14
Paragraph A
15
Paragraph B
16
Paragraph C
17
Paragraph D
18 Paragraph E
19
Paragraph F
20
Paragraph G Questions 21-24 Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD
ONLY from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 21-24 on your answer sheet.
The Step Pyramid
of Djoser
The complex that includes the Step Pyramid and its surroundings
is considered to be as big as an Egyptian
21 of
the past. The area outside
the pyramid included
accommodation that
was occupied
by 22........................... , along with many other
buildings and features.
A wall ran around the outside of the complex and a
number of false entrances were built into this. In addition, a long 23............................................ encircled the wall. As a result,
any visitors who had not been
invited were cleverly prevented from entering the pyramid
grounds unless they knew the 24..................................... of
the real entrance.
Questions 25-26
Choose TWO letters,
A-E.
Write the correct
letters in boxes
25 and 26 on your answer
sheet.
Which TWO of
the following points does the writer make about King Djoser? A Initially he had to be persuaded to build in stone rather than clay.
B
There is disagreement concerning the length of his reign.
C He failed
to appreciate Imhotep’s part in the design of the Step Pyramid.
D A few of his possessions were still in his tomb when archaeologists found it.
E He criticised the design and construction of other pyramids in Egypt.
The Step Pyramid of Djoser answers
Answer:
14 iv
15 vii
16 ii
17 v
18 i
19 viii
20 vi
21 city
22 priests
23 trench
24 location
25&26 B, D
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