It is possible that during Pepi's time, Memphis, which probably had started out along the East-side of the edge of the Northern plateau of Saqqara, had grown to have its centre located almost directly to the East of Pepi's pyramid. The two other royal monuments built here belong to Pepi I and his son Merenre I, both of the 6th Dynasty. Such was the importance or fame of Pepi I's funerary complex, that its name, mn-nfr was applied to the nearby city of Memphis by later generations. He was also the first king to return to Saqqara after several of his predecessors had preferred Abusir, to the North of Saqqara, for their burials. The first was Djedkare of the 5th Dynasty, whose attention may have been drawn by the high plateau that dominates this part of the area. The areas around the unfinished pyramid of Sekhemkhet and the so-called Great Enclosure have not yet been fully explored.Īt some distance to the South of Sekhemkhet's unfinished complex, three kings built their pyramids.It contains such tombs as those of Horemheb and Maya, which are considered to be among the most beautiful tombs in Saqqara. The area south of the causeway was developed mainly from the late 18th Dynasty on.Its tombs were built between and on top of the tombs of Hotepsekhemwi and Ninetjer, which are, perhaps, the oldest royal tombs at Saqqara. The north cemetery consists mainly of late 5th Dynasty tombs, with the tombs of two of Unas' queens.Unas cemeteries: To the north and the south of the causeway of Unas' mortuary complex evolved several cemeteries.It would continue to be used until well into the Roman Period. To the west of this cemetery, a gallery of tombs for the sacred bulls of Apis, and known today by its Greek name Serapeum, was constructed from the 19th Dynasty on. Among these tombs, the mastaba of Ptahhotep of the 5th Dynasty is the most famous. Netjerikhet cemetery: To the north and west of the Djoser complex, several tombs were built during the 3rd Dynasty and later.The use of this cemetery in the New Kingdom is closely related to the worship Teti enjoyed during this period, but it is not clear what was the cause of what: did the New Kingdom Memphites grant Teti a special status because of the extended use of his cemetery, or did they chose this cemetery because of his already established status? During the Middle Kingdom and the 2nd Intermediate Period few burials were made here, but when, from the first half of the New Kingdom on, when nearby Memphis regained its importance, it became popular again. The cemetery continued to be used well into the 1st Intermediate Period. Among them is the mastaba of vizier Mereruka. Several of Teti's high officials chose to build their mastabas directly to the North of their king's monument. Teti cemetery: Before Teti built his pyramid at the southern extension of the row of Archaic Tombs, this part of Saqqara appears to have been virtually unexploited.Massive sarcophagus of a deceased sacred Apis bull in the Serapeum at Saqqara. To the west of the Old Kingdom necropolis are located several cemeteries for the embalmed remains of the sacred animals. This can be explained by the fact that during the larger part of the 4th Dynasty, Giza was the main burial place and by the fact that there appear to have been fewer high officials during this 4th Dynasty. The large majority of these mastabas are dated to the 5th and 6th Dynasty and only a few to the 4th. It was used and extended during the Old Kingdom, with most of the oldest mastabas closest to the Archaic Tombs. Northern cemetery: This cemetery was an extension to the west of the Archaic Tombs that were built on the edge of the Saqqara plateau during the 1st Dynasty.It can be divided into the following cemeteries: Saqqara North stretches between the Archaic Tombs just south of Abusir, and the unfinished complex of Sekhemkhet. This 9 square kilometers area is usually divided into two parts: Saqqara-North and Saqqara-South, which, in turn, can be divided into smaller necropoleis. As such, it is one of the largest and most important areas of the Memphite necropolis. Throughout its almost 3.000 year long history, Saqqara expanded to cover an area of 6 kilometers from north to south by 1,5 kilometers from east to west. Hover over the map and click or tap the red circles to learn more about the many monuments at this site.
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