After years of restoration work, Egypt has reopened its oldest pyramid to the public. The Djoser pyramid — which is around 4,700 years old, made solely of stone and built of six stacked terraces — was opened in a ceremony on Thursday, state news outlet Al-Ahram reported. The structure, which is 63 meters tall, is the world’s oldest monumental stone building, according to Al-Ahram.
Djoser’s Step Pyramid complex includes several structures pivotal to its function in both life and the afterlife. A pyramid was not simply a grave in ancient Egypt. Its purpose was to facilitate a successful afterlife for the king so that he could be eternally reborn.
The Step Pyramid of Djoser was the first pyramid the Egyptians built. The pyramid was constructed using 11.6 million cubic feet of stone and clay. The tunnels beneath the pyramid form a labyrinth about 5.5 kilometers long.
It was built in the Saqqara funeral complex, outside the royal capital of Memphis – a UNESCO World Heritage Site south of modern Cairo. A complex of halls and courts surrounds the pyramid, which was constructed under the rule of king Djoser, (c. 2650–2575 BCE), the second king of the third dynasty of ancient Egypt.
Renovations on the pyramid began in 2006 but were interrupted in 2011 and 2012 after Egypt’s popular uprising. As part of the restoration of the ancient site, collapsed ceiling blocks were restored, along with a burial chamber and corridors, according to Al-Ahram. Rubble was also removed from the building, the website reported, revealing a 176-ton granite sarcophagus measuring nearly 5 meters (16 feet) in height.
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