Saqqara

Site, Memphis, Saqqara and Dahshur · also called Sakkara, Sakkarah, Saqqarah, Memphis necropolis

Saqqara has the oldest religious texts carved in Egypt, the Pyramid Texts of Unas, and Old Kingdom tombs whose walls are covered with captioned scenes of daily life. It is the best place in Egypt to read hieroglyphs from the age of the pyramids.

Saqqara is the great cemetery of Memphis, stretched for several kilometres along the desert edge. Kings and officials were buried here from about 3000 BC until Roman times. Its landmark is the Step Pyramid of Djoser, built around 2650 BC and traditionally credited to his official Imhotep.

Two kinds of writing make the visit. Around 2350 BC King Unas had his burial rooms covered with spells to carry him to the sky, and Teti, Pepi I, Merenre and Pepi II followed him here. In the mastaba tombs of officials such as Ti, Ptahhotep and Mereruka, every scene of farming, fishing, crafts and feasting has its caption. Some even record what the workers say to each other.

Later ages built here too. South of the Unas causeway lie New Kingdom tombs, among them the one Horemheb built while still a general. The Serapeum holds the stone coffins of the sacred Apis bulls. Excavations still bring new tombs to light almost every year. Tombs open and close in rotation. Some, such as the Serapeum or the pyramid interiors, may need a separate ticket, so ask at the entrance which ones you can enter that day.

At Saqqara

Monument

Step Pyramid of Djoser

The writing at the Step Pyramid is sparse but early. Here the king's own name, the Horus Netjerikhet, is carved inside a serekh on reliefs of his jubilee race, around 2650 BC; the name Djoser comes from much later visitors.

Monument

Serapeum of Saqqara

In the Serapeum the writing to find is on a few of its giant stone sarcophagi: columns of hieroglyphs and royal cartouches, among them the name of Amasis of the 26th Dynasty. The galleries were the burial place of the Apis bulls, living images of Ptah of Memphis.

Monument

Pyramid of Unas

The Pyramid of Unas holds the oldest Pyramid Texts, carved around 2350 BC: columns of hieroglyphs filled with blue paint that cover the king's burial rooms from floor to ceiling.

Monument

Pyramid of Teti

Inside the Pyramid of Teti, first king of the Sixth Dynasty (c. 2345 BC), the walls carry Pyramid Texts in columns of hieroglyphs under a gabled ceiling of stars. It is the second royal set of these spells, after Unas.

Monument

Mastaba of Ti

In the Mastaba of Ti every scene has its hieroglyph captions: you can read what the farmers, boat builders and herdsmen are doing, and sometimes what they say. The reliefs, from around 2400 BC, are some of the finest of the Old Kingdom.

Monument

Mastaba of Mereruka

The Mastaba of Mereruka is packed with captioned scenes and long titles carved in hieroglyphs, in more than thirty rooms. Mereruka was vizier of King Teti around 2340 BC, and this is the largest tomb of any Old Kingdom official at Saqqara.

Monument

Mastaba of Ptahhotep and Akhethotep

Ptahhotep's chapel keeps some of the best-preserved colour of any Old Kingdom relief, with crisp painted hieroglyphs and a long offering list you can read item by item. The tomb dates to the late Fifth Dynasty, around 2400 BC.

Monument

Tomb of Horemheb at Saqqara

The reliefs in Horemheb's Saqqara tomb show him as army commander under Tutankhamun, around 1320 BC, with captions spelling out his military titles. On some figures a royal cobra was added to his brow after he became king.

Museum

Imhotep Museum

The Imhotep Museum, at the entrance to Saqqara, is named after the man whose name is carved on a statue base of King Djoser, the one inscription from his lifetime known to name him. Its well-lit cases hold inscribed finds from the site, a good place to learn the signs before the worn tomb walls.

What to see and read

Step Pyramid complex of Djoser

The first large stone building in the world. Djoser's Horus name, Netjerikhet, is carved on reliefs in its underground rooms.

Pyramid of Unas

Columns of blue-filled hieroglyphs under a ceiling of stars.

Mastabas of Ti, Mereruka and Ptahhotep

The finest Old Kingdom reliefs. Ptahhotep's chapel keeps much of its colour.

Serapeum

Underground galleries of huge granite sarcophagi; a few carry royal names.

Names you can find here

Signs to look for

Bread on an offering mat R4ḥtp Bread on a mat opens the offering formula on almost every false door in the mastabas.
Raised arms D28kꜣ The raised arms of the ka appear in offerings "for the ka of" the tomb owner, and in names such as Mereruka.
Star N14sbꜣ Stars fill the burial chamber ceilings of Unas and Teti.
Backbone and spinal cord F39jmꜣḫ The backbone sign writes imakhu, "honoured", the word officials used of themselves on false doors.
Cloth on a pole R8nṯr The netjer sign, god, begins Djoser's Horus name and runs through the Pyramid Texts.

Reading the hieroglyphs here

Flash is not allowed in the tombs. Light from a phone torch held to one side shows shallow carving best.
Old Kingdom relief is often very low; trace a sign over your photo in Hiero Lens where the live camera struggles.

Point your camera at a wall Hiero Lens boxes the signs and names them, on your phone; nothing is uploaded. On worn stone, trace a sign over the photo.

Questions

What are the Pyramid Texts?

Spells carved inside royal pyramids to help the dead king rise to the sky and join the gods. The oldest are in the Pyramid of Unas, around 2350 BC.

How long do you need at Saqqara?

Half a day covers the Step Pyramid, the Imhotep Museum and a few mastabas. A full day adds the Serapeum, the pyramids and the New Kingdom tombs.

Can you take photos inside the tombs at Saqqara?

Phone photos are generally allowed, sometimes with a photo ticket. Flash is forbidden, and rules change, so ask at the ticket office.

Where it is

Open in OpenStreetMap · Written from published sources and not yet checked on site by our team: displays and open tombs change.