After a 15-year renovation, Egypt reopened the 4,700-year-old King Djoser’s southern tomb at the pyramid of Saqqara to tourists on Tuesday.
The tomb is located south of Cairo, near the famed Step Pyramid of the Third Dynasty Pharoah. It is Egypt’s first large-scale stone building. It was closed for renovation until March 2020.
Sarcophaguses from a newly found burial site near Egypt’s Saqqara necropolis are in display. It was during a presentation in Giza, Egypt on November 14, 2020.
January 17, 2021: a view shows the site of a fresh discovery at the Saqqara necropolis south of Cairo, Egypt.
January 17, 2021: a view reveals the site of a recent discovery at the Saqqara necropolis south of Cairo, Egypt.
According to Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, the southern tomb was built between 2667 BC and 2648 BC. It is for symbolic purposes or possibly to contain Djoser’s internal organs.
Djoser, also famous for his Hellenized titles Tosorthros and Sesorthos, was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh and the founder of the Old Kingdom’s 3rd Dynasty.
Like King Djoser’s southern tomb, Egypt has presented a series of fresh discoveries and a new museum. It is to rekindle tourism following the coronavirus restrictions.