Twelve Great Dynasties of Egypt Gallery

The Step Pyramid at Saqqara, the tomb of King Djoser

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• 3rd Dynasty
• During the first dynasties, architecture was largely based on mud-brick and organic material, and it was not until Djoser came to the throne around 2700 BC that the first large-scale building in stone took place. The first of these structures was in the form of the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, shown here. It was designed by the chancellor Imhotep, who was later worshipped as a god of medicine.

The Step Pyramid and the buildings surrounding it owe much to the forms previously created with traditional materials, but are entirely rendered in stone. As the oldest major stone building in the world, this pyramid remains a pivotal monument. The history of the dynasty itself is little known, with even the names and succession of its kings still debated by Egyptologists.