EGYPT

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Djoser, the second king of the 3rd dynasty, hired an architect
called Imhoptep who for the first time constructed a tomb completely
of stone. Imhoptep is considered the preeminent genius of the Old
Kingdom. He assembled one workforce to quarry limestone at the cliff
of Tura, across the Nile, another to haul the stone to the site where
master carvers shaped each block and put it in place.
The Step Pyramid is a terraced structure rising in six unequal
stages to a height of 60 meters, its base measuring 120 meters by 108
meters. The substructure has a system of underground corridors and
rooms. Its main feature being a central shaft 25 meters deep and 8
meters wide. The step pyramid rises within a vast walled court 544
meters long and 277 meters wide, in which are the remnants of several
stone edifices built to supply the wants of the king in the here
after. Towering limestone columns were shaped to mimic the sway and
droop of ...

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the building of Djoser's pyramid complex,
which was accomplished by hundreds of workers from across the land,
served to join those provinces into the world's first nation-state.
During the Old Kingdom, which began around 2700 B.C. and lasted some
550 years, each pharaoh after Djoser marshaled a vast portion of his
country's manpower and wealth to build his own tomb and ensure his
immortality.
To build such outstanding monuments required a preciseness of
architecture, and years of endless labor from so many Egyptians. The
kingdom developed a funerary tradition around the worship of their
divine pharaohs, both living and dead. Every aspect of life was
...

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