 The museum entrance | |
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| Established | April 26, 2006 |
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| Location | located at the foot of the Saqqara necropolis complex, near Memphis in Lower Egypt |
| Type | archaeological museum |
The Imhotep Museum is an archaeological museum located at the foot of the Saqqara necropolis complex, near Memphis in Lower Egypt.
The museum, which was named for the ancient Egyptian architect Imhotep, was opened on April 26, 2006 by Suzanne Mubarak and Bernadette Chirac. [1] Imhotep is credited with being the first Egyptian to build a monumental structure out of stone: Pharaoh Djoser's step pyramid located at Saqqara, which was built during the 3rd Dynasty.
Constructed as part of the strategic site management program of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, the air-conditioned Imhotep Museum provides a more secure storage space than the traditional storehouses located at archaeological sites. In the museum, artefacts are more easily protected from theft, and they are stored in climate-controlled conditions.
The site museum project at Saqqara was conceived of in 1990, but it was not launched until 1997 after the authorities had identified a suitable location on the plateau where the museum could sit unobtrusively and not disturb the natural landscape. [2] Construction was completed in 2003.
The museum has six large halls in which one may admire masterpieces from Saqqara, such as a Ptolemaic mummy discovered by Zahi Hawass during the excavation of the Pyramid of Teti complex and a large double statue that was found near the causeway of the Unas complex. The statue depicts the 19th Dynasty High Priest of Mut, Amenemopet, and his wife.
In the entrance hall, the visitor is welcomed by a fragment of the Djoser statue on which one can read the name of the king and the architect Imhotep. This find was on loan from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and was exhibited only in the museum's opening months. [3]
The second hall displays archaeological finds from various excavations on the Saqqara plateau. The artefacts in this exhibit will be rotated.
The third hall is devoted to Egyptian art, and contains vessels, statues, and stelae made of wood and stone, as well as the ancient tools used to build the monuments.
The fourth hall exhibits architectural elements from the Step Pyramid complex, such as columns and the green and blue faience wall tiles that decorate chambers under the pyramid complex. A small statue of Imhotep is also found in this room.
The fifth hall displays objects used in burials from the 6th Dynasty through the New Kingdom.
A gallery dedicated to the French Egyptologist, Jean-Philippe Lauer, displays some of his personal effects and photographs of him at work on the plateau. His library is recreated in one room. [4] Lauer began working at the Djoser complex in the 1920s and continued to work there for the remainder of his career, some 75 years.
Imhotep was an Egyptian chancellor to the Pharaoh Djoser, possible architect of Djoser's step pyramid, and high priest of the sun god Ra at Heliopolis. Very little is known of Imhotep as a historical figure, but in the 3,000 years following his death, he was gradually glorified and deified.
Memphis or Men-nefer was the ancient capital of Inebu-hedj, the first nome of Lower Egypt that was known as mḥw ("north"). Its ruins are located near the present-day town of Mit Rahina. Its name is derived from the late Ancient Egyptian name for Memphis mjt-rhnt meaning "Road of the Ram-Headed Sphinxes", 20 km (12 mi) south of Giza in Greater Cairo, Egypt.
Saqqara, also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English, is an Egyptian village in Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. Saqqara contains numerous pyramids, including the Step pyramid of Djoser, sometimes referred to as the Step Tomb, and a number of mastaba tombs. Located some 30 km (19 mi) south of modern-day Cairo, Saqqara covers an area of around 7 by 1.5 km.
The pyramid of Djoser, sometimes called the Step Pyramid of Djoser, is an archaeological site in the Saqqara necropolis, Egypt, northwest of the ruins of Memphis. The 6-tier, 4-sided structure is the earliest colossal stone building in Egypt. It was built in the 27th century BC during the Third Dynasty for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser. The pyramid is the central feature of a vast mortuary complex in an enormous courtyard surrounded by ceremonial structures and decoration. Its architect was Imhotep, chancellor of the pharaoh and high priest of the god Ra.
Djoser was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 3rd Dynasty during the Old Kingdom, and was the founder of that epoch. He is also known by his Hellenized names Tosorthros and Sesorthos. He was the son of King Khasekhemwy and Queen Nimaathap, but whether he was also the direct successor to their throne is unclear. Most Ramesside king lists identify a king named Nebka as preceding him, but there are difficulties in connecting that name with contemporary Horus names, so some Egyptologists question the received throne sequence. Djoser is known for his step pyramid, which is the earliest colossal stone building in ancient Egypt.
In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth Dynasty, such as King Sneferu, who perfected the art of pyramid-building, and the kings Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, who constructed the pyramids at Giza. Egypt attained its first sustained peak of civilization during the Old Kingdom, the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods, which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley.
Sekhemkhet was an ancient Egyptian king (pharaoh) of the 3rd Dynasty during the Old Kingdom. His reign is thought to have been from about 2648 BC until 2640 BC. He is also known under his later traditioned birth name Djoser-tety and under his Hellenized name Tyreis. Sekhemkhet was probably the brother or eldest son of king Djoser. Little is known about this king, since he ruled for only a few years. However, he erected a step pyramid at Saqqara and left behind a well known rock inscription at Wadi Maghareh.
Userkaf was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Fifth Dynasty. He reigned for seven to eight years in the early 25th century BC, during the Old Kingdom period. He probably belonged to a branch of the Fourth Dynasty royal family, although his parentage is uncertain; he could have been the son of Khentkaus I. He had at least one daughter and very probably a son, Sahure, with his consort Neferhetepes. This son succeeded him as pharaoh.
Muhammed Zakaria Goneim was an Egyptian archaeologist, known for his discoveries in and around Saqqara. He is best known for discovering the Step Pyramid of Sekhemkhet.
The Layer Pyramid is a ruined step pyramid dating to the 3rd Dynasty of Egypt and located in the necropolis of Zawyet El Aryan. Its ownership is uncertain and may be attributable to pharaoh Khaba. The pyramid architecture, however, is very similar to that of the Buried Pyramid of king Sekhemkhet and for this reason is firmly datable to the 3rd Dynasty.
Gisr el-Mudir also known as the Great Enclosure, is one of the oldest known stone structures in Egypt, located at Saqqara only a few hundred metres west of the Step Pyramid and the Buried Pyramid. The function of the space is not yet clear.
The pyramid of Unas is a smooth-sided pyramid built in the 24th century BC for the Egyptian pharaoh Unas, the ninth and final king of the Fifth Dynasty. It is the smallest Old Kingdom pyramid, but significant due to the discovery of Pyramid Texts, spells for the king's afterlife incised into the walls of its subterranean chambers. Inscribed for the first time in Unas's pyramid, the tradition of funerary texts carried on in the pyramids of subsequent rulers, through to the end of the Old Kingdom, and into the Middle Kingdom through the Coffin Texts that form the basis of the Book of the Dead.
The pyramid of Teti is a smooth-sided pyramid situated in the pyramid field at Saqqara in Egypt. It is the second known pyramid containing pyramid texts. Excavations have revealed a satellite pyramid, two pyramids of queens accompanied by cult structures, and a funerary temple. The pyramid was opened by Gaston Maspero in 1882 and the complex explored during several campaigns ranging from 1907 to 1965. It was originally called Teti's Places Are Enduring. The preservation above ground is very poor, and it now resembles a small hill. Below ground the chambers and corridors are very well preserved.
The pyramid complex of Userkaf was built c. 2490 BC for the pharaoh Userkaf, founder of the 5th Dynasty of Egypt. It is located in the pyramid field at Saqqara, on the north-east of the step pyramid of Djoser. Constructed in dressed stone with a core of rubble, the pyramid is now ruined and resembles a conical hill in the sands of Saqqara. For this reason, it is known locally as El-Haram el-Maharbish, the "Heap of Stone", and was recognized as a royal pyramid by western archaeologists in the 19th century.
Jean-Philippe Lauer, was a French architect and Egyptologist. He was considered to be the foremost expert on pyramid construction techniques and methods.
Cecil Mallaby Firth was a British Egyptologist.
Qar was a doctor during the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt, which lasted from about 2350 to 2180 BC. He was the royal physician.
The Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan is a department forming an historic part of the British Museum, with Its more than 100,000 pieces making it the largest and most comprehensive collection of Egyptian antiquities outside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
The Buried Pyramid is an unfinished step pyramid constructed c. 2645 BC for Sekhemkhet Djoserty. He was the second pharaoh of the Third Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, which reigned over Egypt circa 2686–2613 BC and is usually placed at the beginning of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Many historians believe that the third dynasty played an important role in the transition from Early Dynastic Period of Egypt to the Age of the Pyramids.
Horus Sa was a possible early Egyptian pharaoh who may have reigned during the Second or Third Dynasty of Egypt. His existence is disputed, as is the meaning of the artifacts that have been interpreted as confirming his existence.
Official site: https://www.sca-egypt.org/eng/MUS_Imhotep_Museum.html
