World City Stroll - Architectural Culture - Africa Part - Cairo Luxor Aswan

Author: Cao Wei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: Saqqara is located only 24 kilometers southeast of Cairo and is one of the most archaeologically rich sites in Egypt, rare even on a global scale. It is a vast desert necropolis of the pharaohs from the Old Kingdom, featuring not only the earliest pyramids but also spectacular tomb paintings, as well as the unique Saqqara Serapeum of ancient Egypt—the burial place of the sacred Apis bulls. Saqqara was the burial city of the capital Memphis during the Old Kingdom. The earliest tombs date back to Dynasty I (3100–2890 BC), while the latest ones are from the Persian period (500 BC). However, for a long time, this remained unknown. In 1850, a French teacher named Auguste Mariette came to Saqqara to conduct excavations. He discovered a sphinx half-buried in the sand and recalled a passage from the 1st-century Greek geographer Strabo, which mentioned the Serapeum of Memphis and the sphinx in the sand dunes. Mariette followed this clue and continued digging, eventually uncovering the Avenue of Sphinxes and the Serapeum. This discovery attracted more people to carry out broader excavations. Since then, many other valuable finds have been made, but archaeologists believe that what has been uncovered so far is only a small part, with more wealth still buried underground. Despite this, the discoveries made in the Saqqara area are already enough to leave visitors in awe. The three major sites centered around the Step Pyramid, the Pyramid of Teti I, and the Serapeum are the most popular among tourists. P106-107