Where were the pyramids situated?

Saqqara

The plateau of Saqqara had 11 pharaonic pyramids built on it, making it the most-used pyramid site in Egypt. These 11 pyramids do not include the large numbers of satellite ones constructed, now those belonging to the queens. There are also many hundreds of mastaba tombs there from every period of ancient Egyptian history – right from the first dynasty to the time when Christianity became the established religion. In total, the necropolis there is approximately 4 miles (7.5km) long. In many ways it’s natural that Saqqara should be the place where the most pyramids are situated, as it overlooks the ancient capital of Egypt, Memphis.

The first, and in many ways today the most spectacular, pyramid to be built there was the Step Pyramid of Djoser. He was followed by his successors in the third dynasty. Saqqara was then abandoned for a dynasty as the builders moved to Meydum, Dashur and Giza. The last king of the fourth dynasty, Shepseskaf, returned to Saqqara but chose not to construct a pyramid, instead preferring to build a large mastaba (Pharaoh’s Bench). The final pyramid at Saqqara was probably built in the ninth dynasty.

Perhaps the best-known pyramid site, the Giza plateau was built on over three successive generations in the fourth dynasty. The layout of the pyramids has excited scholars for many years. Did they reflect the three stars in Orion’s Belt? Or were they oriented to point the way to the sun temple at Heliopolis to the north-east, and towards the first royal tombs at Abydos to the south-west? Certainly, the pyramids are laid out very precisely – the sides of Khufu’s pyramid (the Great Pyramid) are oriented almost exactly towards true north. At Giza, the Old Kingdom pyramids reached their greatest level of technical sophistication, and the classic layout of a pyramid was formalised.