Djoser's pyramid restored

The pyramid of Djoser, near Saqqara, whose particularity is to be in steps • ISTOCKPHOTO

The oldest pyramid in Egypt, that of Djoser, erected around 4,700 years ago near the site of Saqqara, needed a major renovation. It took 14 years of work to revamp the "old lady", seriously shaken by an earthquake in 1992. Vaults and ceilings were in danger of collapsing, which led to its closure to the public and a joint restoration project with Unesco.

The funerary complex was built during the reign of Djoser (or Djeser), pharaoh of the III ^th dynasty which, according to the latest research, began to reign between 2691 and 2625 BC. This sovereign is considered the founder of the Old Kingdom. Its architect and vizier Imhotep spent 19 years building this freestone work, the first in Egypt to take the form of a pyramid, marking the birth of a new type of burial, long before the pyramids of Giza, near from Cairo.

This step pyramid, 63 m high, includes six superimposed mastabas above a well 28 m deep. To restore it, it was necessary to consolidate and arrange the immense labyrinth of underground tunnels, corridors and chambers dug under it.

Chapels and pavilions

The funerary complex includes, in addition to the pyramid, many worship buildings intended for ceremonies:a temple, two altars, stores. The oldest known life-size Egyptian statue, representing Djoser, was discovered there and is now kept in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. We owe a large part of the knowledge of this set to the French Egyptologist Jean-Philippe Lauer, now deceased, who devoted his life to studying it. In particular, he uncovered a large entrance, chapels, pavilions and the large colonnade located to the east of the complex.

After many adventures during the works and the 2011 revolution, then an economic crisis, Djoser's pyramid finally officially reopened to the public on March 5 - except during the period of confinement, the coronavirus having not spared Egypt .