DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4669#0177
THE STEP PYRAMID 149
slow and heavy work of it before we reached the base
of the Step Pyramid. This is probably the oldest
existing building in the world, supposed to have been
built by Ata, the third Pharaoh after Mena.* A fall
of masonry has closed the entrance, which had been
readily accessible before that time. The interior is
described as remarkable. An inclined passage gave
access to a chamber with a lofty dome, with which
several smaller rooms were connected. In the centre
of the floor was an opening into which a circular
block of granite fitted like a stopper into a bottle.*
This aperture gave access to a lower chamber. Round
the doorway of one of the small chambers Dr. Lepsius
found, in 1840, an inscription of " Xub-Ka-Ra," a
king of the IVth Dynasty, a successor of Khufu, &c.
This raised a question of date, but Nub-Ka-Ra in
all probability only did that which Nicotris is sup-
posed to have done—appropriated the pyramid of
another individual. The great chamber is supposed
to have been used at an early period for the mummies
of the Apis bulls. The base of the Step Pyramid is
393 feet, and its height 197 feet. One of its peculiari-
ties is that the sides are not true to the cardinal
points.
Near the Step Pyramid is the house of Mariette
Be)-, an extensive structure of a single story, in which
he resided for upwards of four years, while he explored
the necropolis. Within the walls of this interesting
dwelling time was allowed for repose and refreshment
before any other objects of interest were visited. On
the outside the men and boys with their donkeys
formed picturesque groups as they reclined under the
shadow of the walls; among them were children,
* Colonel Vyse. " Pyramids of Ghizeh," &c, vol. iii. p. 44-
slow and heavy work of it before we reached the base
of the Step Pyramid. This is probably the oldest
existing building in the world, supposed to have been
built by Ata, the third Pharaoh after Mena.* A fall
of masonry has closed the entrance, which had been
readily accessible before that time. The interior is
described as remarkable. An inclined passage gave
access to a chamber with a lofty dome, with which
several smaller rooms were connected. In the centre
of the floor was an opening into which a circular
block of granite fitted like a stopper into a bottle.*
This aperture gave access to a lower chamber. Round
the doorway of one of the small chambers Dr. Lepsius
found, in 1840, an inscription of " Xub-Ka-Ra," a
king of the IVth Dynasty, a successor of Khufu, &c.
This raised a question of date, but Nub-Ka-Ra in
all probability only did that which Nicotris is sup-
posed to have done—appropriated the pyramid of
another individual. The great chamber is supposed
to have been used at an early period for the mummies
of the Apis bulls. The base of the Step Pyramid is
393 feet, and its height 197 feet. One of its peculiari-
ties is that the sides are not true to the cardinal
points.
Near the Step Pyramid is the house of Mariette
Be)-, an extensive structure of a single story, in which
he resided for upwards of four years, while he explored
the necropolis. Within the walls of this interesting
dwelling time was allowed for repose and refreshment
before any other objects of interest were visited. On
the outside the men and boys with their donkeys
formed picturesque groups as they reclined under the
shadow of the walls; among them were children,
* Colonel Vyse. " Pyramids of Ghizeh," &c, vol. iii. p. 44-