A pyramid is really more like a headstone over a tomb. Also, a pyramid is not the whole burial deal, it’s just part of the deal. Our next visit was to Zoser’s Funerary Complex. The funerary complex usually included a temple dedicated to the north of Egypt and a temple dedicated to the south of Egypt plus the funerary temple plus many tombs and so on until it was a whole complex (more like a whole cemetery) with an entry way and a wall around it. The reason for the two Egypt temples was that north and south had traditionally been separate kingdoms and the pharaohs who joined them together wanted to keep them together by paying homage to both parts (north and south) of Egypt. That sounds like a smart politician.

Zoser’s (actually Djoser - and didn’t the Ghostbusters steal that name) funerary complex had a wall a mile long around it. The complex was about 37 acres in size. Most of the complex has deteriorated over the years. They hope to preserve what’s left and dig a lot more out. I took some pictures of the complex but it wasn’t that exciting.

The first picture is the entrance way to Zoser’s complex. It’s made of white limestone that’s no doubt not as white as it used to be.

The next photo is just one of the many tombs within Zoser’s complex.

The third photo is the only section left of the original wall according to our guide (though it looks cleaned up and partially replaced to me). This was probably a tomb for a minor family member or administrative person of the pharaoh.

The next photo was just walking through one of the temples in the complex.

The last photo is to the south where you can see they are doing a lot more work. There is also another pyramid out there. Most of the early pyramids were not very well developed.