Egypt’s Pyramid of Djoser or Step Pyramid – the country’s oldest – reopened on Thursday after a 14-year restoration.
Built 4,700 years ago, the Step Pyramid was constructed for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser, one of Egypt’s Third Dynasty Kings. In 1992, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake damaged the structure, after which it suffered decades of neglect and possible collapse.
The Egyptian government began a restoration project in 2006, which has cost nearly $6.6 million (Dh24.4 million). The Arab Spring in 2011 paused restoration efforts, though these were resumed in 2013.
Designed by Djoser’s vizier Imhotep, the pyramid has six tiers that rise up to 62 metres. Inside is the pharaoh’s tomb, housed inside a burial chamber that is 28 metres deep and seven metres wide.
Restoration was completed for the pyramid’s exteriors and interiors, including the paths towards the entrance and the corridors leading to the burial chamber.
Djoser’s sarcophagus and the walls of the burial shaft have also been restored by experts.
The Step Pyramid is located in Egypt’s Saqqara necropolis, which served as the burial ground for the Ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis, a Unesco World Heritage Site.
