Imhotep Museum
๐ Location: Entrance of Saqqara necropolis ย ยท ย ๐บ Focus: Old Kingdom, especially Djoser complex ย ยท ย ๐๏ธ Tickets: included in the Saqqara ticket
Tucked just inside the gates of Saqqara, the Imhotep Museum is the on-site museum for the entire Step Pyramid necropolis. It is named after Imhotep โ the polymath architect, doctor and priest who designed Djoser's pyramid around 2670 BC and was later deified by the Egyptians and absorbed by the Greeks into the Asclepius cult. The museum was inaugurated in 2006 and is small enough to visit in 45 minutes; treat it as your orientation stop before walking out to the pyramid.
The galleries are organised by theme rather than chronologically. Highlights include the limestone base of a statue of Djoser with Imhotep's name inscribed beside the king's (the earliest mention of a named, non-royal individual on a royal monument), beautiful glazed-tile panels from the underground galleries of the Step Pyramid, mummified animals from the Late-Period catacombs of Anubis and the Apis bulls, and personal objects of the early French Egyptologist Jean-Philippe Lauer, who devoted his life to reconstructing Djoser's complex.
Highlights
- Statue base naming Imhotep beside Djoser โ earliest known reference to him
- Glazed faience tiles from the Step Pyramid sub-structure
- Late-Period animal mummies (Apis bull, ibis, falcon)
- Lauer commemorative room
Visiting
- Opening hours: 8 am โ 4 pm
- Tickets: included in the Saqqara general ticket (~450 EGP)
- Best time: first stop on a Saqqara visit, before walking out to the pyramids
- Nearby: Saqqara, Dahshur, Memphis