IMHOTEP THE AFRICAN: ARCHITECT OF THE COSMOS

"Meanwhile, let us recall that Imhotep was not only the high priest of Heliopolis, but also, and more significantly, personal architect of King Djoser of the Third Dynasty and, as such, the designer of the celebrated Step Pyramid Complex at Saqqara. Before Imhotep, there was no construction done in Egypt using quarried and hewn stone blocks; everything built before him used mud bricks. Before Imhotep, there were no pyramids, and it would be another century before Khufu erected the great pyramid at Giza. So it is appropriate to ask: If the mound of Giza was so important and so sacred, then why did Imhotep not choose this site for his project? Why did he instead choose a site some eight kilometers farther south? As we shall see, Imhotep indeed had good reason to do so. "In the next chapter, we examine the mysterious complex of Saqqara in order to discover the true motive behind Imhotep's choice of location. As we do, we will draw closer to understanding who this genius really was." Pp. 46-47, IMHOTEP THE AFRICAN: ARCHITECT OF THE COSMOS, by Robert Bauval and Thomas Brophy, Ph.D. (2013)