to the SKY

The reed-shaped columns that

line the entry hall draw the
visitors eyes upward, following
the ascent of Zoser himself
from death into the heavens.
This pattern of rebuilding and
an ever-expanding form from
beneath repeats itself in
architecture from other
civilizations of the third
millennium BCE. Whether
pounded earth of China, kiln-
dried bricks of the Indus, or the
carved stones of Egypt there
seems to have been a
movement upwards, to the
heavens from earth to the sky.
Starting first as an underground
burial chamber, expansions drew
the tomb, its inhabitants, and
visitors closer and closer to
the sky. From modest
beginnings the original
mastaba was enlarged
until what was
created resembles
most of what we see in the
Zoser Step Pyramid today.
Pelon,, IAR 221 01.18.2011

Built from stone it is quite literally

connecting the earth to the sky.

Connecting Earth
Amanda Pelon

Graphic source: Lehner, M. (2008). The Complete Pyramids: Solving Ancient Mysteries. New York: Thames & Hudson.
Image source: Bard, K. A. (2007). An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Inset source: Maveric149 at WikiVersity. http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/File:Saqqara_-_Pyramid_of_Djoser_-_closeup_of_partially_restored_wall.JPG