Step pyramid

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Step pyramid describes a pyramid-like structure with a step-shaped cubature . Such buildings were developed in numerous cultures at different times and go back to very different models. They served either as temples or as tombs , although these two aspects could sometimes merge.

Egyptian step pyramids

The Djoser Step Pyramid in Egypt
The ruins of the small step pyramid of Saujet el-Meitin

The Djoser pyramid was created around 2650 BC. The first step pyramid in the world in Saqqara . The model for this building was the mastaba - a grave type in the form of a rectangular, flat and steeply sloping tumulus . The building was originally planned as a square mastaba, but was then expanded in several construction phases to form a four-tier and finally a six-tier, rectangular pyramid.

The construction of step pyramids in Egypt was essentially limited to the 3rd dynasty founded by Pharaoh Djoser . Djoser's successor Djosertesi (Sechemchet) built another step pyramid in Saqqara, but it was never completed. The pyramid of the Chaba in Saujet el-Arjan also remained unfinished.

Towards the end of the 3rd Dynasty, a series of small step pyramids arose that were scattered all over Egypt . Their exact number is unknown; Today seven are preserved, namely the pyramids in Elephantine , Edfu-Süd , el-Kula , Ombos , Sinki (near Abydos ), Saujet el-Meitin and Seila . The pyramid of Elephantine can be ascribed to Pharaoh Huni , the last ruler of the 3rd dynasty, that in Seila to Pharaoh Sneferu , the founder of the 4th dynasty . The builder of the remaining pyramids is not known for certain; it is believed that it was Huni. The function of these pyramids is also unclear, as none of them contain a burial chamber. The speculation about their function ranging from a representation place of the king of a representation of the Urhügels or a symbol of political and religious unity of the country to cenotaphs of the royal consorts.

With Sneferu, a turning point in pyramid construction began: after he had his first pyramid in Meidum built as a step pyramid, the royal tombs were given a smooth facade from now on. The Meidum pyramid was also eventually converted into a real pyramid. The last step pyramids erected in Egypt are the two queen pyramids that Pharaoh Mykerinos had built next to his own tomb , as well as the Neferirkare pyramid , which was built as a step pyramid in its first construction phase and was later rebuilt.

Old American step pyramids

The
Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacán, built in the second or third century AD

The step pyramids of pre-Columbian America, unlike their Egyptian counterparts, are actually not real step pyramids, but rather multi-tiered truncated pyramids, on the roof of which there was a temple made of wood or stone. Accordingly, there is always a staircase that leads from the floor to the roof platform. It was not uncommon for pyramids to be built over with a larger pyramid after some time by the builders, whereby the older structure was completely preserved. An example of this is the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlán , which was built over no fewer than seven times from the time it was built in the 14th century until the fall of the Aztec Empire in 1521.

The ancient American pyramids served various purposes. As with the ziggurats in Mesopotamia , the main purpose was to get close to the respective deities and in this way to raise the temple into the realm of the gods. Only priests were allowed to enter the actual temple on the top, for example to make sacrifices. The making of human sacrifices was common among the cultures and peoples of Mesoamerica . However, it also happened that the pyramids were built as tombs, such as the Temple of Inscriptions in the Mayan city ​​of Palenque . Astronomical or calendar approaches were also architecturally processed. An example of this is the so-called niche pyramid in El Tajín with its 365 niches that symbolize the solar year .

See also

literature

  • Erich Lehner: Paths of Architectural Evolution. The polygenesis of pyramids and step structures. Aspects of a comparative architectural history . Phoibos-Verlag, Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-901232-17-6 .

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