The burial chamber and antechamber of the pyramid of Unas. Ṣaqqārah, Egypt
Object Details
- Local Numbers
- Negative number 1962 C-12, 8.
- General
- Title source: Index card based on photographer's notes.
- Local Note
- Typed index card reads, "T 6 Egy. Egypt. Saqqara. Unas Sarcophagus chamber. V Dyn. 1962. EE. neg.no. 1962 C-12, 8." The card was written in 1977-79 by Archives staff using source provided by photographer.
- Photographer
- Elisofon, Eliot
- Collection Photographer
- Elisofon, Eliot
- Place
- Africa
- Egypt
- Topic
- Cultural landscapes
- Monuments
- Architecture -- Egypt
- Photographer
- Elisofon, Eliot
- See more items in
- Eliot Elisofon Field collection
- Eliot Elisofon Field collection / Egypt
- Extent
- 1 Negatives (photographic) (b&w, 35mm.)
- Date
- 1962
- Archival Repository
- Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
- Identifier
- EEPA.1973-001, Item EEPA EENG 07243
- Type
- Archival materials
- Negatives (photographic)
- Black-and-white negatives
- Negatives
- Collection Citation
- Eliot Elisofon Field Collection, EEPA 1973-001, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution
- Collection Rights
- Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
- Genre/Form
- Black-and-white negatives
- Negatives
- Scope and Contents
- "The route through a pyramid complex leads finally to the great stone false door at the back of the offering chapel. On the 'other side', behind solid masonry, deep under the pyramid, lay the most intimate rooms of this house of eternity: the burial chamber and antechamber. Beginning with the pyramid of Unas at the end of the 5th dynasty, the walls of these chambers were inscribed with vertical columns of texts from Egypt's oldest religious literature. The Pyramid Texts are a tantalizing, yet confusing, literary window on the meaning of a pyramid complex." [Lehner M., 1997: The Complete pyramids. Thames and Hudson]. "Saqqâra (Ṣaqqārah) is a large necropolis south of Cairo and west of ancient Memphis. It was the necropolis of ancient Memphis; has remains of several pyramids from 5th and 6th dynasties and the famous Step Pyramid, the earliest true pyramid in Egypt, built for King Zoser (Djoser) of the 3rd dynasty ca. 2630 BC by his prime minister Imhotep. It is not to be confused with the modern town of the same name." [The J. P. Getty Fund: Thesaurus of Geographical Names]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was working on "The Nile" project and traveled to Africa during April 1962, visiting Egypt.
- Collection Restrictions
- Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
- Record ID
- ebl-1536870822481-1536871013840-0
- Metadata Usage
- CC0
Related Content
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.