Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt: The Temple of Djoser
Following the discussion of the status of the Palette of Narmer as either an historical or political document, the Palermo Stone clarifies the definition of a historical document and also nicely transitions to the reign of Djoser as a relatively near contemporary source for the dates of his reign. But, be forewarned, this would take some additional research.
The mortuary precinct of Djoser offers an opportunity to develop the students’ spatial awareness through the interrelating of the plan of the precinct, the restored view, and the two viewpoints offered by Gardners’ (one less than the previous edition). Most simply, students should learn to locate images on plans when Gardners’ provides the plans. Students should learn not just to pass over them, but to stop and examine them in a meaningful way. Finding the stepped pyramid and the facade of the north palace on the plan of the precinct only begins this learning process. A clickable plan at the UPenn website would move this process yet further along.
In my view, Gardners’ omits the most interesting feature of the mortuary precinct of Djoser, namely the serdab at the base of the north face of the stepped pyramid and the seated statue of Djoser originally found within, but now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. (Flickr, by the way, offers a wealth of photos of the mortuary precinct). This statue permits a discussion of burial context and the function of images.