Living amongst the Dead: Life at the Ancient Memphite Necropolis of Saqqara during the Late Period/Early Ptolemaic Era

Abstract

The Memphite Necropolis of Saqqara is situated approximately 20 km south of modern Cairo on a plateau at the edge of the western desert and was in use as a funerary site for a period of nearly three and a half millennia. Today, the site is popular with visitors and archaeologists alike, but its ruinous condition and a proscribed visitor experience does little to offer visitors an understanding of the necropolis and how it was inhabited during the ancient past. This article examines the current documentary and excavation research on the Memphite Necropolis of Saqqara during the Late Period/early Ptolemaic era and considers its inhabitants, their routes of movement, and where they may have lived and worked. This article contends that the landscape of the necropolis was dynamic and full of activity. A mixture of priests, craftsmen, merchants, and others involved in the daily activities of the temples and cults, along with pilgrims, worshippers, and casual visitors, would have been moving in and around the necropolis daily.