Dating back to the 27th century BC, during the Third Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the Djoser Step Pyramid was one of many casualties of the 1992 earthquake that ravaged much of Egypt. This week, however, almost a decade of restoration work that aimed to return the Saqqara -located pyramid to its former glory was complete, as reported by South Wales Argus.

Having begun in 2010, the first step of the restoration was no easy feat; to remover the stones which had fallen from the ceiling, which alone took 18 months, as they were carried by hand through tunnels to the outside. Other elements of the restoration included

using grouting to fill in broken spaces, as well as using pressure and vacuum to better maintain the structure, with the overall value of the project estimated EGP 16 million.

The pyramid was built for Pharaoh Djoser by his vizier, Imhotep, and sat as a central structure of what was a large monastery complex. It originally stood 62.5 metres tall and was covered in white limestone. Though the mysterious nearby Gisr el-Mudir structure predates it, the pyramid is considered the oldest large-scale cut stone structure in Ancient Egyptian history.

Dating back to the 27th century BC, during the Third Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the Djoser Step Pyramid was one of many casualties of the 1992 earthquake that ravaged much of Egypt. The restorations, which began in 2010, are said to have cost EGP 16 million.

Image: Smithsonian Magazine