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View looking down into a Saite shaft tomb, that of the general Amun-Tefnakht, along south face of Djoser complex (built between 664 and 404 BCE); Egyptian site on a desert plateau about 20 km south of Cairo and just west of the ancient city of Memphis, which flourished as a necropolis and religious centre in the Dynastic, Late and Greco-Roman periods. In the Coptic period it continued in use as a monastic centre. The necropolis of Saqqara, which stretches for almost 8 km, forms the centre of the Memphite necropolis; its site is dominated by the Step Pyramid of the 3rd Dynasty king Djoser [Djoser, Zoser, Netjerikhet, ca. 2630-ca. 2611 BCE, first ruler of the 3rd dynasty]. The monuments are divided into two groups, those of North Saqqara and those of South Saqqara. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 1/15/2008)