Imhotep Museum, Saqqara

The Imhotep Museum sits just inside the Saqqara gates and serves the whole Step Pyramid necropolis. Entry is included in the general Saqqara ticket (about 450 EGP), it opens 8 am to 4 pm, and about 45 minutes is enough.

Just inside the Saqqara gates, the Imhotep Museum is the site museum for the entire Step Pyramid necropolis. It takes its name from Imhotep, the architect, doctor and priest who designed Djoser's pyramid around 2670 BC. Later Egyptians made him a god, and the Greeks folded him into the cult of Asclepius. The museum opened in 2006 and takes about 45 minutes, so use it as your briefing before you walk out to the pyramid.

The rooms are arranged by theme rather than by date. The key piece is the limestone base of a statue of Djoser carved with Imhotep's name beside the king's, the earliest known mention of a named commoner on a royal monument. You will also find glazed tile panels from the passages beneath the Step Pyramid, Late Period animal mummies from the catacombs of Anubis and the Apis bulls, and personal belongings of the French Egyptologist Jean-Philippe Lauer, who spent his life rebuilding Djoser's complex.

What to see

• The statue base naming Imhotep beside Djoser, his earliest known mention
• Glazed faience tiles from under the Step Pyramid
• Late Period animal mummies (Apis bull, ibis, falcon)
• The room dedicated to Lauer

Visiting

• Opening hours: 8 am – 4 pm
• Tickets: included in the general Saqqara ticket (about 450 EGP)
• Best time: as your first stop at Saqqara, before heading to the pyramids
• Nearby: Saqqara, Dahshur, Memphis