Investigations & syntheses

Features

Long-form, documented and sourced articles connecting discoveries and telling the great transformations of humankind.

Filter by theme Égypte ancienne

Feature

The Step Pyramid of Djoser: when humankind invented stone built to last forever

Around 2650 BC, at Saqqara, the architect Imhotep stacked mastabas to raise the first mountain of cut stone in history. Six steps, sixty metres, a colossal funerary complex: the story of the monument that started it all.

Civilisations

Egypt, The Old Kingdom: rise and fall of an early civilisation

Between 2686 and 2160 BCE, Egypt built the pyramids, invented centralised government and reached a peak of power. Then everything collapsed. A complete multi-part feature.