An Early Dynastic Ritual Landscape at North Saqqara: An Inheritance from Abydos?

Drawing on previously published work by the current author, the aim of this article is to undertake a wider exploration of the influence that landscape may have had on the development of North Saqqara during the first three dynasties of the pharaonic era. After discussing the topography of the site, the article presents a summary of the current understanding regarding known Early Dynastic monuments at Saqqara, together with an account of previously unpublished information obtained by the Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project. By considering the evidence for the influence of landscape on the early development at Saqqara, the research presented here reveals a number of hitherto unsuspected spatial relationships within the site, as well as identifying features that may be shared by both Saqqara and the earlier royal necropolis at Abydos.