Djoser’s Serdab
The serdab is an interesting and controversial feature of the Step Pyramid.
It has been the subject of many discussions regarding its purpose, and featured strongly in Robert Bauval’s books.
One of the main debates is whether the king is looking up through the two peepholes to the stars.
This would be unusual since serdabs were normally used for the presentation of offerings to the deceased king.
This serdab was part of the Step Pyramid. It was therefore similarly inclined at the same angle of 16 degrees as the lower step of the pyramid. The two peepholes were drilled into it, but it is not possible to know if they were drilled perpendicular to the face of the stone or parallel to the ground.
Robert Bauval in his book The Egypt Code claims that Djoser gazed upwards to the stars. He includes this photograph which shows the window in the side of the serdab with a view to the statue of Djoser. In this photo the statue of Djoser appears to be leaning back so that the gaze of Djoser is upwards at the same 16 degree angle. A line of sight has been drawn on it.
Notice that the front of the statue is at right angles to the window frame.
But here is another picture taken by a tourist of the same window.
The statue is not leaning back at all. The front of the statue is at right angles to the ground not the window frame. The eyes were actually looking straight ahead.
Does any reader have a idea what is wrong here ?
Apart from this discrepancy, there are two significant facts that have been overlooked. One, the king is shown wearing his Heb Sed gown. Two - the king was wearing no crowns.
The interpretation of this is clear. The complex of Djoser was totally about the Heb Sed, and the serdab was no exception. The king was still performing it. He had completed his King’s Run after which the traditional Heb Sed gown was put on. He was at the stage of exchanging homage, offerings and gifts with the deities. The next stage was the double crowning.
In the serdab court, in front of the serdab, there are remains of an offering table and some broken pieces of a stele have been found. This was similar arrangement to what was found alongside the Meidum and Bent pyramids (see PART 3) , which had an offering table and commemorative stelae.
In this case the king was inside his pyramid because he was performing an
afterlife Heb Sed, hence the use of the serdab.
Therefore, there was no need for the king to look upwards, as this would have no meaning in the context. Djoser was probably looking straight ahead.