Tour Guide, Giza, Egypt
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To the southwest of Zoser’s funerary complex is the Pyramid of Unas, last pharaoh of the 5th dynasty (2375–2345 BC). Built only 300 years after the inspired Step Pyramid, this unassuming pile of loose blocks once stood 43m high, and its interior marked the beginning of significant development in funerary practices. For the first time, the royal burial chamber was decorated, its ceiling adorned with stars and its white alabaster-lined walls inscribed with beautiful blue hieroglyphs.
These columns contain the earliest known example of the so-called Pyramid Texts, and even more the oldest collection of religious texts known to mankind! They are a collection of spells and formulae meant to protect the deceased in the afterlife. The Pyramid of Unas contains only 283 of the more than 700 known spells of the Pyramid Texts.
