Abstract

An extensive Ptolemaic cemetery west to the Step Pyramid, excavated by the Polish-Egyptian mission, has inspired the present study. To understand the archaeological context of the necropolis in question it was necessary to take a closer look at the whole area. The paper reviews then the most important archaeological monuments of the Ptolemaic Period discovered hitherto in Saqqara. Author takes into consideration the human and animal cemeteries and cult complexes, offering a summary of knowledge on the Saqqara necropolis as a place where the different religious communities living in Memphis during the Ptolemaic Period came together, reinforcing through a shared cult the unity of the state.