text: Early Dynastic of nobles can be traced back to the First Dynasty, at the northern side of the Saqqara plateau. During this time, the royal burial ground was at Abydos. The first royal burials at Saqqara, comprising underground galleries, date to the early Second Dynasty reigns of Hotepsekhemwy, Raneb and Nynetjer. This is followed by a hiatus, with Seth-Peribsen and Khasekhemwy, the last Second Dynasty king, both buried in Abydos. Khasekhemwy may nonetheless also have built a funerary monument at Saqqara consisting of a large rectangular enclosure, known as Gisr el-Mudir, although this enclosure could also belong to Nynetjer. It probably inspired the monumental enclosure wall around the Step Pyramid complex. Djoser's funerary complex, built by the royal architect Imhotep, further comprises a large number of dummy buildings and a secondary mastaba (the so-called 'Southern Tomb'). French architect and Egyptologist Jean-Philippe Lauer spent the greater part of his life excavating and restoring Djoser's funerary complex.
  Early Dynastic monuments
  Tomb of king Hotepsekhemwy and Raneb
  Tomb of king Nynetjer
  Buried Pyramid, funerary complex of king Sekhemkhet
  Gisr el-Mudir, funerary complex of a Second Dynasty king, possibly Nynetjer or Khasekhemwy
  Step Pyramid, funerary complex of king Djoser
  Old Kingdom
  Nearly all Fourth Dynasty kings chose a different location for their pyramids. During the second half of the Old Kingdom, under the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties, Saqqara was again the royal burial ground. The Fifth and Sixth Dynasty pyramids are not built wholly of massive stone blocks, but instead with a core consisting of rubble. Consequently, they are less well preserved than the world-famous pyramids built by the Fourth Dynasty kings at Giza. Unas, the last ruler of the Fifth Dynasty, was the first king to adorn the chambers in his pyramid with Pyramid Texts. During the Old Kingdom, it was customary for courtiers to be buried in mastaba tombs close to the pyramid of their king. Thus, clusters of private tombs were formed in Saqqara around the pyramid complexes of Unas and Teti.
  Old Kingdom monuments
  Mastabat al-Fir'aun, tomb of king Shepseskaf (Dynasty Four)