The Step Pyramid of Saqqara is the oldest large-scale stone building in the world and the earliest-known tall monument built by Egyptians. Constructed in about 2,700BC on a plateau overlooking the ancient capital of Memphis, it marked a new stage in architectural design. Earlier monuments were built of sun-dried mud brick with stone used only for doors or tomb-chamber flagstones. In choosing to create a structure entirely of stone, Zoser's architect, Imhotep, had no tradition to draw from. Therefore, he turned to existing forms in domestic building and imitated them in stone: bundles of reeds tied together with their heads fanning out, logs placed edgewise to form a roof, palm stalks, reed fences, matting and papyrus.
