This structure was called a mastaba (mastaba the benches found in front of village houses in Arabic). According to Brendon (1998), the origin of a mastaba derives back to prehistoric times when mud brick and rubble mounds covered subterranean pit graves. According to the ancient pyramid texts, during the course of the new kingdom when King Djoser of the third dynasty was at his reign, he established the first step pyramid. The step pyramid developed from six roughly shaped limestone blocks stacked directly upon one another decreasing in size and then incased in tura, (limestone casing). The step pyramid is an elaboration of the original mastaba, as it contains a central burial chamber. The reign of the next dynasty (dynasty three) was the peek and the transitional stage of pyramid construction. South of Saqqara, stands the two pyramids intentionally built for Snofru. One is known as the bent pyramid and the other as the first true pyramid. At this point in time, this transition demonstrates the evolution of the pyramid age. "When archeologists, evaluate the progression of Egyptians in relation to construction methods; it describes that they were capable of containing and organizing a highly structured society based upon a common goal-. Even several years ago, the Egyptians had some sort of social, political, economical and gender related hierarchy "or a division of power; which was evident from the private segregations for the men of the pharaoh's court and the particular jobs that depended on the skills of an individual that were conducted on the construction site of a pyramid (for example, masonry and how the more skilled men placed the cap stones.
The Egyptians believed that the body and soul are important to human existence, in life and in death. Their funerary practices, such as mummification and burial tombs, were designed to assist the deceased find their way into the afterworld.
