One might wonder how a pyramid can be lost, but that’s what happened just a few hundred yards from the Step Pyramid. In 1951, Egyptian Egyptologist Zakariah Goneim discovered the remains of a pyramid that was never completed.58 Unlike Zoser’s, which had six steps, it was apparently intended to have seven. Almost totally covered in sand, its excavation took several years and yielded much information about the early days of pyramid construction. One graffito on the pyramid’s enclosure wall reads “Imhotep,” so it is quite possible that Imhotep outlived Zoser and designed a second pyramid. During the 1953–54 season, the entrance was found on the north side, with the door still sealed, indicating that although the pyramid was unfinished,
the pharaoh evidently had been buried inside. There was tremendous excitement; an intact royal burial of the Old Kingdom had been found. To make it even better, fragmentary inscriptions indicated the king was
Horus-Sekhem-Khet, a little-known pharaoh who was about to roar back into history.
Goneim opened the door and found a descending corridor framed by an arch—so much for the Romans inventing the arch! At the bottom of the corridor, huge limestone blocks and rubble still blocked the entrance to the burial chamber. Carefully removing the debris, Goneim found gold jewelry on the corridor f loor: twenty-one gold bracelets, 388 hollow beads, and the remains of a wooden magical wand covered in gold. Why had such a treasure been left on the f loor? Perhaps to appease tomb robbers, in the hope that after clearing the corridor they would find the jewelry, be satisfied, and leave. It wasn’t necessary: they never got that far, and the door to the burial chamber was still intact when Goneim reached it. It must have occurred to Goneim that his discovery could be the next Tutankhamen. If there was gold jewelry on the floor outside the burial chamber, what was inside? Various officials and news media were told of the great discovery, and on the day of the opening, the corridor was packed with reporters.
The door was carefully taken down and Goneim peered in. Everyone was shocked. The burial chamber was virtually empty! There were no treasures as in Tutankhamen’s tomb—no furniture, no boxes with clothing, no statues or vases, just a translucent alabaster sarcophagus. Once the disappointment subsided, everyone’s attention turned to the sarcophagus. It was still sealed and on the lid were plant remains, perhaps incense used in a burial ritual. The sarcophagus had obviously not been touched since it was placed beneath the pyramid more than 4,500 years ago, so once again spirits rose. The intact mummy of an Old Kingdom pharaoh was still a fabulous discovery. It took several hours of hard work to open the sarcophagus, as its five-ton sliding side panel had to be lifted. Again Goneim peered in; again disappointment. The sarcophagus was empty; it had never been used. Where was Horus-Sekhem-Khet? The pyramid was a decoy, intended to throw thieves off the trail of the pharaoh’s true burial. If this is correct, it may explain why the pyramid was never plundered. Robbers frequently obtained inside information from tomb builders. If they did in this case, they would have known the unfinished pyramid of Horus-Sekhem-Khet was a dud, not worthy of robbing .
