Old Kingdom Overview
- Neolithic Period: 4500-3000 BCE
- Early Dynastic: 3000-2650 BCE
- Old Kingdom: 2650-2150 BCE
- 1st Intermediate Period: 2150-2040 BCE
- Middle Kingdom: 2040-1640 BCE
- 2nd Intermediate Period: 1640-1550 BCE
- New Kingdom: 1550-1070 BCE
- 3rd Intermediate Period: 1070-712 BCE
- Saite and Late Periods: 712-332 BCE
- Greco-Roman Period: 332 BCE-642 CE
- Coptic Period: 395-642 CE
- Islamic Period and Modern Times: 642 CE-Today
Purchase Tickets
Support Your Museum- Neolithic Period: 4500-3000 BCE
- Early Dynastic: 3000-2650 BCE
- Old Kingdom: 2650-2150 BCE
- 1st Intermediate Period: 2150-2040 BCE
- Middle Kingdom: 2040-1640 BCE
- 2nd Intermediate Period: 1640-1550 BCE
- New Kingdom: 1550-1070 BCE
- 3rd Intermediate Period: 1070-712 BCE
- Saite and Late Periods: 712-332 BCE
- Greco-Roman Period: 332 BCE-642 CE
- Coptic Period: 395-642 CE
- Islamic Period and Modern Times: 642 CE-Today
The Old Kingdom
2650 BCE – 2150 BCE
During the Old Kingdom (also called the Pyramid Age) the power of the Egyptian monarchy reached its zenith. The king was powerful enough to mobilize a significant percentage of the population to move to Giza during the farming off-season and help to build a pyramid.
These public works projects helped foster a sense of national identity among men and women who lived up to thousands of miles away from each other.
Following the might of the Old Kingdom, the Egyptians were one people, united and proud. Although the nation sometimes divided in strife, it always reunited eventually.
In the Third Dynasty, King Djoser (also spelled Zoser) had his vizier and architect, Imhotep, design a massive stepped monument: the Step Pyramid.
Architects: Hemiunu and Imhotep.
Monuments: Abu Ghurab, Pyramids of Giza, Sphinx, and Step Pyramid.
Artifacts from the Old Kingdom Period
The Old Kingdom Overview Video
