The Third Dynasty

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Some argue that King Djoser was not the first ruler of the Third Dynasty , although the archaeological evidence and the King Lists tend to suggest that he was the dynasty's founder . On the other hand , there are other reasonable grounds that suggest that the first Third Dynasty King had actually been Nebka .

Manetho tells of a priest of Nebka's mortuary cult , who had lived in Djoser Reign . Nebka and Djoser would have reigned simultaneously . Their parentage , however , is not documented , though it is possible that Djoser might have been either the brother or the son of Nebka .

According to some King Lists , however , Djoser was preceded by a king called Sankhet . Sankhet appears to have possessed large brick mastaba and to have been closely associated with Djoser at Beit-Khallaf in Upper Egypt .

Lauer indicated that Sankhet died young and that the mastaba– by adding another layer or more to which , a Step Pyramid was developed – was originally erected for him . Yet , another Third-Dynasty-type pyramid was discovered by Barsanti in 1900 at Zawiyt el-Aryan (midway between Giza and Abusir or few miles south of Giza) , and it is known as the Layer Pyramid . This pyramid had been attributed to a king called Kha-ba whose name was found inscribed on stony vessels in the vicinity .