Editing Djoser (section)

== Identity ==
[[File:Abydos KL 03-02 n16.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|Cartouche name '''...djeser-sah''' in the king list of Abydos. Note the upper part of the [[cartouche]], which shows signs of erased hieroglyphs.]]
The painted [[limestone]] statue of Djoser, now in the [[Egyptian Museum]] in [[Cairo]], is the oldest known life-sized Egyptian statue.{{sfn|Berrett|1996|p=265}} Today, at the site in [[Saqqara]] where it was found, a plaster copy of it stands in place of the original. The statue was discovered during the [[Supreme Council of Antiquities|Antiquities Service]] Excavations of 1924–1925.

In contemporary inscriptions, he is called by his [[Horus name]] ''Netjerikhet'', meaning "divine of body". Later sources, which include a [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] reference to his construction, help confirm that Netjerikhet and Djoser are the same person.

While Manetho names ''Necherophes'' and the Turin King List names [[Nebka]] as the first ruler of the Third Dynasty, many [[Egyptologist]]s now believe Djoser was first king of this [[dynasty]], pointing out that the order in which some predecessors of [[Khufu (pharaoh)|Khufu]] are mentioned in the [[Westcar Papyrus]] suggests Nebka should be placed between Djoser and [[Huni]], not before Djoser. More significantly, the English Egyptologist [[Toby Wilkinson]] has demonstrated that burial seals found at the entrance to [[Khasekhemwy]]'s tomb in [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]] name only Djoser, rather than Nebka. This supports the view that it was Djoser who buried and, hence, directly succeeded Khasekhemwy, rather than Nebka.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2001|pp=83 & 95}}