View of Saqqara
The Western Desert, the place where the sun went down each day, was the traditional burial place for the dead. Here at Saqqara is one of the great burial grounds for Old Kingdom officials and kings. In the background is the step pyramid of King Djoser (ca. 2630-2611 B.C.) The Tomb of Perneb was constructed at this site.

Statuette of the god Anubis
Anubis was the god of embalming and protector of mummies in the potentially dangerous transition between death and rebirth in the afterlife. He was often portrayed as a human with the head of a jackal and sometimes entirely as a jackal, In ancient times the habitat of jackals included the desert places where the Egyptians buried their dead. Probably for this reason the Egyptians came to believe that Anubis was the guardian of the dead.