The Oldest Building in Africa

You will see that nearly everything in this list is a pyramid. This is merely since almost all of the most ancient structures in Africa which are total enough to categorize as “buildings” were constructed as tombs in ancient Egypt.

1. Pyramid of Djoser, Egypt (2667–2648 BC)
Pyramid of Djoser – image credit to: Dennis Jarvis – CC BY-SA 2.0 The Pyramid of Djoser is a step pyramid, which can be contrasted with the smooth-sided pyramids developed later. Each step is referred to as a “mastaba,” which translates to “house of etern
1 / 1

1. 1. Pyramid of Djoser, Egypt (2667–2648 BC)

The oldest building still standing in Africa is the original Egyptian pyramid, the Pyramid of Djoser. Its design was conceived by the engineer Imhotep, who was also a physician and architect (and amazingly enough, a commoner, later considered a god after he was deified two thousand years after his death).