Unit 10: What can we find out about ancient Egypt from what has survived?

Unit 10: What can we find out about

ancient Egypt from what has survived?

History

Unit 10: What can we find out about ancient Egypt from what has survived?

1500

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BC AD

1666: The Great Fire of London

55 BC - 400 AD: Roman Britain

3500

2000

790-1060s:

The Viking Age

3100 BC – 1069 BC: Ancient Egypt

History


What do we already know about ancient Egypt?

Egypt is a country in North Africa. Click on the map to have a closer look.

Egypt

History


What can we learn about ancient Egypt from one object?

Choose an object or a picture of an object to study. What things do you need to think about?

What is it made of?

What colour is it?How big is it?

What do you think itwas used for?

Where was it found?

What shape is it?

History


What does the landscape tell us about what life might have been like in Ancient Egypt?

What features can you see that

would make life easy?What features can you see

that would make life difficult?

History


What objects survive from the time of the ancient Egyptians?

Here are some objects found in Egyptian tombs

headrestplayingpieces

mirror

amulet necklacemake-upcontainer

statue

History


What do objects that have survived tell us about ancient Egypt?

This statue is called a Shabti. The Egyptians put them in tombs. They believed the Shabtis would help the dead person on their journey to the afterlife.

The Egyptians loved jewellery. This necklace is made from clay beads. Richer people would have jewellery made from bronze, silver or gold.

The Egyptians used mirrors which were made of bronze. The bronze was hammered flat and then polished to make it reflective.

These playing pieces are from a board game called Senet which was played by Egyptians.

History


What do objects that have survived tell us about ancient Egypt?

Amulets were small carvings which represented various gods. This one represents Horus. Egyptians believed that the amulets would protect them against evil spirits.

This is an Egyptian make-up pot. Both men and women wore lots of make-up. As well as decorating their face, it would also protect their skin from the sun.

This is a wooden head-rest. It would usually have a cloth pad on the top to make it more comfortable. These were used instead of pillows.

History


What did the ancient Egyptians believe about life after death?

The Egyptians believed that after death, if you had been a good person, you went to another place and continued your life.

This is why it was important that when a person died, all his belongings were buried with him, so he could use them in the afterlife.

Egyptians also believed that the person’s body should be preserved, as they would need it in the afterlife.

Bodies were preserved by mummification, which means making the body into a mummy.

They were then buried in tombs, along with money, food, clothes, belongings, and all the other things the person would need in the next life.

History


What was mummification?

The body was then wrapped in

bandages to create a mummy

Their lungs, liver, stomach and intestines were placed in special

jars.

After a person had died, their body was cleaned, and then special balm was rubbed all over it.

Sometimes a mask was

placed over the head of the

mummy

History


What was mummification?

The mummy was then put into a coffin called

a sarcophagus. This would often have a

mask painted on the outside

The sarcophagus, along with the dead person’s belongings,

was sealed up inside a tomb.

The most important Egyptians, the

pharoahs, were buried in huge stone

pyramids, some of which are still standing

today.

History


The Egyptians believed that after they died, the god of the underworld, Anubis, represented with the head of a jackal, weighed their heart against a feather of truth.

Thoth, the god of wisdom with the head of an ibis would write down the result of the weighing.

History


If the person’s heart was heavier than the feather, this meant that it was weighed down with all the evil the person had done in their life. The heart would be gobbled up by Ammit, the god with the crocodile’s head and hippo’s legs

If the person’s heart was lighter than the feather, this meant that they had lived a good life. They would then be led by Horus, the falcon-headed god of the sky, to join the afterlife.

Documents

Unit 10: What can we find out about ancient Egypt from what has survived?