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C HAPTER 2
ANCIENT EGYPT
MAKING MUMMIES
Death was an important event
for the ancient Egyptians. It
marked the start of the soul’s
quest for the prized afterlife. To
sustain it on its long journey, the
soul needed to rest and to eat
and drink. So, it had to have a
body.
By about 2600 BC, a process
called mummification was
developed. At first only
members of the royal family
were mummified, but the
practice quickly spread. It
involved preserving a corpse
before wrapping it securely in
linen bandages.
The mummy shown here is of
the pharaoh Ramses II, who ruled
Egypt between 1304 and 1237 BC.
He was one of Egypt’s strongest
pharaohs.
Some mummies were buried in a
pyramid, such as these at Giza, along
with their treasure.
YOU WILL DISCOVER
Why
Why the
the ancient
ancient Egyptians
Egyptians made
made mummies
mummies
How
How the
the different
different social
social groups
groups lived
lived and
and worked
worked
Why
Why the
the pharaoh
pharaoh was
was such
such as
as important
important figure
figure
Why
Why the
the Egyptians
Egyptians built
built the
the pyramids
pyramids
What
What practices
practices and
and beliefs
beliefs the
the modern
modern world
world has
has inherited
inherited
from
the
ancient
Egyptians
from the ancient Egyptians
1 How old do you think Ramses II
was when he was mummified?
Give reasons.
2 Suggest why his nose is
damaged and his eyes are
shut.
3 What do discoveries like this
tell us about the beliefs of the
ancient Egyptians?
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ANCIENT EGYPT 02 Page 28 Monday, August 5, 2002 4:59 PM
14 JULY, 1202 BC
WEATHER: THEBES, HOT 40°C
Heatwave fries the desert
The heatwave that has rocked Lower
Egypt for over a week will continue for
at least the next three days. Although
yesterday’s peak of 44°C is not likely
to be repeated, temperatures around the
Nile will be well above 35°C. Temperatures in the desert country to the east
◗
◗
◗
◗
◗
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and west of the river will stay much
higher. Reports indicate that people are
coping well. After all, they have spent
their lives learning to live in this hot,
dry climate. Houses are built to reduce
heat and glare, and people dress and act
in ways to keep cool.
Swim in the Nile, or rest in the shade of the trees and palms on its banks. This
costs you nothing. It’s a great option for those who don’t have bathrooms.
If you live in a villa, spend as much time as you can outdoors, under palm
trees or in the shade of verandahs or roof canopies.
Sleep on the roof of your house at night.
If you have servants, order them to sway large ostrich-feather or woven-reed
fans over you to keep the air circulating.
If you are wealthy enough to have a bathroom, take frequent baths or
showers. To take a shower, get your servants to pour cold water over you
while you stand over the bathroom drain. After showering, rub perfumed oil
into your skin to protect you from the sun.
For special occasions, sit a perfumed cone of fat on top of your head. As it
melts, the fragrant oil will cool your skin. As you can see from this tomb
painting, the practice has been common for 200 years!
This painting, found in the tomb of the pharaoh Nabamun, who died around
1400 BC, shows women celebrating — their heads adorned with cones of fat.
Heat-beating
fashions
Egyptian people know all the tricks
about keeping cool. Most wear
clothes made of white linen, a natural
fabric made from the flax plant.
Sometimes the linen is so thin it is
see-through. Children often wear
nothing at all. Except for elaborate
necklaces, men are usually barechested. Workmen and slaves wear
loincloths; wealthier men tend to
wear a pleated skirt over a short kilt.
Women wear straight, long dresses
that are sometimes pleated. Most
people go barefoot. Sandals, if worn,
are made from woven papyrus or, for
those who are wealthy, leather.
Young girls keep hair off their face
by braiding it. Young boys under 12
shave their hair except for one tuft on
the side of the head. Most adults keep
their hair short, with many men
shaving their head and face. This is
certainly a cool fashion statement. For
special occasions, and sometimes as
sun protection, people wear elaborate
wigs made of human hair or wool.
These are stuck together with
beeswax and often decorated with colourful jewellery.
Everyone,
including
children,
wears make-up. This goes some way
towards reducing the sun’s glare on
the skin. Palms and soles are often
painted with henna, and people pluck
their eyebrows. Substances like
cinnamon are used to perfume the oils
and fats worn to protect the skin
against heat and dry winds.
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ANCIENT EGYPT 02 Page 29 Monday, August 5, 2002 4:59 PM
Servant’s quarters
Kitchen
Storeroom/
granary
Stables
Well
Family
temple
Central
living
area
S
Cattle yards
U
A L / PAT
S
UNDERSTAND
1 Describe how the ancient
Egyptians dressed and wore
their hair, and explain why
these styles were appropriate
for a hot, dry climate.
2 Historians believe this object is
a headrest used by ancient
Egyptians.
Verandah
with roof
for shade
Bathroom/
toilet
Women’s
area
Entrance
hall
Bedrooms
Entry gate
Master
bedroom
High protective wall
Villas of the wealthy, such as this one, often contain 60 rooms or more.
This impressive villa was completed
last month for the influential nomarch
Sahu. In keeping with common housebuilding practices in Egypt, it was built
from sun-dried bricks made of mud
and chopped straw. The exterior was
painted white to reflect the heat. The
flat roof has air vents to allow air to circulate inside, and thick walls provide
good insulation. Windows are small
and set high up in the walls to keep out
the glare.
Like the villas of many wealthy
families, it has colourful ceilings, and
nature paintings on the walls. Floor
levels are raised to keep out scorpions and snakes, and most floors
have been tiled. Some are covered
with linen carpets. Rooms contain
beds, tables, chairs, stools and chests,
many of which have been carved
from beautiful woods such as ebony.
Word has it that Sahu and his family
are delighted with the house.
Villas like these stand in sharp
contrast to the homes of poor local
farmers that scatter the outlying areas
of the city. Their homes are usually
little more than one room built on an
earth floor. Poor people also have virtually no furniture.
THEBES MARKET
Specials!
For beautiful eyes . . .
Pots of powdered lead kohl,
freshly mixed with oil —
one pot for one small bag of wheat
Green eyeshadow made from
copper, and lipstick from red clay
— one pot for a loaf of corn bread
(a) Explain why people might
have used such a device,
especially on hot nights.
(b) Design a practical device that
would help to give you a
more comfortable sleep on
hot nights. (Assume you do
not have air-conditioning.)
INVESTIGATE
Interpret an artwork (p. 63)
3 Examine the illustration of a
villa on the left to decide:
(a) what aspects of the house
design would have helped
the inhabitants cope better
with the heat, and why
(b) how the layout of this villa
compares with the home and
property of a wealthy
Australian family living on
the rural outskirts of a city,
in a hot region.
CREATE
4 Work in small groups to make
an ‘Egyptian wig’. Select a
member to model the wig for
the class. Discuss as a class
how effective such a device
might have been as a sun shade
and in keeping cool.
I can:
✓checklist
Bedroom
identify links between climate and
lifestyle in ancient Egypt
analyse an illustration to reach
conclusions about lifestyle
work in a group to construct a wig
typical of those in ancient Egypt.
© John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd
IA
VI
Sahu’s new villa completed
Gardens
L
Go to worksheet 6
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ANCIENT EGYPT 03 Page 30 Monday, August 5, 2002 5:00 PM
Women in ancient Egypt
W
EGYPT did not have all the rights men had. For example,
they could not hold a government job, because they were usually not taught to
read or write. However, they had more freedom than women in other ancient societies.
In fact some, such as Hatshepsut, Nefertiti and Cleopatra, became very powerful.
OMEN IN ANCIENT
Rights and privileges
Wealthy women
After about 1500 BC, wealthier
women in ancient Egypt could own
and sell property, earn an income,
work as part-time priestesses, defend
themselves in court, and decide to
marry or divorce. They decided who
would inherit their belongings, and
had custody of any children if there
was a divorce. By contrast, women
in ancient Greece — even wealthy
women — had very little freedom.
They lived most of their lives
indoors and were regarded as the
property of their menfolk.
Wives and daughters of pharaohs led a privileged life. The
eldest daughter was often made a
high priestess and like other firstborn daughters of Egyptian
nobles, she, not her brothers,
inherited her father’s wealth. The
male next in line to be pharaoh
often had to marry her before he
could be crowned pharaoh. Sometimes this was her little brother.
Poor women
Besides caring for their families,
poor women helped their men in
the fields, carried water in pots
from wells or rivers to their homes,
and made bread or beer (both a
major part of the diet of ancient
Egyptians). They might also work
as servants, temple dancers, midwives, perfume makers, musicians,
weavers and professional mourners
(people who were ‘hired’ to weep
and wail during the funeral procession of an ancient Egyptian).
The ancient writer
Herodotus
thought Egyptian
women were unusual compared to what
he knew of women in other societies
such as Greece.
. . . the Egyptians themselves in
their manners and customs seem
to have reversed the ordinary
practices
of
mankind.
For
instance, women attend the
market and are employed in trade
while men stay at home and do
the weaving . . . men in Egypt
carry loads on their heads, women
on their shoulders; women pass
water standing up, men sitting
down . . . sons are under no compulsion to support their parents if
they do not wish to do so, but
daughters must.
Two famous Egyptian
women
Nefertiti
Nefertiti was the main wife of the
pharaoh Akhenaten, who ruled
Egypt between 1379 BC and
1362 BC. She was elegant and
beautiful, with a lot of political
influence. Images and carvings
show her supporting her husband at
religious ceremonies and giving
gifts to officials. Some show her in
a war chariot holding a mace (a
weapon shaped like a club). It is not
known what happened to her. She
may have died, changed her name
or been replaced by another wife.
Wives and mothers
Egyptian women were expected to
marry and have a family. Most
girls were married in their early
teens, and were mothers within a
couple of years. Records indicate
that family life was generally
happy, with children being both
loved and cared for.
Marriage ceremonies were not a
special event; in fact, the language
of ancient Egypt does not have a
word for ‘wedding’. Between
wealthy families in particular,
marriages were usually little more
than a business arrangement.
Pharaohs, for example, often
married their sisters. Sometimes
wealthy men had many wives,
although it was always the first
wife and her children who had
the highest status.
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© John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd
Nefertiti’s blue
crown, similar to
those worn only
by pharaohs, she
was a woman of
influence.
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ANCIENT EGYPT 03 Page 31 Monday, August 5, 2002 5:00 PM
Cleopatra
Cleopatra ruled Egypt as queen
between 51 BC and 30 BC. She
was the last of the Ptolemies, who
had ruled Egypt since 332 BC
when Alexander the Great established control in Egypt.
Cleopatra was very smart. She
knew how powerful Rome was,
and was determined that Egypt
should stay independent. Her
strategy was first to make herself
sole ruler. (When her father died,
she ruled Egypt jointly with a
young brother.) Then, she had to
get powerful Roman men on side.
So when Julius Caesar came to
Egypt in 48 BC, she persuaded
him to help her overthrow the
forces of her rival brother. She
travelled to Rome with Caesar two
years later, returning to Egypt after
his assassination in 44 BC.
With Caesar dead, Cleopatra
turned her charms on Mark
Antony, Caesar’s likely successor.
She married him in 37 BC. This
made the Roman Senate very
angry and they declared war
against Egypt in 31 BC. Octavian,
Antony’s rival for power, won the
sea battle and Antony fled, later
killing himself. Cleopatra knew
Octavian would not fall for her
charms, so in 30 BC she also committed suicide. After her death,
Egypt became a Roman province,
remaining under Roman control
until AD 642.
Cleopatra testing poisons on prisoners who had
been condemned to death
UNDERSTAND
3 Describe some of the customs
involving women that would
have surprised Herodotus in
Egypt.
4 Write a job description for a
professional mourner. Describe
INVESTIGATE
Construct a timeline (p. 35)
8 What does source C tell you
about (a) women’s dress styles
and (b) furniture styles in
ancient Egypt?
9 What impression does the scene
give you of Cleopatra’s character?
10 What is Cleopatra’s pet, and
where might it have come from?
5 Construct a timeline of the key
events in Cleopatra’s life.
COMMUNICATE
6 Imagine you found the bust of
Nefertiti shown in source B.
Write a letter to your family
describing your find.
7 Conduct some research in the
library or on the Internet to
prepare a profile on Queen
Hatshepsut, similar to those on
Nefertiti and Cleopatra here.
Interpret an artwork (p. 63)
I can:
✓checklist
REMEMBER
1 List some of the jobs done by
poorer Egyptian women.
2 Explain why Egyptian women
were better off than the women
of ancient Greece.
the duties, and the sort of
person who should apply.
use a variety of sources to explain
some of the customs of women in
ancient Egypt
use paintings and sculptures to identify
aspects such as clothing and grooming
construct a timeline for Cleopatra.
31
ANCIENT EGYPT
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Pharaoh rules!
T
HE WEALTHIEST,
most powerful person in ancient Egypt was
the pharaoh. He had the support of an army and a team of
priests, scribes and officials, but the pharaoh alone decided how
Egypt would be ruled. In fact, the people saw him as a god.
Two into one
Ancient Egypt was once divided
into two kingdoms — Upper
Egypt and Lower Egypt. Each was
ruled by a king. The king of Lower
Egypt had his capital in Buto, and
the king of Upper Egypt, in Hierakonpolis. Around 3100 BC, it is
thought that these kingdoms were
united under King Menes. He set
up his capital in Memphis.
During these three kingdoms,
Egypt’s rulers (eventually called
pharaohs) came from some 30 dynasties. When a pharaoh died, his
eldest son became the next pharaoh,
unless a man from another family
seized control and started a new
dynasty. Sometimes the pharaoh’s
wife or eldest daughter ruled for a
short time if the eldest son was very
young.
Heavenly powers
The ancient Egyptians saw their
pharaoh as a man with supernatural
powers. He was believed to descend
from the sun god Re, and to have
the sky god, Horus, living within
him.
Egyptians believed that the laws
the pharaoh made applied to the
whole universe. They believed he
made the Nile River flood, and
helped the land to produce good
harvests. As a mark of respect, they
did not call him by his name.
Rather, they used the word
‘pharaoh’, which in ancient Egyptian means ‘great house’.
The king of Lower
Egypt wore a white
crown, and the
king of Upper
Egypt, a red crown.
Menes’s crown was
said to be a mix of
both, signifying a
united Egypt.
Earthly responsibilities
Rise of the pharaohs
During the next 2700 years, Egypt’s
history is divided into a number of
distinct periods. Three of the more
important of these — times when
Egypt was united and powerful,
with a rich culture — are called the
Old Kingdom, the Middle
Kingdom and the New Kingdom.
The people of ancient Egypt
expected their pharaoh to protect
and feed them, and to maintain a
fair justice system and a peaceful
society. He drew up the laws of the
land and controlled the government and the army. He was also in
charge of temple building, tax collection, mines, irrigation, trade,
important religious ceremonies
and the appointment of officials
and priests.
The power of the pharaoh
was evident in his appearance.
For example, he often wore a false
beard and a bull’s tail, and carried a flail
(the symbol of Osiris) and a crook (the
hieroglyphic sign for a crook meant
‘king’).
His huge wealth came from the
labour and produce that the people
provided as their taxes. Thousands
of ordinary people worked the huge
farms he owned, or helped in the
running of his palace. There they
worked as cooks, cleaners, dancers,
stable workers, craftsmen, weavers
and wig-makers.
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Social structures in ancient Egypt
Construct a timeline
Army
• Commanded by pharaoh
(later his eldest son)
• Run by senior officials
• Kept law and order, guarded
towns, built royal tombs
Timelines depict the order of
historic events in a diagram.
Public service
senior officials
• Ran the courts,
royal
storehouses
• Some, called
nomarchs,
responsible for
tax collection
and law and
order
• Under control
of vizier (senior
public servant
and pharaoh’s
second-incharge)
PHARAOH
NOBLES
Divide a column
into equal sections.
Check your earliest
and latest dates to
work out what
these sections
should be. Use BC
and AD (or BCE or
CE) as appropriate.
Use colouring,
brackets or shading
to mark any
important periods
on your timeline.
Where appropriate,
include a key.
PEASANTS AND SLAVES
Public service junior officials
• Helped senior officials
manage affairs
• Some formed the medjay (or
police unit) which helped the
army keep law and order,
guard tombs and protect
Egypt against bandit attack
Add a break to
show a long span
of time between
one date and
another.
Pharaohs lose power to strong priests,
officials and foreigners, and New
Kingdom ends (c.1085)
UNDERSTAND
1 Describe some of the duties of a
scribe and why these made him
so important.
2 Design a job advertisement for a
pharaoh, clearly stating what the
expected responsibilities are
(earthly and otherwise).
Construct a timeline
3 Use the following information
to construct a timeline of key
dates for the New Kingdom of
ancient Egypt. All dates are BC
(or BCE).
Ptolemy I sets himself up as the first of
the Ptolemies (305)
Queen Hatshepsut becomes pharaoh
(c.1503)
BC
BC
3000
2500
Plot key dates, and
add corresponding
brief descriptions
of events.
MERCHANTS AND CRAFTSMEN
Scribes
• Could read and write
hieroglyphics
• Recorded pharaoh’s
orders, decisions of
officials, tax owed and
paid
• Prepared inscriptions in
tombs and wrote letters
Old and Middle
Kingdoms in
ancient Egypt
Hyksos invaders driven out and New
Kingdom starts (c.1567)
Queen Cleopatra suicides and Egypt
becomes a Roman province (30).
Tutankhamen begins his reign (c.1361)
Syrians invade Egypt (663)
Alexander the Great invades Egypt (332)
COMMUNICATE
4 Look carefully at the man
illustrated in source B. What
clues tell you this man is a
pharaoh? Explain why these
items were significant.
5 Use source C to help you decide
who you would like to have been
if you had lived in ancient Egypt.
Describe in a paragraph why that
role appeals to you.
2000
c.3100 — King Menes unites
Egypt
c.2686 — Old Kingdom starts:
time of peace when pyramids
built
c.2500 — Sphinx built
c.2181 — End of Old Kingdom:
pharaohs lose control to
officials
c.2040 — Middle Kingdom
starts: capital shifts to Thebes
c.1786 — Middle Kingdom
ends with invasion by the
Hyksos
1500
1000
Old Kingdom
Middle Kingdom
CREATE
6 The crown worn by King Menes
was a symbol of a united Egypt.
Design what you think would
be the most appropriate head
gear for our Prime Minister to
wear to symbolise unity
between Aboriginal and other
Australians.
CONNECT
7 To find out more about a
famous pharaoh, go to
www.jaconline.com.au/history/
ancient/index.html and click on
the Ramses the Great Project
Sheet under Ancient Egypt.
I can:
✓checklist
Priests
• Looked after religious
ceremonies, care of
temples, sacrifices and
burial of the dead
describe the duties of a scribe in
ancient Egypt
describe the responsibilities of the
pharaoh
construct a timeline of key events
during the New Kingdom.
35
ANCIENT EGYPT
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ANCIENT EGYPT 07 Page 38 Monday, August 5, 2002 5:07 PM
Gods and the afterlife
D
very important event for ancient Egyptians. It connected life on
Earth with life ever after, so a lot of effort was spent preparing for it. This focus on
death has been very valuable for historians, because most of what we know about
ancient Egypt comes from what has been found in tombs. Many of the deities of
ancient Egypt, whether good or bad, played a role in a person’s journey to the afterlife.
EATH WAS A
If a heart was
found to be ‘as
light as a feather’, its owner joined the
god Osiris in the afterlife. If heavy, it
was chewed up by a monster god that
was a cross between a lion or cheetah, a
hippopotamus and a crocodile.
Death — only the
beginning
The ancient Egyptians believed
the next world was a fantastic
place. However, it was a long way
away, and reaching it was not
easy. First, the dead person had to
cross a wide river. Then he or she
had to chant secret spells to get
through seven gates guarded by
fierce monsters, all the while
looking out for traps set by evil
gods and attacks by savage crocodiles and venomous snakes. Then
the dead person’s heart was
weighed on scales against a
feather to see if it was ‘heavy with
sin’. Forty-two judges decided the
outcome.
Preparing for the journey of
the soul
The ancient Egyptians believed that
a dead person had a number of
souls. Two of these were the ka and
the ba. The ka, or person’s life force,
stayed within the tomb, getting
strength from the food and drink
left there. The ba, or person’s character, set off on its journey towards
the afterlife, returning to the tomb
to rest each night. To do these
things, the soul needed a body. So
dead people’s bodies were carefully
preserved, or embalmed, so they
did not rot. An embalmed body is
called a mummy.
Mummies were buried with lots
of possessions that the person’s soul
might need in the afterlife. They
included food and drink, clothing,
perfume, furniture, jewellery and
special charms called amulets.
Sometimes small wooden or stone
figures representing servants doing
things such as making bread,
ploughing a field or sailing a ship
were placed in tombs. As well,
prayers, hymns and magic spells
from the 200 such texts in the Book
of the Dead were often written on a
scroll of papyrus and buried with
the mummy or carved in hieroglyphics on the walls of the tomb.
These texts were thought to protect
the soul from evil and guide it
through the afterlife.
The figurines
were thought to
come to life in
the tomb and carry out the wishes of the
dead person.
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The gods of the ancient
Egyptians
There were many deities in ancient
Egypt, each looking after some particular area of people’s lives. For
example, the god Hopi was responsible for the Nile River. Some gods
were portrayed as humans and some
as animals. Others were a mixture
of both — usually animal heads on
human bodies.
Herodotus
observed how
important cats
were to the ancient Egyptians. They were
thought to protect people’s homes. It is no
wonder they were chosen as one of the
animals to be associated with a god.
What happens when a house
catches fire is most extraordinary: nobody takes the least
trouble to put it out, for it is
only the cats that matter;
everyone stands in a row, a little
distance from his neighbour,
trying to protect the cats, who
nevertheless slip through the
line, or jump over it, and hurl
themselves into the
flames. This causes
the Egyptians
deep distress.
All the inmates
of a house
where a cat
has died a
natural death
shave their
eyebrows . . .
Name
of god
Responsibility
Associated animal or
symbol
Re
God of creation; god of the sun
The sun
Osiris
God of the dead; god of the afterlife; a
judge in the underworld
Pharaoh mummy
Seth
God of confusion and chaos
Hippopotamus
Isis
Mother goddess; goddess of fertility;
wife of Osiris
Woman wearing a throne as a
crown
Horus
God of the sky; guardian of the pharaoh Falcon
Thoth
God of the scribes; god of wisdom
and knowledge; god of time
Man having the head of an ibis
Anubis
God of embalming; god of tombs and
burials
Man having the head of a jackal
Hathor
Goddess of beauty and love; goddess
of the sky
Woman with cow horns on her
head
AT
U
N
After a dead person’s body was
mummified, a funeral ceremony
was held. The body was carried in
a boat across the Nile and buried
on the western bank, where the
sun set. This was the direction in
which the next world was believed
to lie. Important people such as
pharaohs were buried in elaborate
underground tombs consisting of
many rooms and tunnels. Poorer
people were buried in the hot, dry
sands to help preserve their bodies.
R A LI
REMEMBER
1 What does embalming mean?
2 Which Egyptian deity was
associated with each of the
following animals: jackal,
hippopotamus, ibis, falcon
and cow?
CREATE
3 Look carefully at source B.
(a) What do you think these
‘servants’ are doing?
(b) Using plasticine or clay,
make your own set of
figurines suitable for a
pharaoh’s tomb. Display
your completed models
around the classroom.
4 Draw your own version of a
monster Egyptian god.
PARTICIPATE
Interpret a painting (p. 63)
5 Study source A carefully.
Discuss the following as a
class.
(a) Who is the heart-gobbling
monster? Why do you
think he looks so ugly?
(b) Who are the figures along
the top of the picture?
(c) Where is the god Osiris?
What do you think his role
is in this procedure?
(d) Will the soul who owned
this heart be joining Osiris
in the afterlife?
(e) Which figures do you
think might be the god
Anubis, the god Thoth and
the god Horus? What do
you think each god is
doing?
CONNECT
6 Conduct some Internet
research on the role of cats in
ancient Egypt. Be prepared to
present a two-minute talk to
the class on your findings.
Osiris
Horus
Hathor
Thoth
✓checklist
I can:
Anubis
describe some of the religious
practices of ancient Egypt
interpret a painting to discuss
beliefs of ancient Egyptians
present a short talk on why cats
were important in ancient Egypt.
39
ANCIENT EGYPT
© John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd
T
Go to
worksheet 8
S
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ANCIENT EGYPT 10 Page 44 Monday, August 5, 2002 5:09 PM
Tutankhamen revealed
T
HE DISCOVERY OF the tomb of Tutankhamen was the key archaeological find of the
twentieth century — but not because of the man or the size of his tomb.
Tutankhamen was still a teenager when he died, and the tomb had only four chambers.
It was important because its contents were untouched. More than 5000 objects were
found, some of them priceless. We can only imagine what might have been found in the
large tombs of more famous pharaohs if they had not been robbed.
An archaeologist’s dream
In 1922 the British archaeologist Howard Carter found the tomb of
Tutankhamen. He had looked for it for years in the Valley of the Kings
without success. Then he decided to dig up an area around some old
workers’ huts. To his excitement, a step was uncovered, carved into the
rock. More digging revealed the sealed entrance to a passageway that
carried the seal of Tutankhamen. Yet more digging to remove the tonnes
of rubble in the passageway revealed the stone door to the tomb.
A hole was cut in the door and Carter inserted a lit candle into the
darkness behind. He later said: ‘At first I could see nothing . . . But presently, as my eyes grew accustomed to the light, details of the room
emerged slowly from the mist, strange animals, statues and gold —
everywhere the glint of gold.’
The antechamber, the first chamber Carter
entered, contained about 700 pieces of
furniture including stools, beds and gold
couches with animal heads, chairs, a chariot
(in bits) and two black and gold life-size
statues either side of the entrance. There were
also jars of oil, lamps, vases, musical
instruments, board games
and clothing.
This side chamber contained about
600 items, including pieces of
wooden furniture, baskets
of food, jars of wine
and oil.
About 200 000
tonnes of rubble had
to be removed from
this passageway to
reach Tutankhamen’s
tomb.
44
SOSE ALIVE 1
© John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd
The face and shoulders
of Tutankhamen’s
mummy were covered
with a mask of solid gold.
It was decorated with blue
glass and semi-precious
stones such as turquoise
and lapis lazuli.
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ANCIENT EGYPT 10 Page 45 Monday, August 5, 2002 5:09 PM
The boy-pharaoh Tutankhamen
Tutankhamen became pharaoh in 1361 BC when about 9 years old. He
was soon married to a daughter of the previous pharaoh Akhenaten.
Akhenaten had caused unrest in Egypt by forcing people to worship
only one god, the sun disk god Aten.
Translated inscription Tutankhamen had carved into a
stone column
I found the temples fallen into ruin, with their holy places overthrown and
their courts overgrown with weeds. I reconstructed their sanctuaries, I
endowed the temples and made them gifts of all precious things. I cast
statues of the gods in gold and electrum, decorated with lapis lazuli and all
fine stones.
Tutankhamen died in 1352 BC when he was about 18, leaving no
heir. It is not known why he died.
The discovery of
Tutankhamen’s tomb
was described in the
Illustrated London News of
9 December 1922 as ‘the most
sensational Egyptological
discovery of the century’.
Inside the gold-covered burial chamber,
some five metres long and 3.5 metres wide,
were three other decorated chambers, each
inside the other. The inner one was a stone
sarcophagus, carved with Tutankhamen’s
name. Inside this were three elaborately
decorated body-shaped coffins. The inner
one, made of 1100 kilograms of gold,
contained Tutankhamen’s mummy.
The treasury chamber contained the pharaoh’s treasures. In
it was the gold-lined shrine holding the Canopic jars.
Inside these jars were the pharaoh’s
mummified internal organs. The chamber
also contained gold statues including
one of the god Anubis (who
guarded the treasures), as
well as boats, weapons, a
golden throne and
chests of
jewellery.
REMEMBER
1 Why was the discovery of
Tutankhamen’s tomb such a
rare find?
2 What was Tutankhamen’s
main achievement during his
short reign and what were
some of the things he did to
achieve this?
UNDERSTAND
3 Write a letter that Howard
Carter might have written
home to his family in England
the day after he saw the
contents of Tutankhamen’s
tomb by candlelight.
INVESTIGATE
Interpret an artwork (p. 63)
4 Study source A carefully and
complete the following.
(a) List some of the more
important objects found in
each of the four rooms of
Tutankhamen’s tomb.
(b) Why do you think the
objects in the antechamber
and side chamber were so
jumbled up?
(c) Who do you think the two
statues at the door to the
burial chamber are, and
what is their purpose?
(d) How many different types
of objects can you
identify? Suggest what
might have been packed
into boxes, chests and
bags.
CONNECT
5 To get an update on
Tutankhamen, go to
www.jaconline.com. au/
history/ancient/
index.html and click on
the A Hip Pharaoh Bulletin
under Ancient Egypt.
✓checklist
I can:
describe Tutankhamen’s
achievements as a pharaoh
analyse a painting to find information
on how pharaohs were buried
explain why the discovery of this
tomb was such an important find.
45
ANCIENT EGYPT
© John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd