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Menes
The early people who settled along the Nile River banded together into two main
groups.
One group lived around the mouth of Nile River, near the Mediterranean Sea. Their king
wore a Red Crown. Their land was called Lower Egypt.
The other group lived near the mountains to the South. Their king wore a White Crown.
Their land was called Upper Egypt.
These two groups had much in common. They spoke the same language. They
worshipped the same gods. They had the same culture. But, they did not get along.
They were always fighting.
Around 3000 BCE, King Menes (also known as King Namer) ruled Upper Egypt. He
conquered Lower Egypt. These two groups continued to fight. One day, King Menes
had an idea. If the color of a crown was so important, why not invent a new crown?!
King Menes created the Double Crown, a mix of white and red. His idea worked. Both
Lower and Upper Egypt respected the Double Crown. They called their land "The Two
Lands". Over time, The Two Lands became known as Egypt.
Djoser
Djoser (reigned c. 2630 - c. 2611 BC)
A statue of Djoser, from Saqqara ©
Djoser was the best known pharaoh, and possibly the founder, of the Third Dynasty of
the Old Kingdom in Egypt. He was responsible for the world's first known monumental
stone building, the Step Pyramid at Saqqara.
Little is known about Djoser, but the fact that he was able to build such a massive and
innovative structure as the Step Pyramid suggests that during his reign Egypt was
politically stable, with a successful economy. The architect of the Pyramid was Imhotep,
a priest and advisor of Djoser's who is the first architect known by name in history.
The Pyramid of Djoser(Zoser), or step pyramid (kbhw-ntrw in Egyptian) is an
archeological remain in the Saqqara necropolis, Egypt, northwest of the city of
Memphis. It was built for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser by his vizier Imhotep, during the
27th century BC. It is the central feature of a vast mortuary complex in an enormous
courtyard surrounded by ceremonial structures and decoration.
This first Egyptian pyramid consisted of six mastabas (of decreasing size) built atop one
another in what were clearly revisions and developments of the original plan. The
pyramid originally stood 62 meters tall, and having a base of 109 x 125 m and was clad
in polished white limestone.[1] The step pyramid (or proto-pyramid) is considered to be
the earliest large-scale stone construction, although the nearby enclosure known as
Gisr el-mudir would seem to predate the complex.
When you see an image of something from the ancient world, what questions do you
have?
Egypt's ancient history covers a huge block of time. Looking at all this history,
archaeologists noticed something very interesting. They realized that much Egypt's
ancient history could be divided into three blocks of time. In each block, all of the
pharaohs behaved in a certain way.
Scientists have named these blocks "The Old Kingdom", "The Middle Kingdom", and
"The New Kingdom".
The Old Kingdom (2700 BCE-2200 BCE): Pharaohs had absolute power and were
considered gods on earth. But that's not why this kingdom is nicknamed "The Pyramid
Age". Pharaohs were buried in pyramids only during this time period in history. After
building a few pyramids, at great expense to the state, it occurred to pharaohs that
pyramids were rather easy to spot, and thus, much easier to rob than a hidden tomb.
Things changed during the middle kingdom.
The Middle Kingdom (2100 BCE-1800 BCE): The middle kingdom was Egypt's Golden
Age. Trade flourished, arts and literature flourished. Egypt built strong armies to defend
herself against her neighbors. During the time period of the middle kingdom, pharaohs
were expected to be good kings and wise rulers. And pharaohs were buried in hidden
tombs, all over the place. Most probably, there are tombs yet to be discovered because
they were hidden so well.
The New Kingdom (1500 BCE-1000 BCE): The new kingdom was Egypt's expansion
period. Egypt expanded her borders through military conquest and became a world
power. During the time period of the new kingdom, pharaohs were all powerful, and
pharaohs were all buried in the same geographic area called the Valley of the Kings.
Over 5000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians wrote things down using a picture writing
called hieroglyphics. The people who did the actual writing were called scribes.
The scribes had a problem. The ancient Egyptians wrote everything down, absolutely
everything! Although hieroglyphics were very pretty, it took time to write in pictures.
Scribes needed a faster way to write things down. They created a new form of writing
called Demonic script. The new scribes did not study the old language of hieroglyphics.
They could write much more rapidly with some of the new scripts they created.
Hundreds of years later, archaeologists discovered beautiful hieroglyphic writing on the
walls of ancient Egyptian pyramids and tombs. The archaeologists had a problem. They
knew hieroglyphics had meanings. Although lots of archaeologists could read Demonic
script, there was no one left in the world who remembered what the ancient
hieroglyphics meant. No one could read the hieroglyphic messages. It was most
frustrating!
It was not until quite recently, a mere 200 years ago, that a stone was found in Egypt.
This stone had the same short story written on it in Greek, in Demonic, and in
hieroglyphics. Scientists could read Greek. Scientists could read Demonic. And now,
scientists could begin to read hieroglyphics. They named this stone the Rosetta Stone.
Today, the Rosetta Stone is on display for everyone to see. Currently, it makes its home
in the famous British Museum in London.
The ancient Egyptians believed if you did not have your name written down somewhere,
that after your death, you would disappear. Everyone made sure their name was written
somewhere, including inside their tombs and graves.
The pharaohs ordered monuments built so they would be remembered. These
monuments provided places to write their name down in a very public way. Some
monuments were temples. Others were obelisks.
Obelisks were made of stone, and often built in pairs. Each obelisk was at least 70 feet
tall and most were taller. Each was decorated with writing telling of the great
achievements of the person each obelisk honored. This information has told us a great
deal about ancient Egyptian life.
Indomitable
Dam
Impenetrable
Fortress
Engineer
Engineering
Architecture
famine
3000 BCE
Capital
Dam
unite
Menes
Where does the Nile River start?
Which way does the Nile flow?
What are the two parts of the Nile?
According to Zahi Hawass, what would happen if the flood did not come?
What would happen if the flood was too strong?
Too much water causes disaster
Where is egypt’s new capital city?
Who is Menes?
What did Menes just unite?
What did Menes try to do at Memphis?
What did Menes’ engineers try to do?
Why would this have been “astonishing?”
Does the dam still exist?
Draw a dam below!
What were the dams built out of?
Labor
What is the difference between buildings today and building in Ancient Egypt?
Do the great dams of Ancient Egypt still stand? What happened to them?
How did the dams show the power of the pharaohs?
How long did Menes rule for?
How did Menes die?
Which groups first moved to the Nile (hint: you learned about them in Unit 1)?
Who did Menes unite around 3000 BCE?
Why did the Egyptian Empire start around the Nile?
How did the Nile allow Egyptian civilization to grow?
Barge?
How were the canals like a highway?
How did the pharaohs harness the power of engineering?
How are tombs like “houses?”
What are mastabas?
Draw a mastaba
Sarcohphagus
How many pyramids did the Egyptians build?
How many phyramids still stand today?
How are the pyramids “mind-boggling?”
Saqqara
Djoser 2667 BCE
Who built the world’s first stone superstructure?
Why would it be difficult to build out of stone?
What is one adjective that describes Djoser?
Why was Djoser deified?
Who was the first pharaoh to be deified?
What was one of the first things that Djoser did?
How was Djoser’s tomb different from his predecessors?
What is the difference between building with mud brick and building and stone?
Who did Djoser turn to to help him?
Who was Imhotep?
What were Imhotep’s roles?
Was Imhotep a pharaoh?
Why did tombs face the east?
How many men were recruited to work on Djoser’s tombs?
Why do they say before Imhotep could build up, he had to build down?
Why did the pharaoh need an afterlife palace?
Why did Djoser have two tombs?
What were canopic jars?
What went in the canopic jars?
What lies underneath the tomb?
How many miles of tunnels are underneath?
How many rooms were in Djoser’s afterlife palace?
What is one difficulty archaeologists would face in learning about Djoser?
2659 BCE, Egyptians are building Djoser’s tomb
What kind of stone was used on Djoser’s tomb?
Why was getting the stones from the quarry to the construction site difficult?
Who carried the stone?
How did Djoser strengthen Egypt’s empire?
Draw a mastaba
Draw the stacked mastabas
How did the stacking of the mastabas lead to the idea of a pyramid?
Why was Djoser’s pyramid called a step pyramid?
How long did it take to build Djoser’s step pyramid?
Compare the size of Djoser’s step pyramid to a modern structure…
How did the Egyptians learn about architecture?
What is trial and error?