Ancient Egyptian Lifestyle

by Samahra, Gregory, and Kyrstin

Food

Beer was the most popular drink in Egypt. It was made from bread. Milk was a prized beverage.

The Egyptians grew the following fruits and vegetables: pomegrantes, onions, leeks, beans, garlic, lentils, chick peas, and more.

Some of the meat the Egyptians ate were fish, beef, antelope, and gazelle. They never ate pork because they believed it wasn't clean. Meat was cooked over an open fire.

The average Egyptian ate three times a day, the Royal Egyptians ate five times a day.

Food was very important to Egyptians, they believed the dead needed food just like humans.

Religion

Religion was very important to the early Egyptians. They worshipped hundreds of gods. Most of the gods were represented by animals. Because there were so many it was difficult to tell who was who. Not only because there were so many, but because some temples had different meanings for an animal. For example, a baboon could stand for Thoth at one temple and a moon god at another. Lots of Egyptians used religious magic to ease their problems.

The early Egyptians wrote about the heart. They said it speaks out from the back of the head and also the hands.

The early Egyptians suffered a lot of eye disorders and tumors, just like some people do today.

Animals

There were lots of animals in Egypt such as birds, reptiles, fish, lions, hyenas, bulls, camels, and antelope. You could see crocodiles and hippos on the Nile.

Animal symbols were used for hieroglyphics, which was their written form of communication.

The male hippo was believed to be evil because he was associated with Set, the God of Violence.

The lion represented strength and determination, the crocodile symbolizes the God Sobek, a ram with curly horns could represent Amun-Re, the king of gods.

Gods

These are some of the Gods of Ancient Egypt:

Re - The God of Sun

Amun - The God of Air / The God of Thebes

Osiris - The God of All Dead

Anubis - Is a jackal headed God of the Dead

Bast - Cat Goddess

Bes - A dwarf God with a lion's face, he is God of the Home

Geb - The God of Earth

Set - The God of Violence. Set killed his brother Osiris.

Hapy - Nile God shown with heavy breasts.

Hathor - Cow headed God of Happiness.

Transportation

The ancient Egyptians travelled place to place mainly by water. The Nile River was the main highway. They could get to almost any part of Egypt by the Nile. Usually, short trips were made on foot of by donkeys. While wealthy people were often carried around in special chairs.

Ships varied in size, shape, and construction. Small boast were usually made of papyrus reeds tied together in bundles. These were called canoes. These boats were used for fishing and some short trips. Large boats were used for trading expeditions and warfare. The large boats had hulls made of timber. In the centre of the boat sat the oarsmen. They rowed together in time to a flute, gong, or a rattle. some of the larger boats needed forty of fifty oarsmen. Smaller boats needed only two of three. The boats were steered by a rudder. Some boats had sails. Boats travelling southward had the north wind to help them.

In order to move freight large rafts or barges were used. There were especially used during floods.

Once a year the pharaoh would go to his or her own barge and travel the Nile to check the entire country. On land they would ride in a chair held on pole-bearers shoulders. They did this because that is where they could see the granaries, fisheries, and areas for farming.

Childhood

In ancient Egypt children were blessed. They were blessed so much that a couple who could not have children could adopt one.

The children of ancient Egypt enjoyed their life. They loved games that are still played today such as leapfrog, and tug-of-war. There were board games like Snake, and game loved by early Egyptians called Senet. Toys included balls, dolls, and toy animals made of wood.

It is said that ancient Egyptians were great storytellers. They also kept their children amused by popular tales of the imagination and enchantment. For example; in one story a toy crocodile made of wax turns into a real one when it is thrown in the water.

Balls were a favourite pastime for the girls. The girls would throw them up in the air and catch them. They would also play with them while standing or on piggy back.

The ancient Egyptians made their dolls from wood with clay beads attached to twine. Dolls may have also been put in the tombs with the dead.

Many children played with a horse on wheels, or a jaw moving wooden toy, such as a mouse.

Egyptians used horses when they went on hunting trips. This came to be a favourite pastime by the pharaohs. Because of this they made wooden toy horses. They painted them and put wheels on them so that they could move. Many toys had movable parts.

Housing and Furniture

Towns and villages wer located near the Nile. Houses were crowded together to make room for farmland. Houses were also back to back to save space.

Everyone lived in a house made of mud. Rich and poor lived in mud houses. First, mud was carried in leather buckets from the Nile to the ground where the house would be built. They they placed straw and pebbles into the mud to strengthen it. Next they poured the mud into wooden frames to make bricks. After they put the bricks out and let them dry in the sun. Once they were dry, they put together the walls of the house. The beams of the house were made from strips of linen and from mud. The roof was built of timber. Floors were made of mud paster covered with a hard layer of gypsum. The floors were raised to keep snakes out of the houses. Once the house was done they put plaster on the outside of the walls and decorated it with scenes of nature on the inside.

There were four different kinds of houses. The house for poor families was a one room hut. The house for the middle class has 1-2 stories with at least three rooms.

Commoners lived in a 2-3 storey house. The first storey was for business and the second and third stories were for living quarters.

Noblemen lived in a Villa. Some Villas had up to seventy rooms. A Villa was split up in three areas, a hall, a reception area, and a private area. A Villa was surrounded by plain square walls that were whitewashed or painted in light pastel colours. There was only one entrance to the Villa.

No on had a lot of furniture in their home. Most people had only a few stools and beds. They had small boxes for jewellry and cosmetics and chests for clothing. They used pottery jars and oil lamps. Each home was equipped with at least one fly catcher.

Clothing, Jewellery, and Cosmetics

Clothes were made from flax to make a fine texture. The ancient Egyptian cared about appearance a lot.

Children had three sets of clothes. One for summer, one for winter, and one for special occasions. For late spring, summer, and early fall children usually ran around nude because it was so hot. In the winter, early spring, and late fall the children usually wrapped in cloaks and wraps to keep warm. On special occasions children wore sandals, the girls wore dresses and the boys dressed in their best clothes. Everyone wore makeup and jewellery.

Women had a few types of clothing. For work, women wore short skirt dresses. During the New Kingdom era women wore long pleated dresses with a shawl. Noblewomen sometimes wore beaded dresses. Some Queens wore decorative ceremonial clothing with feathers and sequins. Most people went around barefoot. On special occasions women wore ankle length dresses with a shawl or cloak.

Men had a lot of styles of clothes. During the Old and Middle Kingdoms men wore kilts. During the New Kingdom, noblemen sometimes wore a big robe over their kilt. When doing hard work men wore loin cloths, shirts, and pants. Kings wore elaborately decorated sandals and sometimes gloves. Men dressed in tunic style shirts.

 full source here

http://www.wsd1.org/earlgrey/ancient.htm

By Ishaan Tharoor

On a sunny afternoon on Dec. 6, 1912, an Egyptian worker at a dig along the banks of the Nile came across what may be the most striking find in the history of Egyptology. Ludwig Borchardt, the German archaeologist in charge of the excavation, scribbled excitedly in his diary a century ago: “The tools were put aside, and the hands were now used … It took a considerable amount of time until the whole piece was completely freed from all the dirt and rubble.” What emerged was a 3,300-year-old limestone bust of an ancient queen, colored with a gypsum lacquer. A flat-topped crown perched above a finely defined brow. Her cheekbones were high, nose distinguished. A thin, elegant neck — some now describe it “swanlike” — rose from the bust’s base. “We held the most lively piece of Egyptian art in our hands,” wrote Borchardt.

The bust is of Nefertiti, queen of Egypt and wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten, who reigned in the 14th century B.C. A hundred years after Nefertiti’s bust was lifted out of the ground at Amarna, some 480 km south of Cairo, it remains one of the most iconic figures of Egyptian antiquity, far smaller than the pyramids or the Sphinx, but no less globally resonant. The bust adorns souvenir schlock throughout Egypt and history schoolbooks worldwide. When it went on display at a museum in Berlin in the 1920s, it was almost immediately held up as a symbol of universal, timeless beauty. That’s not surprising. Nefertiti’s name means “the beautiful one has come.”

But she’s much more than a pretty face. The queen and the bust that made her famous in our time are both fascinating stories — with endings that are still shrouded in uncertainty. Little is known of Nefertiti’s origins save that she was born outside the royal family, the daughter of the pharaoh’s vizier. She married Amenhotep IV, who inherited a vast, rich empire from his father Amenhotep III that stretched from the Nubian wastes to the river lands of Syria. Theirs was a moment of relative stability, with trade, not conquest, filling Egypt’s coffers.

Yet Nefertiti and her husband were for centuries virtually wiped off the historical record; it’s only once archaeologists in the early 20th century started excavations of their capital complex at Amarna that they loomed out of the dark of the past. The reason, it seems, was a move taken by Nefertiti’s husband to abandon the cults of certain gods — and the bloated, powerful priesthoods that surrounded them — in favor of worship of just one abstracted figure: Aten, a god represented as a sun disk. Amenhotep IV assumed the name Akhenaten, or “one devoted to Aten,” and he and Nefertiti arguably became the world’s first monotheists. There are other moments in history when a royal takes such a daring ideological turn — Byzantine Emperor Julian forsook Christianity for Greek polytheism and philosophy; Mogul Emperor Akbar embraced the din-e-ilahi, a cosmological religion that melded Hinduism and Islam — but Akhenaten stands out for seeming so uncharacteristically modern in such an ancient moment. That modernity is reinforced by the outsize role played by Nefertiti. Friezes, steles and inscriptions all make clear that she was firmly at Akhenaten’s side, and sometimes even standing before him. In one image found on blocks at the site of Hermopolis, Nefertiti is cast in the classic role of a male conqueror, grabbing her enemies and captives by the hair while smiting them with a mace.

Historians and archaeologists now puzzle over whether she ruled on in the wake of her husband’s death. But evidence is spotty. Much of the artwork and symbolism of their rule was erased by reactionary successors who restored polytheistic worship to the court. Unlike many ancient Egyptian royals, archaeologists have yet to identify their mummies, though speculation has been rife in recent years.

Read more: http://world.time.com/2012/12/06/the-bust-of-nefertiti-remembering-ancient-egypts-famous-queen/#ixzz2GFOMhHwX

During the third and fourth dynasties of the Old Kingdom, Egypt enjoyed tremendous economic prosperity and stability. Kings held a unique position in Egyptian society. Somewhere in between human and divine, they were believed to have been chosen by the gods to serve as mediators between them and the people on earth. Because of this, it was in everyone's interest to keep the king's majesty intact even after his death, when he was believed to become Osiris, god of the dead. The new pharaoh, in turn, became Horus, the falcon-god who served as protector of the sun-god, Ra. 

Ancient Egyptians believed that when the king died, part of his spirit (known as "ka") remained with his body. To properly care for his spirit, the corpse was mummified, and everything the king would need in the afterlife was buried with him, including gold vessels, food, furniture and other offerings. The pyramids became the focus of a cult of the dead king that was supposed to continue well after his death. Their riches would provide not only for him, but also for the relatives, officials and priests who were buried near him.

From the beginning of the Dynastic Era (2950 B.C.), royal tombs were carved into rock and covered with flat-roofed rectangular structures known as "mastabas," which were precursors to the pyramids. The oldest known pyramid in Egypt was built around 2630 B.C. at Saqqara, for the third dynasty's King Djoser. Known as the Step Pyramid, it began as a traditional mastaba but grew into something much more ambitious. As the story goes, the pyramid's architect was Imhotep, a priest and healer who some 1,400 years later would be deified as the patron saint of scribes and physicians. Over the course of Djoser's nearly 20-year reign, pyramid builders assembled six stepped layers of stone (as opposed to mud-brick, like most earlier tombs) that eventually reached a height of 204 feet (62 meters); it was the tallest building of its time. The Step Pyramid was surrounded by a complex of courtyards, temples and shrines, where Djoser would enjoy his afterlife.

After Djoser, the stepped pyramid became the norm for royal burials, although none of those planned by his dynastic successors were completed (probably due to their relatively short reigns). The earliest tomb constructed as a "true" (smooth-sided, not stepped) pyramid was the Red Pyramid at Dahshur, one of three burial structures built for the first king of the fourth dynasty, Sneferu (2613-2589 B.C.) It was named for the color of the limestone blocks used to construct the pyramid's core.

No pyramids are more celebrated than the Great Pyramids of Giza, located on a plateau on the west bank of the Nile River, on the outskirts of modern-day Cairo. The oldest and largest of the three pyramids at Giza, known as the Great Pyramid, is the only surviving structure out of the famed seven wonders of the ancient world. It was built for Khufu (Cheops, in Greek), Sneferu's successor and the second of the eight kings of the fourth dynasty. Though Khufu reigned for 23 years (2589-2566 B.C.), relatively little is known of his reign beyond the grandeur of his pyramid. The sides of the pyramid's base average 755.75 feet (230 meters), and its original height was 481.4 feet (147 meters), making it the largest pyramid in the world. Three small pyramids built for Khufu's queens are lined up next to the Great Pyramid, and a tomb was found nearby containing the empty sarcophagus of his mother, Queen Hetepheres. Like other pyramids, Khufu's is surrounded by rows of mastabas, where relatives or officials of the king were buried to accompany and support him in the afterlife.

The middle pyramid at Giza was built for Khufu's son Khafre (2558-2532 B.C). A unique feature built inside Khafre's pyramid complex was the Great Sphinx, a guardian statue carved in limestone with the head of a man and the body of a lion. It was the largest statue in the ancient world, measuring 240 feet long and 66 feet high. In the 18th dynasty (c. 1500 B.C.) the Great Sphinx would come to be worshiped itself, as the image of a local form of the god Horus. The southernmost pyramid at Giza was built for Khafre's son Menkaure (2532-2503 B.C.). It is the shortest of the three pyramids (218 feet) and is a precursor of the smaller pyramids that would be constructed during the fifth and sixth dynasties.

Approximately 2.3 million blocks of stone (averaging about 2.5 tons each) had to be cut, transported and assembled to build Khufu's Great Pyramid. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote that it took 20 years to build and required the labor of 100,000 men, but later archaeological evidence suggests that the workforce might actually have been around 20,000. Though some popular versions of history held that the pyramids were built by slaves or foreigners forced into labor, skeletons excavated from the area show that the workers were probably native Egyptian agricultural laborers who worked on the pyramids during the time of year when the Nile River flooded much of the land nearby.

Pyramids continued to be built throughout the fifth and sixth dynasties, but the general quality and scale of their construction declined over this period, along with the power and wealth of the kings themselves. In the later Old Kingdom pyramids, beginning with that of King Unas (2375-2345 B.C), pyramid builders began to inscribe written accounts of events in the king's reign on the walls of the burial chamber and the rest of the pyramid's interior. Known as pyramid texts, these are the earliest significant religious compositions known from ancient Egypt.

The last of the great pyramid builders was Pepy II (2278-2184 B.C.), the second king of the sixth dynasty, who came to power as a young boy and ruled for 94 years. By the time of his rule, Old Kingdom prosperity was dwindling, and the pharaoh had lost some of his quasi-divine status as the power of non-royal administrative officials grew. Pepy II's pyramid, built at Saqqara and completed some 30 years into his reign, was much shorter (172 feet) than others of the Old Kingdom. With Pepy's death, the kingdom and strong central government virtually collapsed, and Egypt entered a turbulent phase known as the First Intermediate Period. Later kings, of the 12th dynasty, would return to pyramid building during the so-called Middle Kingdom phase, but it was never on the same scale as the Great Pyramids. 

Tomb robbers and other vandals in both ancient and modern times removed most of the bodies and funeral goods from Egypt's pyramids and plundered their exteriors as well. Stripped of most of their smooth white limestone coverings, the Great Pyramids no longer reach their original heights; Khufu's, for example, measures only 451 feet high. Nonetheless, millions of people continue to visit the pyramids each year, drawn by their towering grandeur and the enduring allure of Egypt's rich and glorious past.

Dr. Zahi Hawass

Khafre (2576-2551 BCE), fourth King of the fourth dynasty, Old Kingdom. The son of Khufu, Khafre (or Khephren to the ancient Greeks) is best known as the owner of the second pyramid at Giza. As with the other Kings of that dynasty, written records that date to his reign are scarce; even information on family relationships and the lengths of individual reigns at that time may often be conjectural. Two of his wives are known: Meresankh II, the daughter of his brother Kawab, and his chief wife, Khamerernebty. His eldest son, Menkaure, builder of the third pyramid at Giza, succeeded him. Two other sons are recognized: Nikaure and Sekhemkare. His daughter Khamerernebty II became Menkaure’s chief queen. Khafre succeeded his brother, Djedefre, who had ruled for eight years. Ideologically, Khafre continued Djedefre’s promotion of the cult of the sun god re by using the title “ the Son of the Sun” for himself and by incorporating the name of the god in his own.



    Khafre built his pyramid at Giza next to that of his father. His pyramid complex has survived better than many others, in part because of the innovative construction method of using massive core blocks of limestone encased in fine lining slabs. The whole complex served as a temple for the resurrected god-King after his funeral, with statues incorporated into the design of both the mortuary and valley temples. There exist emplacements for more than fifty-four large statues of the King. None of the statues from the mortuary temple has survived, and it has been suggested that they were recycled in the New Kingdom.

    All the lining slabs were also removed in antiquity, and with them any inscription and reliefs; only the megalithic core blocks remain. Khafre’s valley temple, however, is one of the best preserved from ancient Egypt, Fragments of several statues of the King were discovered there, including the famous statue of the King seated on a lion throne with the falcon of the Horus behind his head, reflecting the belief that the King was a living incarnation of the god. Each of the two entrances to this temple were once flanked by a pair of sphinxes 8 meters (26 feet) long.

    The only remaining inscriptions in the building are around the entrance doorways; they list the King’s names and titles, those of the goddess Bastet (north doorway), and those of Hathor (south doorways). Recent work in front of the valley temple has revealed the location of a ritual purification tent and two ramps with underground tunnels that extend toward the valley.

    Next to the valley temple, the Great sphinx lies inside its own enclosure. Its position next to Khafre’s causeway and certain architectural details indicate that it was an integral part of the pyramid area; that colossal lion statue with the head of the King, carved out of a sandstone outcrop, represents Khafre as the god Horus presenting offerings to the sun god. From the eighteenth dynasty forward, the Sphinx was a symbol of Kingship and place of pilgrimage; and a small chapel was erected between its paws.

    Political events of Khafre’s reign can be deduced only from scant archaeological remains and rare inscriptions, which show that his workmen were exploiting the diorite quarries at Toshka in Nubia and that expeditions were sent to Sinai. His name was found on a list of other fourth dynasty Kings at Byblos, implying diplomatic and commercial links.

    Like his father Khufu, Khafre was depicted in folk tradition as a harsh, despotic rule: His pyramid complex was used as a quarry in the late New Kingdom, and the lining slabs and statues were removed to adorn other temples and royal establishments. By the Late period, however; the cults of the fourth dynasty kings had been revived, and Giza had become a focus for pilgrimage.     

Menkaure
By : Dr Zahi Hawass

Menkaure is the son of Khafre and the grandson of Khufu of Dynasty IV. He bore the titles Kakhet and Hornub. There are doubts that Menkaure could be the son of Khafre, because the Turin Papyrus mentioned a name of a king between Menkaure and Khafre, but the name was smashed. A Middle Kingdom text written on a rock at Wadi Hamamat includes the names of the kings: Khufu, Djedefre, Khafre, Hordedef and Bauefre. This text indicates to some that Hordedef and Bauefre ruled after Khafre. But it seems that their names were not written as kings because Menkaure's names were not mentioned. It has been suggested that Hordedef's name was mentioned because was a wise educated man in this period and perhaps Bauefre was a vizier.
   He built the smallest pyramid at the Giza plateau, and is called "Menkaure is Divine." The pyramid is remarkable because it is the only pyramid in Dynasty IV that was cased in 16 layers of granite, Menkaure planned to cover the surface with granite but he could not because of his sudden death.
   The pyramid complex of Menkaure was completed by his son and successor Shepseskaf but the temples has architectural additions which were made during Dynasties V and VI. This suggests that the cult of Menkaure was very important and perhaps differed from the cults of Khufu and Khafre.
   At the pyramid's entrance, there is an inscription records that Menkaure died on the twenty-third day of the fourth month of the summer and that he built the pyramid. It is thought that this inscription dates to the reign of Khaemwas, son of Ramsses II. The name of Menkaure found written in red ochre on the ceiling of the burial chamber in one of the subsidiary pyramids.
   H. Vyse found a basalt sarcophagus and inside it a skeleton of a young woman. The sarcophagus was lost in the Mediterranean between ports of Cartagena and Malta when the ship "Beatrice" sank after setting sail on October 13, 1838. We still have the lid from the wooden anthropoid coffin found inside the pyramid which bears the name and titles of Menkaure.
   Menkaure's main queen was Khamerernebty II, who is portrayed with him in a group statue found in the Valley Temple. It is believed that she is buried in Giza.
   Shepseskaf completed the pyramid complex of his father with mudbrick and left an inscription inside the Valley Temple indicating that he built the temple for the memory of his father.
   Menkaure ruled for 18 years. There are two inscriptions found in his pyramid complex. The first was a decree bearing the Horus name of Merenre of Dynasty VI. The decree stated that the Valley Temple was in use until the end of the Old Kingdom. The objects found in some of the storage rooms of the temples show that the king's cult was maintained and that the temple had a dual function as a temple and a palace.
   The second decree of Pepi II was found on the lower temple vestibule, awarding privileges to the priests of the pyramid city. In the adjacent open court and in the area just east of the temple lie the remains of the Old Kingdom houses. Pepi II's decree indicates that these houses belonged to the pyramid city of Menkaure. Here lived the personnel responsible for maintaining the cult of the deceased king.
   The statuary program found inside the complex displays the superb quality of arts and crafts. The triads in Menkaure's valley temple suggest that his pyramid complex was dedicated to Re, Hathor, and Horus. In addition, they show the king's relationship with the gods and are essential to his kingship, indicating both a temple and palace function.
   The textual evidence indicates that the high officials had more privileges in his reign that in any other period. They had many statues in their tombs; the inscriptions and the scenes increased and were set on rock-cut tombs. In the tomb of Debhen an inscription was found describing the kindness of Menkaure. When Debhen came to visit the king's pyramid, he asked the king for permission to build his tomb near the pyramid. The king agreed and even ordered that stones from the royal quarry in Tura should be used in building his tomb. The text also mentions that the king stood on the road by the Hr pyramid inspecting the other pyramid. The name "Hr" was also found written in the tomb of Urkhuu at Giza, who was the keeper of a place belonging to the Hr pyramid. It is not clear what the Hr pyramid is. Is it a name of a subsidiary pyramid, or the name of the plateau? The Debhen texts is a revelation of f how the king tried to inspire loyalty by his people giving them gifts.
   Menkaure also had a new policy - he opened his palace to the children of his high officials. They were educated and raised with the king's own children. Shepsesbah is one of those children. The textual and archaeological evidence of the Old Kingdom indicates that the palace of the king was located near his pyramid and not at Memphis. Menkaure explored granite from Aswan and he sent expeditions to Sinai. Excavations under the author revealed a pari of statues of Ramses II on the south side of Menkaure's pyramid. The statues were made of granite, and one represents Ramses as king while the other as Atum-Re.
   The name of Menkaure was found written on scarabs dated to the 26th Dynasty, which may imply that he was worshipped in this period.
   Herodotus mentioned that Menkaure died suddenly and added that there was an oracle from the Buto statue that foretold that he would live for 6 years. Menkaure started to drink, and enjoy every moment of his remaining years. However, Menkaure lived for 12 years, thus disproving the prophecy. Herodotus also said that his daughter committed suicide. The Greek historian also wrote that the Egyptians loved Menkaure more than his father and grandfather. The Late Period tales were based on Menkaure's reputation during the Old Kingdom. He ruled with justice, gave freedom to his officials to carve statues and make offerings, and stopped the firm rules.
   E1-Makrizi, the Arab historian named Menkaure's pyramid as the colored pyramid because of the red granite casing.

Article Source: http://www.approvedarticles.com

Few written records or artifacts have been found from the Predynastic Period, which encompassed at least 2,000 years of gradual development of the Egyptian civilization.

Neolithic (late Stone Age) communities in northeastern Africa exchanged hunting for agriculture and made early advances that paved the way for the later development of Egyptian arts and crafts, technology, politics and religion (including a great reverence for the dead and possibly a belief in life after death).

Around 3400 B.C., two separate kingdoms were established: the Red Land to the north, based in the Nile River Delta and extending along the Nile perhaps to Atfih; and the White Land in the south, stretching from Atfih to Gebel es-Silsila. A southern king, Scorpion, made the first attempts to conquer the northern kingdom around 3200 B.C. A century later, King Menes would subdue the north and unify the country, becoming the first king of the first dynasty.

King Menes founded the capital of ancient Egypt at White Walls (later known as Memphis), in the north, near the apex of the Nile River delta. The capital would grow into a great metropolis that dominated Egyptian society during the Old Kingdom period. The Archaic Period saw the development of the foundations of Egyptian society, including the all-important ideology of kingship. To the ancient Egyptians, the king was a godlike being, closely identified with the all-powerful god Horus. The earliest known hieroglyphic writing also dates to this period.

In the Archaic Period, as in all other periods, most ancient Egyptians were farmers living in small villages, and agriculture (largely wheat and barley) formed the economic base of the Egyptian state. The annual flooding of the great Nile River provided the necessary irrigation and fertilization each year; farmers sowed the wheat after the flooding receded and harvested it before the season of high temperatures and drought returned.

The Old Kingdom began with the third dynasty of pharaohs. Around 2630 B.C., the third dynasty's King Djoser asked Imhotep, an architect, priest and healer, to design a funerary monument for him; the result was the world's first major stone building, the Step-Pyramid at Saqqara, near Memphis. Pyramid-building reached its zenith with the construction of the Great Pyramid at Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo. Built for Khufu (or Cheops, in Greek), who ruled from 2589 to 2566 B.C., the pyramid was later named by classical historians as one of the ancient world's Seven Wonders. Two other pyramids were built at Giza for Khufu's successors Khafra (2558-2532 B.C) and Menkaura (2532-2503 B.C.).

During the third and fourth dynasties, Egypt enjoyed a golden age of peace and prosperity. The pharaohs held absolute power and provided a stable central government; the kingdom faced no serious threats from abroad; and successful military campaigns in foreign countries like Nubia and Libya added to its considerable economic prosperity. Over the course of the fifth and sixth dynasties, the king's wealth was steadily depleted, partially due to the huge expense of pyramid-building, and his absolute power faltered in the face of the growing influence of the nobility and the priesthood that grew up around the sun god Ra (Re). After the death of the sixth dynasty's King Pepy II, who ruled for some 94 years, the Old Kingdom period ended in chaos.  

On the heels of the Old Kingdom's collapse, the seventh and eighth dynasties consisted of a rapid succession of Memphis-based rulers until about 2160 B.C., when the central authority completely dissolved, leading to civil war between provincial governors. This chaotic situation was intensified by Bedouin invasions and accompanied by famine and disease.

From this era of conflict emerged two different kingdoms: A line of 17 rulers (dynasties nine and 10) based in Heracleopolis ruled Middle Egypt between Memphis and Thebes, while another family of rulers arose in Thebes to challenge Heracleopolitan power. Around 2055 B.C., the Theban prince Mentuhotep managed to topple Heracleopolis and reunited Egypt, beginning the 11th dynasty and ending the First Intermediate Period.

After the last ruler of the 11th dynasty, Mentuhotep IV, was assassinated, the throne passed to his vizier, or chief minister, who became King Amenemhet I, founder of dynasty 12. A new capital was established at It-towy, south of Memphis, while Thebes remained a great religious center. During the Middle Kingdom, Egypt once again flourished, as it had during the Old Kingdom. The 12th dynasty kings ensured the smooth succession of their line by making each successor co-regent, a custom that began with Amenemhet I.

Middle-Kingdom Egypt pursued an aggressive foreign policy, colonizing Nubia (with its rich supply of gold, ebony, ivory and other resources) and repelling the Bedouins who had infiltrated Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. The kingdom also built diplomatic and trade relations with Syria, Palestine and other countries; undertook building projects including military fortresses and mining quarries; and returned to pyramid-building in the tradition of the Old Kingdom. The Middle Kingdom reached its peak under Amenemhet III (1842-1797 B.C.); its decline began under Amenenhet IV (1798-1790 B.C.) and continued under his sister and regent, Queen Sobekneferu (1789-1786 B.C.), who was the first confirmed female ruler of Egypt and the last ruler of the 12th dynasty.  

The Early Dynastic Period is a period of some 500 years or more at the beginning of what is conventionally considered as the history of Ancient Egypt. It was the culmination of the formative stage of the Ancient Egyptian culture that began centuries before during the Prehistory.

It was during this period that the divine kingship became well established as Egypt's form of government, and with it, an entire culture that would remain virtually unchanged for the next 3000 or more years. Writing evolved from a few simple signs mainly used to denote quantities of substances and their provenance, to a complex system of several hundreds of signs with both phonetic and ideographic values.

The evolution of writing: left, some signs dated several generations before the 1st Dynasty; center, the name of a city at the start of the 1st Dynasty; right, a text from a wooden panel from the tomb of Hesyre of the 3rd Dynasty.

The typical ancient Egyptian artistic canon took shape for both two and three dimensional representions, determining the work of artists for millenia to come.

The artistic canon for two (left, Narmer Palette) and three dimensional art (right, statue of Khasekhemwi) was established during the Early Dynastic Period.

Craftsmen increased their skills and experimented with the use of more durable materials. Structures built in brick, wood and reeds were copied in stone, giving birth to the typical Ancient Egyptian architecture. Most of the features developed during the Early Dynastic Period would remain in use until the Greek-Roman Period, more than 3000 years later.

Another very important change that marks the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period is the rise of urbanism. Inhabitants of small settlements throughout the country abandoned their homes and moved to larger communities and cities. Several key factors, that could vary from region to region, have influenced this process of urbanisation:

The need for security may have caused people to seek protection within the safety of fortified walls.
It facilitated central control of the population by the state. Some relocations may thus have been forced by the government. The process of urbanisation appears to have started earlier in societies with a stronger hierarchical structure.
Changes in the natural environment. This has apparently been the case at Hierakonpolis, one of the most important cities in late Predynastic Egypt.
Society was evolving beyond its mere agricultural needs and required specialised craftsmen, traders and other skilled personnel. The ruling elite needed these people not only to be close at hand, but also to work and thus live together.
Demographic changes, such as a growth in population, may have caused smaller settlements to extend and merge into one larger community.
 
As the Early Dynastic Period is the culmination of an on-going cultural, religious and political evolution, it is hard to determine its actual beginning. According to the Ancient Egyptian tradition, the first (human) king to have ruled over the whole of Egypt was a man named Menes. He is considered the first king of the 1st Dynasty and tradition credited him with the unification of Upper- and Lower-Egypt. As none of the sources from the Early Dynastic Period mention his name and as none of the deeds credited to him can be associated with any of the archaeologically attested kings, the identification of this Menes, however, is problematic.

Both in the Turin King-list and with Manetho, this Menes follows a long list of gods and demi-gods who ruled before him. The first row on the Palermo Stone contains names of kings who allegedly ruled Egypt before him. As our knowledge of this early stage of Egyptian history evolves, we are finding sources that hint at powerful rulers living in Middle and Upper Egypt who already had extended their influence, if not their realm, to parts of Lower Egypt. This information may correspond to the mythical rulers in the Turin King-list and to the names listed in the first row of the Palermo Stone, if not literally, then perhaps simply as a confirmation that the Ancient Egyptian chroniclers were aware of the existence of kings before Menes. This has led some authors to propose that there may have been a Dynasty "0" before the 1st Dynasty. It is not certain that the kings placed in this hypothetical Dynasty "0" actually belonged to the same ruling family and to what extent they all ruled over the same area.

In most books dealing with the history of Ancient Egypt, the Early Dynastic Period usually consists of the first two dynasties. This is based on the fact that the first pyramids were built during the 3rd Dynasty and that the Old Kingdom is often viewed as "the age of the pyramids". This has caused the 3rd Dynasty to be included in the Old Kingdom.

It needs to be pointed out, however, that the pyramids built during the 3rd Dynasty were Step Pyramids and not the "true" pyramids that were built from the start of the 4th Dynasty on. The complexes surrounding Netjerikhet's Step Pyramid and Sekhemkhet's unfinished step pyramid, both at Saqqara, are unlike the funerary complexes of the 4th Dynasty and later. As such, the Step Pyramid and the funerary complexes of the 3rd Dynasty can still be considered as part of the formative stage of pyramid building.

The kings during the 3rd Dynasty were still known mainly by their Horus-title, but from the 4th Dynasty on, the Prenomen, and later the Nomen, become the more important titles. This may indicate in shift in views on the divine kingship: during the first three dynasties, the king was a living embodiment of the god Horus, whereas from the 4th Dynasty on, he came to be the son of the solar god Re.

The 3rd Dynasty should therefore rather be part of the Early Dynastic Period than the Old Kingdom. As such, it played a pivotal role in consolidating the political, religious and cultural evolution that had started centuries before.

It should, on the other hand, be noted that the Turin King-list simply lists the kings of the first 5 dynasties, without further classification. This may mean that at the time of the composition of the Turin King-list's original, the first 5 dynasties were viewed as a whole. Our division of that timeframe into an Early Dynastic Period and an Old Kingdom, does not correspond to the views of some Ancient Egyptian chroniclers.

Ahram Online  (Nevine El-Aref)

Egyptian Gazette (Amina Abdul Salam)   

Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref)

With photos.

The discovery of a Middle Kingdom burial of a member of the family of the Deir Al-Barsha governor has given Egyptologists some unique information on the scenario in which the ancient Egyptians conducted their funerary rituals.

Belgian archaeologists cleaning the newly discovered shaft inside Ahanakht I's tomb (top); a collection of copper vases and plates used in funerary rituals

Everything began as normal at this spring's archaeological season at the Deir Al-Barsha necropolis in Minya, which lasted from March to May. As usual, teams of workmen, archaeologists and restorers were busy on all parts of the site, digging and clearing the tombs of the village nomarchs (provincial governors) and searching for artefacts or monumental remains that could tell them more about the history of this particular period of ancient Egypt.

The site of the Deir Al-Barsha necropolis in the sandy gravel desert is famous for its rock-hewn tombs dating from the Middle Kingdom. Although part of the necropolis was investigated at the beginning of the 20th century by the American archaeologist George Reisner, no plans or detailed accounts of these excavations were ever published. Time has since taken its toll of the necropolis, and it was almost totally covered by sand.

In 2002 a Belgian archaeological mission from Leuven University started a magnetic survey there in an attempt to gain some insight into the overall organisation and social stratification of the necropolis.

Egypt at the Manchester Museum

There have been a number of updates by Campbell Price in the last couple of weeks. Have a look at the above page to find out more about the following topics:

• Curator’s Diary 10/7/12: Pagans, Christians and Muslims – Egypt in the First Millennium AD
• Photographing Fragrances
• Texts in translation #7: The shabti spell of Horudja
• Curator’s Diary 30/6/12: CT scanning Asru … and a crocodile mummy!
• Texts in translation #6: A stela of Peniwemiteru (Acc. No. R4571 1937)
• Curator’s Diary 15/6/12: More than Musty Mummies…? ACCES seminar in Swansea
• Curator’s Diary 13/6/12: Egyptian Collections and Collectors in Brussels
• Object biography #6: The crown from a colossal statue of Ramesses II (Acc. No. 1783)

Egypt Independent (James Purtill)

Ahram Online (Nevine El-Aref)

After a year of extensive restoration Salaheddin Citadel on Pharaoh Island, 250 metres from Taba Beach in Sinai, opens to the public in July.

What’s new?
The restorations include repairing all eroded and corroded surfaces, restoring the fence that surrounded the citadel and replacing fallen or missing blocks with new ones that match the others.

A new lighting system makes the citadel appear like a crystal gem in the middle of the Red Sea. They’ve also installed lighting along the visitor paths.

Documentary films and photo exhibition relate the history of the citadel in the visitor centre.

To make visiting the site easier for tourists, during his latest inspection visit, Minister of State for Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim suggested constructing a closed tunnel to connect the citadel to the Taba beach, which boasts beautiful coral reefs.

He also calls on the Tourism and Antiquities Police to tighten security measures in the Sinai, considering some of the recent instability in the area.

Ahram Online (Nevine el-Aref)

After 14 years of hard work, Bernard O’Kane, professor of Islamic art and architecture at the American University in Cairo (AUC), has managed to compile a detailed report of Islamic inscriptions in the historic zone of Cairo as part of the project to preserve and document inscriptions and epigraphs on Islamic monuments in the city up until the 1800s.

According to a press release distributed by the AUC press office, what drove O’Kane to undertake the project was that many of the Islamic monuments in Cairo were deteriorating and in danger of disappearing; there was no documentation of the inscriptions. “I felt I needed to do something to help with the preservation of information,” he said.

University of Birmingham 

Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref)

With 2 photos.

A NUMBER of artefacts discovered at a tomb in Draa Abul-Naga necropolis on Luxor's west bank is to go on show for the first time in the Luxor National Museum, Nevine El-Aref reports.

After almost 10 years in storage at the Luxor antiquities inspectorate, the very distinguished ancient Egyptian objects will take their place in the permanent collection of the Luxor Museum. They were found in the tomb of Djehuty, the overseer of works at Thebes during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut.

The artefacts include the very well-preserved sarcophagus of a Middle Kingdom warrior named Iker, which means "the excellent one". The sarcophagus was found in the courtyard of Djehuty's tomb in 2007, along with five arrows made of reeds, three of them still feathered. These will also be included in the new exhibited collection.

Some clay vases and bouquets of dried flowers that were thrown inside the Djehuty tomb at his funeral are to be exhibited along with a faience necklaces, gilded earrings and bracelets.

Two clusters of ceramic vases, mostly bottles, with shapes typical of those fabricated during the reign of Tuthmosis III, will also be exhibited.

"These artefacts were carefully selected from the collection unearthed at Djehuty's tomb," said Mohamed Ibrahim, minister of state for antiquities.

Djehuty's tomb was discovered in 2003 by a Spanish-Egyptian archaeological mission. Their excavations revealed many new details about an unusual time in Egypt's ancient history.

Osirisnet (Thierry Benderitter)

The EES Publishing Blog (Patricia Spencer)