Ancient Egypt

Without the life-giving waters of the river Nile, ancient Egypt would have been a barren desert, too dry for farming. The river gave the ancient Egyptians drinking water, as well as water for irrigation. It also deposited rich soil along its banks each year when it flooded.

Along the Nile’s banks, farmer grew wheat and barley, flax, fruit and vegetables. They also raised cattle, sheep and goats. So vital was the river that the Greek historian Herodotus described ancient Egypt as the ‘gift of the Nile’.

The first villages of ancient Egypt appeared some 7,000 years ago. In time, these small settlements increased in size and two kingdoms were created – Lower Egypt in the Nile delta and Upper Egypt along the river valley. In about 3100 BC, King Menes, the ruler of Upper Egypt, united the two kingdoms and built his capital at Memphis.

The king was the most powerful person in ancient Egypt. He was worshipped as the god Horus. From about 1554 BC, the king was given the title ‘pharaoh’, from the Egyptian words ‘per aa’, meaning ‘great house’. Two officials, called viziers, helped him govern and collect taxes. Officials also ran the major state departments – the Treasury, the Royal Works (which supervised the building of pyramids and tombs), the Granaries, Cattle and Foreign Affairs. Every aspect of Egyptian life was under the pharaoh’s control.

Farmers at work in Egypt. The farmers’ year was split into three parts: the Inundation (July to November) when the Nile flooded, the Growing Season (December to March) and Harvest (March to July). When the flood made farmwork impossible, farmers were sent to work on the royal buildings.

Boats were the main form of transport, used for fishing, hunting and carrying cargo and passengers. When a pharaoh died, his body was taken by barge to his tomb.

The Egyptians believed that for a person’s soul to prosper in the next world, the body had to be preserved. This is why they made mummies. Dead bodies were embalmed and dried, then wrapped in linen strips and placed in coffins. The finest tombs were those of the kings. Some were buried in pyramids, but later rulers of Egypt were laid to rest in rock tombs, in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor. Most tombs were ransacked by robbers, but one survived largely intact. It was discovered and opened in 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter. The tomb belonged to the boy-king Tutankhamun, and inside were priceless treasures of a vanished world.  

PYRAMID CONSTRUCTION

No one knows exactly how the pyramids were built. It is thought that stone blocks, some as heavy as cars, were pulled to the site on wooden sledges dragged by teams of workers. These were hauled up a series of spiral mud and bricks ramps into place. Layer by layer the pyramid grew. Finally, the capstone at the top was added and the whole structure covered in white limestone casing blocks. Then the ramps were dismantled.