Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptian Introduction

Welcome to my Ancient Egyptian site!
Egypt is a country in North-West Africa. It is famous for its Mummys and the Pyramids of Egypt (More commonly known as the Pyramids of Giza), aligned with the Sphinx. All of the wonders of Egypt are focused around its ancient kingdom.

King Tutankhamun (AKA King Tut)

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Thousands of years ago, there lived a pharaoh called "Tutankhamun". He was born near the River Nile and lived in Egypt. When he was six, his father died and his brother and sister ruled for three years. They died each in turn, and when Tutankhamun was nine he was left to run Egypt alone. His uncle, however, stepped in and helped him while Tutankhamun lived like a normal boy living in royalty. When Tutankhamun was eighteen, he told his uncle that he was fine to rule the country with his wife. However, his uncle did not agree and killed Tutankhamun. Exactly how he died is unknown, although scientists are certain that Tutankhamun had a broken leg in life and not in death, so it is possible that King Tut's uncle never killed him.

Back to the story, Tutankhamun's uncle then wanted the throne permanently after his death. Thinking that he would be crowned pharaoh, he did not suspect any problems and a smooth running life. But he was wrong; King Tut was married and his wife ruled Egypt after his death. King Tut's uncle thought that the only way to get the throne was to marry Tutankhamun's wife. Egyptian families are complicated, but to put a long story short King Tut's wife was King Tut's sister and the grand-daughter of King Tut's uncle, so King Tut's uncle marrying King Tut's wife would mean King Tut's Uncle marrying his grand-daughter.

However, all families were complicated and this was no problem with the greedy uncle. King Tut's wife had other plans, though, and married a foreigner of Egypt. On his way to Egypt, he was murdered by King Tut's uncle, who then went back to Egypt and married King Tut's wife. End of story.

The discovering of King Tut's tomb

As I explained, Tutankhamun died, but then nobody knew where he was buried. Most Egyptian Pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings, on the other side of the River Nile, which runs across Egypt. Tutankhamun's big claim to fame was this secret of the tomb, hidden away for three thousand years. Very few pharaohs' tombs had been kept a secret for such a long time, and there were rumours and talks.

On the fifth of November 1922, Howard Carter was looking for this very tomb when he noticed something odd in the sand. As he walked, the sand seemed to become harder and harder, as though there was a big stone underneath it. He investigated this curious feeling of being on top of a secret place, and found stones underneath his feet. He informed Lord Carnavon of what he had seen, and Lord Carnavon came over.

King Tut's curse

Lord Carnavon came over to Egypt, and together they dug and found the tomb of Tutankhamun, a rich place filled with gold and precious minerals, history and priceless ancient objects. Engraved on the stone by the entrance in Hieroglyphics (the language the Egyptians wrote in) was a warning that whoever disturbed the royal sleep of the Pharaoh would be cursed! Again, this was of huge interest to the public, which grew when Lord Carnavon died one year later, strangely at the same time that his dog in London howled and dropped dead. King Tut's curse and his secret tomb is what made him famous.

So does the curse exist? The most likely answer is no, because Lord Carnavon died of an infected mosquito bite. However, just because he did not die strangely it does not explain how he died after finding the resting place of the king. Therefore, let's see how Howard Carter got on. He lived a long, rich and eventful life with no problems, dying at an old age. Do you still think it exists?

The Pyramids of Giza

There are many pyramids in Giza and in Egypt. At the time of their construction, they were the tallest buildings in the world, millions of bricks aligned mathematically piled upon one another. The pyramids were built, historians believe, at the same time as Stonehenge was in Salisbury, England. There is a big difference between the two, and we can see how advanced Egyptians were by comparing the two together. One is a tall and impressive structure with thousands of stones aligned perfectly, and the other is a bunch of stones from Wales piled up randomly.

The pyramids were used for a very long time to bury pharaohs in. The pharaoh was buried in the heart of the pyramids, guarded by trap doors, dead ends, soldier and traps. Technically, the pyramids were a maze. Soon, however, grave robbers managed to break in and steal the pharaoh's treasure. There is an impressive story of a group of people trying to steal a pharaoh's treasure before it was put into the tomb. I cannot remember the exact details, but trust me it was the true plot of a criminal mastermind(s).

So the pharaohs thought that burying themselves in pyramids were risky, and they hid the burial place from the views of the kingdom. Grave robbers now had to find the grave and then steal from it, making their jobs more complicated. Clever Egyptians!

The Weighing of the Heart

The Ancient Egyptians belived that they went to the afterlife after they died if they passed a certain test called the weighing of the heart. What they thought would happen was that the people and Osiris would introduce you to the test. Then you would have been given questions about life, of which a scribe would have written down your answers. At the end of the test, your heart will be put on scales with the Feather of Truth. If your heart weighs more than the feather, you would have been eaten by Anubius, and that would have been the end of you. But if the feather weighs more, you were through to the afterlife.

Okay, so it wasn't that easy. There were certain other steps to ensure your new life that were taken, like passing several gates to actually find the chamber where you'd have the Weighing of the Heart.

Getting Mummyfied

Most Egyptians were mummified (turned into mummies) when they died. If you wern't mummyfied, you would not go to the weighing of the heart or the afterlife. They were mainly made in Egypt, but the first mummies were made in Chincorro, Chile. It takes about 17 days to be mummyfied. But, you don't get mummyfied today.

So there's some facts about mummifying. But what is mummifying? First of all, you would have had certain parts of your body taken out, such as your brain, and put into Canopic Jars. Then you would have been wrapped around in a bandage. That is a long process shortened to make it easy for you, but yes there are more steps.

The River Nile

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Egypt has one river that cuts right through the country; the River Nile. It is currently the world's longest river, stretching 6,695 kilometers. The Nile was an excellent source for water to feed the crops of the poor, and canals were built connecting the main river to their crops.

One day of the year, every year, the River Nile floods, and the flood stays there for six months. Afterwards there is quite a lot of mud around, and Ancient Egyptians would have been rather smelly with lots of mud on their feet as most Ancient Egyptians were poor people; slaves working for the rich, and only the rich had sandals.

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