Ancient Egypt CLA3160 MWF 7

th
Period
August 22, 2012
Physical Borders Egypt is very well defended by these natural barriers:
North Mediterranean Sea
South Sudan
East Red Sea
West Sahara Desert
Rainfall
Most rainfall is in South Africa
Practically 0 rainfall in North Africa
Nile River being long and fertile was very important
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August 24, 2012
Nile River only source of freshwater
Starts in Central Africa in Uganda from Lake Victoria
Flows from South to North
Divided into separate Niles (Blue and White Nile)
o Blue Nile flows from the mountains of Ethiopia
o White Nile originates from Uganda
o Blue and White Nile merge in the Sudan Capital, Khartoum.
Reaches the Mediterranean Sea forming a triangle shaped delta
Main highway; easier to navigate than land
o Egyptians didnt have horses or donkeys
o Nile was the chief means of transportation
**Winds in Northern Africa blow from North to South (opposite direction of the Nile)**
Direction of the Nile currents and the wind gave the Egyptians advantage of traveling up and down the
Nile with ease = were able to cover great distances comfortably
**Hieroglyph for North = boat without sails South = boat with sails**
The Six Cataracts Places where the riverbed breaks
6 places where rocks break stream of river forming rapids (cataracts)
1
st
cataract (Aswan) Southern boundary of Egypt = Nubia
o location of granite quarries
Foreigners were not able to invade Egypt without slowing down at the cataracts = defense

Nile Valley strip of land along the river, which is the only area where you can cultivate crops
Fertile green strip
The river flooded the valley every summer (Aug-Nov.). Riverbed spills over the valley and falls
back leaving fertile land.
**Kemet The Black Land refers to the fertile valley**
**Deshret The Red Land refers to the uninhabitable desert**

**Fayoum Only other large water formation (swampy) where fertile land can be cultivated**
There are four large oases west of the Nile Valley
Bahariya
Farafra
Dahkla have roman ruins
Kharga have roman ruins
Lake Nassar in Egypt is an artificial lake made to regulate the Nile flooding.
Obelisk pillar-like monument
Can be over 100ft (tall or long) and weighs hundreds of tons
Cut from a single piece of stone.
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September 5, 2012
Predynastic Period before the creation of dynasties; no unified nation
Archaic Period Egypt was united as 1 nation
Intermediate Kingdoms times of crisis in the central government of Egypt
2-3 Kings ruling over different parts of Egypt as opposed to it being united
Indicates a break in the dynastic system
Ptolemiac Period Egypt ruled by the Greek (ex. Alexander the Great)
Roman Period Egypt ruled by the Roman Empire




Dynasty A line of kings (either by blood or divine intervention)
Sources for Egyptian History
Monuments very large and life-like; buildings, structures, tombs
Objects and Artifacts household items; pottery, clothing, jewelry
Literary Sources By Egyptian writers or by foreigners writing about Egypt (ex. Roman, Greeks,
Persians)
Monuments domestic or settlement sites (cities, towns, villages, fortresses)
Dier El Medina workers village
o Village of poor people who built the tombs and pyramids
o People of the village had head hair and facial hair (indicated lower class)
**Upper class people were clean-shaven. They did not have head hair or facial
hair. This was the same for women and children as well. They wore ventilated
wigs, which were much cooler than having hair. Men AND women wore fake
woven beards = symbol of power.**
Cemeteries for humans and animals
o Humans and animals were mummified
o Burial grounds existed for both
o Valley of the Kings royal cemetery
Near Thebes, west of the Nile Valley
Objects and Artifacts pottery, makeup, clothing, jewelry, weapons, tools and food
Clothing was preserved by the dry climate and silica. Organic matter such as clothing does not
usually survive
Vases appear in different styles but more simple pottery is usually found as opposed to elegant
ones
Makeup eyes were heavily made up
o Used by men, women and children
o Not only used for aesthetic reasons, a lot of black eye makeup was used to deflect
sunlight from eyes
Jewelry headbands, necklaces, bracelets, earrings
o Cones of animal fats and perfume were worn on the heads to deodorize them and keep
them smelling good (such as in large parties)
Tools
o Doubled as weapons as well
Food Egypts dry climate helps to preserve organic matter
o Bread was a food staple
Egyptians were manufacturers of bread
o Second most common food = poultry
o Sacrificial food included flat bread, roasted duck, and fruit

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September 10, 2012
Literary Sources
Manetho
o Egyptian historian with only surviving works
o Egyptian priest living between 4
th
and 3
rd
century BCE
o Author of A History of Egypt (historical data from 3100 to 343 BCE)
Written in Greek. Survives in excerpts compiled by other writers
o Was the one who started dividing and organizing events into dynasties still used today
Kings List
o Inscriptions from temple walls
o Short accounts of history associated with names of Egyptian kings
o Listing the names of Egyptian rulers from the unification of Egypt (Under Menes 3100
BCE) to contemporary times
o Used for the rituals of the royal ancestors
Egyptian kings were thought to be partly divine and were worshipped as gods
after death
o e.g. The table from the temple of King Sethy I of Abydos lists 76 kings from Menes (first
king) to Sethy himself (SN: Sethy was the father of Ramses)
o Inscriptions were transcribed as follows:
Top Kings names were written
Middle summary of important events during kings reign
Bottom recordings of height of Nile flood during certain times
These recordings were important because Egyptian economy was based
on the flood. Too low = no crops, Too high destruction
Turin Canon
o Papyrus document
Writing material of the ancient books
Survived in brittle condition - scraps
Preserved in Turin, Italy
Containing data on 80-90 kings down to the reign of Ramses II (1304 1213
BCE)
Palermo Stone
o Fragmentary inscription of diorite
o Preserved in Palermo, Italy
o Contains a continuous year by year record of the reign in the first 5 dynasties (Archaic
period and Old Kingdom)


Literary sources included both Egyptian and Graeco-Roman documents
o **Herodotus (Book II)**
o Diodorus
o Strabo
o Plutarch *
o Pliny the Elder *
Evidence used in Egyptology
o From a satellite picture, the Nile Valley looks green as opposed to the rest of the yellow
desertish Egypt

o God of the Nile Flood Hapy
o Was essentially the flood personified = had water for skin
o Symbolizes happiness, prosperity and fertility (sometimes shown as being fat)

o The Nile Origins
o The rain and the melted snow from the mountains of Ethiopia enlarge the Blue Nile that
flows into the White Nile, thus causing the Nile flood. It drags nice, rich mountain soil
down into the Sudan.
o When the Nile reaches Egypt during in midsummer, the valley is flooded with excess
water and afterwards the water falls back into the riverbanks.
o Kemet - The Black Land Deshret The Red Land or desert

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September 12, 2012
The Egyptian calendar was divided into three seasons.
Achet Inundation building season
o Mid-July to Mid-November; Nile Valley was covered in Water
Peret Emergence
o Winter; Mid-November to Mid-March; water falls back into the riverbed
Shemw Low water or dryness
o Summer; Mid-March to Mid-July
The hieroglyphic symbol for "month" shows a crescent moon. The number of bars (or stars) underneath
the crescent moon indicates the specific numbered month. Egyptian calendar had 12 months like ours.


Crops of Egypt
Nile Valley was used for **cereal crops e.g. wheat and barley**
During Peret, the field was prepared. The man plows the land and the woman casts the seeds.
Harvesting of wheat during shemw
o To harvest wheat, the wheat stalks were cut with a sickle. The sickle was a curved piece
of wood with sharp teeth made of obsidian (sharp, volcanic glass).
o The Egyptians did not have iron for their tools. Only copper (soft metal).
o Thresh cattle treads over wheat to break spikes
o Winnow the process of separating the kernel from the husk
o The King was the owner of all the land. He leased the land to the peasants who will work
the land and give crops as payments to the king.
o Kings officials will take notes of the kernel cut.
Flax was used to make linen = main fabric
o Wool and silk were brought into Egypt later
o Flax was difficult to harvest. Had to be pulled from the ground. The hard, milky stalks
were slippery and difficult to grasp.
The bakeries doubled as breweries as well
o Beer staple drink
Created in the Middle East
The harvested barley was principally used for beer. A small amount was used for
a certain type of bread.
Vegetable farms were on the edges of the Nile Valley where the desert starts.
o Had to be watered artificially
o A channel was built from the Nile River to the vegetable farms; large enough for a boat
to go down the channel

o Shaduf was used to retrieve water from the channel; some variation of a lever; saved
effort and was easy to use
o Because of the dry climate, vegetables with high water content were grown e.g. lettuce
o Fruits were an important source of sugars since sugar was hard to come around
o Flowers and plants were part of God offerings and religious rituals
flowersbees honey (sugar)
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September 17, 2012
Crops of Egypt (Continued)
Main drink = beer
o Didnt know about wine until later
o Learned from the Greek
Fayum main agricultural area because it was well-watered; swamp
Oases were good for cultivating grapes ---- thus wine was made
Meat and Fish were part of the diet
o Egyptians raised cattle
Included short- and long-horned cattle and camels
Located in the delta because cattle need green pasture for grazing
Kings officials took census was taken of all cattle heads on a certain day of the
year
Killed cow by cutting the throat
Milk cattle were milked
Also had goats and sheep. Pigs were restricted because of hygiene purposes
Egyptian Ducks not common in the US or West Europe.
Were water birds and were as abundant as chicken
Ate ducks
Hunted water fowls and fished with nets
Fished the Nile Perch
Fish was good because it could be dried up and preserved (hanged and
sundried) source of protein
Egyptians were especially fond of exotic animals. They liked to domesticate wild, exotic animals.
Used songbirds for music and entertainment
Cats were important Gods
o Cats were used for hunting and dogs were used to exterminate (very large) rats.
o Were mummified
Wild animals
o Nile Crocodile considered a God and often mummified
o Nile Hippopotamus aggressive and threatening; hunted for sport with harpoons by the
aristocrats; risked extinction in the 1800s

o Scorpion small and poisonous
o Tadpoles and frogs The tadpole is the symbol for 100,000 because of the vast number
of them. Thousands and thousands of them live in the Nile.
Egyptians did not like to travel by desert.
Stayed in the Nile Valley
Ventured into the desert for scientific expeditions and to capture exotic animals
Got giraffes (from Central Africa) and horses
Didnt use the camel
o Only nomads who raided Egypt used camels
o The Egyptians couldnt catch them because they didnt have animals to chase after them
with
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September 19, 2012

Predynastic Period (5000-3100 BCE) 0 dynasties; did not have a single king ruling Egypt
Paleolithic Period Greek Paleos old, Lithos stone
Early stone age (ca. 45000 BCE) used stones for tools and construction
50,000 years ago, Africa was different climactically was very moist
o Change began at the end of the Paleolithic period; North Africa became more arid
o Massive movement of animals and hunting communities East towards the Nile Valley =
which became the single source of freshwater in North Africa, and the Delta regions in
search for a more hospitable environment to live in
o Hunters usually hunted all the animals in a region then moved on. Gatherers gathered
all the fruits and berries and moved on. Once at the Nile Valley, they were able to settle
permanently.
Neolithic Period - Greek Neos young, Lithos stone
Recent stone age (ca. 6500 BCE)
Transition from a nomadic to a settled lifestyle,
Transition from a hunting to an agricultural economy
Development of crafts
o Production of pottery, tools, weapons, and domestic utensils
Settled societies naturally developed architectural techniques
o For self and next generation
o Built dwellings that last through time
Cult of the Dead establishment of cemeteries separated from settlement sites
Establishment of first permanent settlements in Egypt
o Merimda, Gerza, EL Badari, Naqada

Sequence Dating
o The introduction of pottery in the new economy of Neolithic Egypt provides
archaeologists with an important dating tool for a period lacking in historical record
Plenty of mud around = lots of pots
o Built a chronological sequence based on characteristic/style of pottery
o Sir W. M. Flinders Petrie first archaeologist to excavate the prehistoric sites of ancient
Egypt, used this dating technique to isolate 3 distinctive cultural phases in predynastic
history.
Neolithic and Predynastic Cultures
1. Badarian Culture (from El Badari = main site associated with artifacts from this culture)
2. Naqada 1 and Naqada 2 culture (from Naqada ancient Nubt = main site associated with
artifacts from this culture)
Other cultures similar to the three chief ones above have been identified in the Delta, in the Fayum
and in the Sudan due to the expansion of the Badarian and Naqada cultures beyond their place of
origin.
Badarian Culture
o Tombs were not clearly separated from the area of the living huts were for humans
and cows
o Chronology: Late Neolithic, Early Predynastic (5500-4000 BCE)
o Social organization: small-scale villages with buildings made of perishable materials
nomads recently settled.
o Ceramics red-colored with a black border

o Stonework stone vases in various shapes and stone types; cosmetic palettes; human
and animal figurines (Identified with religious figures); very cheap to make because mud
is everywhere along the banks of the Nile.
o Bone and Ivory work domestic implements; human and animal figurines = figurines
were cut from bone
o Burials burial grounds removed from villages
Burial grounds were oval shaped, shadow pits, where the deceased is laid out
on its left side in a contracted position, facing west. The body is encased in a
basket of twigs, matting, or a skin.
Dead are place in a fetal position
Economical dig less, smaller hole
Always on the left side facing west where the Land of the Dead is
(where the sun sets)

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September 21, 2012
Naqada 1 Culture
o Chronology Early predynastic (4500-4000 BCE)
o Social organization: first evidence (in models) for town planning (no more scattered
huts) and some Egyptian architectural forms
o Ceramic innovations in decoration (geometric motives inspired from plant life,
animal figures and shape (animal-shaped vases) and Dancer figurines = in which
gods appear to humans with hands raised
o Stonework same as Badarian, but open to foreign influences
o Bone and Ivory work same as Badarian, but open to foreign influences
Aesthetics on objects
Shows an artistic theme
Shows thinking in perspective like planting a tree that bears fruit after 35
years for the future
o Burials increase in grave goods (started putting more stuff in the graves); were
larger; can have double burials
Naqada 2 Culture
o Chronology Predynastic (4000-3500 BCE)Egypt became a kingdom in 3200 BCE
o Social organization villages reunited in larger political administration units (similar
to later spats with a capital, a ruler, and a local god = mini states
o Ceramics advancement in decoration with more naturalistic depictions of plant
and animal life
Had little cleats that you can run a rope thru to secure it
o Stonework same as Naqada 1, but more refined and open to foreign influences
from the East
o Bone and Ivory Work Knife of Gebel el Arak
o Burials appearance of the Mastaba tomb (architectural super structure) for the
rulers; common folks continue to be buried in pit graves
o Writing appearance of early hieroglyph forms for the first time
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September 24, 2012
The Two Lands (3400-3100 BCE) Independent communities of Late Neolithic Egypt that were
eventually incorporated into two larger political entities. The Two lands formed two different kingdoms
centered respectively around the capital cities of Pe, in lower Egypt, and Nekhen, in upper Egypt.

The Red Land (Lower Egypt)
o Location: The Delta
o Capital: Pe (=Buto)
o Deity Edijo (=Cobra goddess)
o Royal Symbol Red crown
The White Land (Upper Egypt)
o Location: Southern Egypt
o Capital: Nekhen (=Hierakonpolis = City of Falcon)
o Deity Nekhbet (=Vulture Goddess)
o Royal Symbol White crown
The Different Crowns of Egypt
White Crown - Upper Egypt
Red Crown Lower Egypt
Combined Red/White crown United Egypt

Blue crown - war crown
Feathered crown - used for religious ceremonies
Cloth crown least formal
Animal Symbols
Vulture identified with special powers; divine; nurturing and maternity; goddess (pictured as a
naked woman with wings); symbol of Upper Egypt
Hawk symbol of the king
Cobra token animal in Egyptian religion; symbol of Lower Egypt
6
th
district of Upper Egypt The Crocodile
King Crocodile
Had animal names
8
th
district of Upper Egypt The Great Land
King Scorpion
Late dynastic period (Dynasty 0 before 3100 BCE)



Early Dynastic Period (3100-2686 BCE Dynasty 1-2)
King Menes
o Identified with Narmer (King Catfish), conquered Lower Egypt and unified the country
under one rule and establishing the first dynastic line
o Narmer is King Catfish
Pictured as aggressive, beating Lower Egyptians
King is always shown to be taller
Upper Egypt invaded Lower Egypt. The capital of the unified Egyptian state was placed at
Memphis (first capital of Egypt), at the apex of the Delta.
o The capital accommodated the royal palace, the central administration, the treasury,
judiciary and a center for foreign trades. He built the capital in the land he just occupied
to maintain control.
o The royal cemeteries were located at Abydos (Upper Egypt) and later at Saqqara (Lower
Egypt). The Mastaba is the tomb form (built in mud brick) used in this period for royalty
and noblefolk.
Subsidiary burials of women, servants, craftsman, and animals attest to the
early practice of burying the King with his earthly companions, attendants, and
pets.
Ritual killings accompanied the funeral of Egyptian kings
All burials occurred at the same time the King died! It is to make sure
the King goes with his possessions (including wives and servants).
Kings had lots of wives to ensure he always had offspring.
Abydos oldest, ancient cemetery of Royals and certain Gods; magical and
supernatural place; in Upper Egypt
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September 26, 2012
Main concept of Mastaba = central area devoted to tomb of the king and surrounding buildings for
storage and other burials
Osiris known as King of the Dead
Tomb of Osiris has a huge statue of him
Depicted as a mummified guy
Dismemberment theme Egyptians experimented with mummification early; dismembered
dead body and put it back together to bring it back to life = believed it brings new life into the
life; from the Osiris myth



Myths of Osiris
Osiris had a mean brother called Set (God of Mischief, Chaos, and Unruliness). Set was always
jealous of Osiris so he cut him into pieces and threw him in the Nile. Isis (Osiriss wife) looked for
each of Osiriss body parts and found them and puts them back together, with the exception of
the penis. She went to the God Thoth and asked him to make another penis for Osiris, the last
piece to bring him back to life, which he did.
o Osiris was now a new and alive god = became the early model for mummification
Osiris was tricked into trying out a new coffin, which Set nailed shut and threw into the Nile. Isis
saves Osiris once again.
Osiris decides to leave the Upper World and become ruler of the Nether World

Early Dynastic Period (2829-2686 BCE Dynasty 2)
Hotepsekhemwy the 2 powers are reconciled
Peribsen
Khasekemwy the 2 powers have appeared
o Shows Set and Horus (son of Osiris and Isis) wearing the mixed crown of Upper and
Lower Egypt
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October 1, 2012
Old Kingdom (2686-2181 BCE Dynasties 3-6)
Main features of the Old Kingdom
Political strong centralized power centered around the god king
Monuments built without the use of the wheel or hard metals; had the largest structures in
the world until 2 centuries ago (The Pyramids of Giza)
Economical highly organized system of food production; large scale building programs (royal
tomb complexes, sun temples)
o Peret work (plow) the fields
o Shemu harvest crops
o Achet building season
Religious Cult of the Sun God
Cultural hieroglyphic writing
Social and economic structure In this period, Egypt appears as a highly organized, centralized
theocracy based on the god king
o The king was not obeyed because he was a high leader but because he was thought to
be a god

o The social economic structure is pyramidal with the king at the top of the pyramid and a
broad base of peasantry (80% of the total population) at the bottom. Between the king
and peasantry stands an intermediate class of administrative and religious officials.
Religious organization
o Religious centers
Heliopolis (Ra) Greek for City of the Sun
Memphis (Ptah) Ptah was the inventor God = creator of new technology and
inventions
Hermopolis (Thoth) Greek for City of Hermes Hermes was the creator of
writing, math, and engineering
o Temple Design Solar temple or Sun temple
o Portrayal of Gods:
Ra hawk with a big sun disk on his head
Ptah represented as a mummy
Thoth baboon with a papyrus or stylus because he was the inventor of writing
Ra: Ptah: Thoth:

o Central Cult Ra (Sun God) = had 3 personalities
Ra Atum creator of the universe
Ra Herakty represented the sun on the horizon; Deeper meaning = the sun at
the horizon is not an exact location. You are able to see it but cannot necessarily
find/pinpoint its location. Ra Herakty was used to represent thresholds or areas
of reality we cannot understand such as the sun on the horizon
Ra Kephri represented as an Egyptian scarab beetle; this beetle was known for
his habit of rolling balls of dung along the ground and depositing them in its
burrows. The ray-like antenna on the beetle's head and its practice of dung
rolling caused the beetle to also carry solar symbolism. The scarab-beetle god
Kephri was believed to push the setting sun along the sky in the same manner as
the beetle with his ball of dung. In many artifacts, the scarab is depicted pushing
the sun along its course in the sky.
o Royal Cult
King = represented with Horus (son of Osiris and Isis) symbol of royal power
Each king was believed to be half divine, born of the union of the leading god
(Ra) and the Great Royal Wife (the chief wife of the former king)
As such, the king was immortal and required elaborate burial and funerary
offerings
Egyptians thought of immortality not as living forever but the ability to
continue life after death

Originally, only the king was mummified as a means of preserving the
body for the afterlife.
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October 3, 2012
Old Kingdom Dynasty 3 (2686-2613 BCE)
There were 4 kings during Dynasty 3
Sanakhte
Djoser associated with the creation of the 1
st
pyramid
Sekhemkhet
Khaba
Djoser (Neterkhjet)
Imhotep charged with designing the burial place for Djoser; He got inventive (no more
mastabas)
Imhotep built the step pyramid at Saqqara (royal cemetery in Lower Egypt)
o Pyramid imitates earlier models (mastaba with an enclosed wall)
Elements of the Step Pyramid
Had a large enclosed wall with a complex building within seen in the mastabas of Naqada 2
and in the 2
nd
dynasty with King Khasekemwy
Had one real door and several fake doors; the fake doors were just solid wall
Chamber built on the side of the pyramid
o Contained an enthroned statue of Djoser with 2 peepholes (at mans height) looking
through to the statue
o Grave robbers got in to steal grave goods including precious stones that were once
Djosers eyes.
Racetrack
o Believed the king had to do exercise in the afterlife
o Leaders were often the strongest warriors and the most physically endowed
The physical fitness of the king was always checked to see if he was fit to rule
Usually had the king run a certain distance under a certain time. And once the
king got too old to complete this successfully, he was killed.

When Imhotep died, he was so important he became a god (because he invented the pyramid).
Design of the pyramid
o Started out building plain mastabas

o Mastabas were stacked on top of each other decreasing in size as they went up; got
larger and larger (about 4 mastabas in height)
o Djoser decided to expand the pyramid to be 6 mastabas high


Tracing of Burial Style Tombs
First Dynasty mastaba
Third Dynasty step pyramid
Fourth Dynasty Earliest true pyramid
Fourth Dynasty- Bent Pyramid
Sneferu of the Fourth Dynasty
First pyramid collapsed core structure only remains
o Started placing the blocks vertically then changed to horizontal placing structure was
not stable
Bent pyramid first plan was to build at a 60 degree slope (regular slope was roughly 45
degrees); 60 degrees proved to be too steep so they changed it to 55 degrees halfway through
the building of the structure

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October 8, 2012
Giza Plateau
Royal cemetery of Pyramids in the Land of the Kings
Include:
o Khufu largest
o Khafra
o Menkaura


The names of Royals were usually enclosed in a rectangular shape but now they are enclosed in a
rounded rectangular shape = referred to as a Cartouche

Cartouche
o French researchers and scholars brought by Napoleon thought it resembled a rifle
cartridge called a cartouche hence the name.
o Kings names of the 4
th
Dynasty and on used the cartouche. Kings names before the 4
th

Dynasty used the serekh.
Cairo can be seen from the top of the pyramids
The Pyramids of Giza are aligned along the same axis

King Khufu
The only surviving replica of King Khufu is a tiny statue
Khufus Pyramid was 449 feet tall
o Tallest structure on Earth until the 19
th
century
o One of the seven wonders of the world
o Touristic activity = climbing pyramids
o Queens pyramids and mastabas of Khufus family members were positioned near the
pyramid
Pyramid Structure
o Entrance was located about 1/3 the height of the pyramid; not floor level
Limit tomb robbing
o Entrance was sealed with limestone rock. It goes down a long passage that takes you
deep down into the Pyramid at a 35 degree angle = called descending passage
o Leads down into a subterranean chamber; has smooth and rough walls = thought to
have stopped building chamber because they decided not to bury the King there
o Built another passage going up the pyramid that leads to the core of the pyramid =
called the ascending passage

o The ascending passage levels out until it is parallel to the ground; come across a Queens
Chamber (called such because Kings body was not there; used for lack of a better term;
no evidence Queen was buried there).
Queens Chamber is a smooth, finished chamber but it was empty. Not meant to
be the final resting chamber of the King
o Grand Gallery plugged up with limestone rubble and broken stones
o Then leads to the burial chamber of King Khufu Kings Chamber
Made of limestone but lined with red granite (hard to cut through but very
beautiful)
Wanted to distinguish the Kings chamber with red granite lining
Lies the stored coffin of Khufu
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October 10, 2012
The Kings Chamber had two airshafts
Airshafts were oriented to the Northern polar stars and to Orion
The Airshafts were not actual airshafts because they were stopped up with limestone
plugs (similar to the fake doors on the outside of the pyramids).
Not meant for ventilation or lighting
Thought to help the transition of the Pharaohs soul to the next life by reunion with certain
constellations
The Queens chamber also had unfinished airshafts but were covered up in the final
construction
There were 5 attic-like chambers above the Kings burial chamber so the rock weight (thousands of tons
of limestone rock above) is diffused.
Security System of the Kings Chamber
Burial chamber was locked and secured from the outside to keep out grave robbers
Chamber entrance was secured by 5 massive slabs of limestone
Grave robbers had to go through all the false chambers and confusing passages to find the real
Kings Chamber only to be faced with layers of thick limestone slabs to cut through
Pyramids did not emphasize decoration
No paintings or sculpted decoration
No interior decoration
The exception being the 5
th
and 6
th
dynasty addition of inscriptions around the burial chamber
called pyramid text = magic spells to protect the body of the pharaoh
o Pyramid text incorporated magical devices; were also directions for the soul of the
pharaoh to reach the final destination

Queens Pyramids little pyramids in front of the main pyramid; were supposed to be for the wives of
King Khufu
In the first pyramid, the burial chamber was empty with a set of bedroom furniture for a
queens bedroom. The first pyramid was for Queen Hetepheres, the Chief Wife of
Nebmaat/Sneferu and also the mother of Khufu.
Why was Khufus mother buried next to her son and not next to Sneferu?
Disguised burial site of royalty because grave robbers got into Sneferus pyramid
Obelisks
Buried full-scale boats in the pyramid to help the king move around in the afterworld
Landscape of the Pyramid
Chose a flat area with enough limestone quarries around for construction
Far enough from the Nile River to avoid flood water but close enough for transportation of
material
Built channels with a harbor to connect river and construction site
o Dock arrival spot for the boat carrying the body of the pharaoh
Built a network of pathways and tracks
Built a workers village for construction workers because they would be away for months
building the pyramid
Used limestone diorite pounders to cut through the limestone because all they had was copper
(no hard metals)
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October 15, 2012
Limestone Quarries in Giza no hard metals so they used harder stones to cut hard stones
Also stuck wood between stones and then wet the wood so it can expand and detach stones
from one another
Workforce believed they were working not only for the King but for God
Egyptians gave more value to result than to the time it took
Smoothed faces of blocks so they can be placed
Used wooden mallets and copper chisels
o Chisel was used to dress the block and give it a smooth surface or pattern
Tura Limestone was used on the outside of the pyramid
Shows the same effects as metals; in the moonlight it looks like silver and in the sunlight it looks
gold

Pyramids have been stripped of this outside lining
Blocks have been reused for other construction in the Middle Ages
The most skilled stage of pyramid construction was the use of copper saws (with grooves) to cut blocks
Movement of limestone blocks
Blocks were pushed and pulled on a wooden sled
Egyptians had smoothed out lanes, placed wooden beams and poured grease/water on the path
to facilitate movement of blocks
Built ramps with a moderate slope to push block up the pyramid to be placed
o Dismantled afterwards sometimes
o Theory of wrap-around ramp
How did the Egyptians push block into place at the tip top of the pyramid? No pulleys? No lifts?
No cranes? Perhaps used a variation of a shaduf?
During Achet (flood season), since you cannot work the field, the King drafts you to build tombs in the
desert
Moved workers with their families
Need to live in the desert for a few months
Crew of over 2000 men
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October 17, 2012
Causeway road-like structure to connect the pyramid to the river
>2000m from Khufus Pyramid
>1500m from Khafras Pyramid
Mortuary temple funerary rituals were performed; didnt want people to know where the king was
buried after the pyramid was sealed, it is the only place for priest and worshippers
Valley Temple where the boat carrying pharaohs body docks; built on the side of the docks
Sphinx Temple located right next to the Valley Temple
Khafras Sphinx
Sphinx common as a mythical creature; there are statues and paintings of it but nothing as large
as the Sphinx of Giza
It is a hybrid creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion
Protects the burial place
o Could the human face of the Sphinx be a portrait of Khafra?
Originally a chunk of limestone from the ground that has been cut into a sphinx
Was a sacred place before Sphinx was carved out

o Sacred Rock carved into something sacred.
A later king had a dream about the Sphinx and thus funding was made to have the Sphinx
restored
Religious Temple
Sun (Solar) Temple Ra the Sun God
The following kings were associated with building the sun temple (5
th
Dynasty)
o Userkhaf
o Aha
o Niuserra
o Unas
Sun Temple similar to pyramidal monument with an enclosed wall and in the middle a square
structure
o On top of the square structure was an obelisk
o Also contains a causeway that takes you to a valley temple
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October 24, 2012
Old Kingdom (2686-2181 BCE)
Political and Religious Organization The Theocratic System
o Each king was believed to be half-divine, born of the union of the leading God Ra and
the Great Royal Wife
o Because Kings practiced polygamy, disputes arose among royal children over the
succession to the throne.
o Kings would give their siblings very generous land grants to compensate for taking
throne as firstborn
o Originally these privileges were restricted to royal family members and only lasted thru
ones lifetime
o Later they were extended to individuals outside of the royal family and were made
hereditary. Over time King loses land = less land, less taxes
Economic Disadvantages
o The Kings wealth consisted of the land Egypt plus the rent, which he received for it from
his administrators (the tithe, or tenth part from a lands yearly revenue).
o With every donation, the king reduced both the principal and interest on his capital,
while simultaneously economically empowering his administrators.
The Collapse of the Old Kingdom
o With time, the power and wealth of the aristocracy increased as the Kings power and
wealth decreased.
o The aristocracy grew more independent as the king begun losing control over the
various districts of the country

o Eventually aristocrats claimed for themselves the right to immortality, which until then
had been a privilege of the King.
o The Cult of Ra began losing ground to the more democratic Cult of Osiris, which granted
immortality to everybody.
Collapse of the Old Kingdom Overview
o Economical dispersion of royal wealth thru donations to local nobles and temples
o Political decentralization of power with gradual advancement of local powers to the
disadvantage of the central power
o Ideological general loss of faith in the Kings authority
o Religious increased questioning at the Kings unique claim to immortality;
democratization of funerary and religious customs, resulting in the rise of Osiris
o Other factors
Economical Low Nile floods = famine
Military repeated incursions of nomadic people from the Western Desert on
camels
o Reflections of the crisis
Funerary customs changed large-scale pyramid building is discontinued
Literature Pessimistic Literature (Admonitions of Ipuwer; Prophecy of
Neferti)
End of the Old Kingdom the 6
th
dynasty ended with a few obscure kings who succeeded Pepy
II. In the 130-year period that followed, Egypt was ruled regionally by local nobles.
Situation at the beginning of the 1
st
Intermediate Period
Memphis had obscure kings that ruled mainly over Lower Egypt (Dynasty 7-8, reported by
Manetho)
o Internal rivalry among the various Egyptian districts resulted eventually in the
emergence of some strong center, which weaker districts became first allied and later
bound in political dependence.
Herakleopolis (Greek City of Herakles) In the 20
th
district of Upper Egypt, it gained
supremacy over other Egyptian cities under the rule of Achthoes (Meriybre)
o Achthoes started a new dynastic line which comprises Dynasties 9-10
o Achievements of Herakleopolitan Kings
1. Reorganization of Northern Egypt
2. Revival of Memphis as a capital
3. Revival of Saqqara as a royal cemetery
4. Revival of foreign trade
Thebes
o In the 4
th
district of Upper Egypt, Thebes rose to power in the Southern Part of the
country, usurping the status of district capital from another city
o A Theban nobleman, Intef, then challenged the royal power of Herakleopolis by
proclaiming himself King of Upper and Lower Egypt.

o With Intef begins a period in which Egypt is ruled simultaneously by Theban and
Herakleopolitan co-regents.
o This phase ends when Theban king Mentuhotep conquers Herakleopolis, reuniting Egypt
under one crown (11
th
Dynasty)
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October 26, 2012
First Intermediate (2181-1991 BCE) Dynasties 7-11
Memphis Dynasties 7-8
Herakleopolis Dynasties 9-10
Thebes Dynasty 11
Middle Kingdom (1991-1786BCE) Dynasty 12
Political events at the end of the First Intermediate Period
The vizier Amenhemet assassinated the King of the 11
th
dynasty, taking over the throne as
Amenhemet I. As a commoner, Amenhemet had no legitimate claim to the throne; he and
his descendants had to adopt special measures to establish and maintain power.
Changes introduced by Amenhemet ! and his family
1. Capital moved from Memphis to It-Towry in the Fayyuum
2. Coregency introduced to protect the ruling line from rival claimants to the throne.
a. First Coregent Senusert I
3. Disempowerment of local governors (implemented by Senusert III)
As a result of this action was the ascent of a new middle class made of craftsmen,
tradesmen and small farmers, all very loyal to the ruling line.
The Military State
o The Kings of Dynasty 12 were military leaders who adopted strong domestic
(Senusert IIIs actions against local governors) and foreign policies. The latter were
dictated by both trading and military needs.
o Trading Centers
Crete (olive oil, wine) created a monopoly on these items
Byblos and Libya (timber)
Punt of the Red Sea (gemstones, spices)
Located on the point of the Somalian peninsula
o Military Action
Nubia: New campaigns (Senusert III)
Establishment of military outposts at fortresses between the cataracts to
keep the Nubians at bade and also control the waterway
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October 29, 2012
Nubia = rich in gold; gold occurring naturally
Military actions in the Eastern Delta establishment of fortresses (Amenhemet I) to repel infiltrating
Bedouins (Aamu)
Changes in Art and Architecture
Art Atypically realistic royal portraiture
Architecture
o Royal burials budget pyramids, located in Lower Egypt
o Non-Royal burials rock-cut tombs, dug in the cliffs of Middle and Upper Egypt
o This separation reflects the process of democratization and decentralization of power
which occurred from the end of the Old Kingdom thru the First Intermediate Period
Changes in Religion and Royal Cult
Emergence of Osiris
a. The cult of Osiris, a democratic religion that granted eternal life to everybody regardless
of wealth and social class. It was appropriate to the climate of social change and
democratization brought in by the collapse of the Old Kingdom.
b. The popularity of the God of the Dead had its effect on Egyptian industry, resulting in a
mass production of funerary goods throughout the country
i. Funerary Equipment
1. Coffins still rectangular shaped coffins (human shaped coffins come
later)
2. Ushbetis little figurines that go in the grave = symbolic servants. They
had an inscription Whatever chores, whatever work expects my master
I am here to do it.
3. Models small-scale boats for transportation in afterlife
Royal allegiance to the cult of Amun
c. Temple of Amun al Karnak: The First Building Phase
i. Decorations outside of temple had sunken relief the lining of the figure is cut
out so the figure falls into the background
ii. Decorations inside of temple had raised relief the background is cut out so the
figure is raised like the face of a coin
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October 31, 2012
Second Intermediate Period (1786-1567 BCE) Dynasties 13-17
End of the Middle Kingdom the 12
th
Dynasty ended with the reigns of Amenhemet IV and his
sister, Queen Sobekneferu. The death of Sobekneferu sparks the transition form Dynasty 12 to
13.
Memphis Dynasty 13 consisted of a series of weak kings who failed to maintain full control of
the country
Xois Towards the end of Dynasty 13, an alternate dynastic line, Dynasty 14 established itself at
the Xois in the western delta.
Avaris Approximately in the same period, Semitic invaders from the East began invading from
the eastern delta, establishing their capital at Avaris
o The new people were called Hekau Kasut (Greek = Hyksos = Ruler of the Hills) by the
Egyptians
o The Hyksos settled in the Delta adopting Egyptian customs and starting a dynastic line of
their own (Dynasties 15-16).
o While the Hyksos kings of Avaris controlled the Delta, Upper Egypt was under the
control of a dynastic line based in Thebes (17
th
Dynasty)
o Avaris and Thebes lived in peace with one another for some time. Eventually they came
into conflict and in a series of campaigns led by Kings Seqenenre Taa and Kamose, the
Thebans succeeded in routing the Hyksos out of the Delta
o Kamoses successor, Ahmose, took the throne as the first king of the 18
th
Dynasty,
beginning the next period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom.