Egypt 5th B

Guadalupe, Margarita S. And Benjamín.

The pyramid was built as a magnificent tomb of a Pharaoh. To make sure that he would go to the afterworld, it was built on the west side of the Nile, where the sun set. They were built near the Nile because some of the huge stone blocks were carried by boat.

Experts believe pyramids had that shape because this was meant to be a giant staircase to help the dead pharaoh climb to heaven.Later pyramids had smooth sides to look like the rays of the sun.

Some pyramids are not very big, but others are enormous. The great pyramid is as tall as 146m. It has over two million blocks of stone. It took probably 20 years to build one.

To build a pyramid, the ground was cleared and leveled using channels filled with water.Limestone slabs were cut and shaped with chisels.The blocks of stones were carried by boat across the Nile.The heavy stones were dragged up into position using sledges and rollers.When the pyramid was finished, the ramps were removed. The workers covered the out side with polished slabs.

The burial chamber was put in the center of the pyramid, at the end of a narrow tunnel. The pharaohs treasures were buried with him.

Nobody knows why they stopped Nobody knows why they stopped building pyramids. It might have building pyramids. It might have been because pyramids were so been because pyramids were so enormous that they attracted all enormous that they attracted all the robbers.the robbers.

Tombs were rooms crammed with Tombs were rooms crammed with treasures made of gold and precious treasures made of gold and precious stones, clothes, furniture, pots, pans, stones, clothes, furniture, pots, pans, statues, paintings, writings and even statues, paintings, writings and even books.books.

mummies

The name mummy comes from mumiyah , the Arabic word for bitumen, that is a sort of tar used on the modern roads .

bitumen

The Egyptians made mummies to preserve the bodies because they believed in the in the “ after world”, which was the world after the death.

The embalmers were the men that made the mummies. They worked in tents called Beautiful House.

First they took out the internal organs from First they took out the internal organs from the body and putted in canopy jars.the body and putted in canopy jars.

Then , they covered the body all over with Then , they covered the body all over with a salt called natron , to dry it out. After a salt called natron , to dry it out. After several days , the insides were stuffed with several days , the insides were stuffed with linen , sawdust , natron and sweet – linen , sawdust , natron and sweet – smelling herbs.smelling herbs.

Next , the body was wrapped tightly with Next , the body was wrapped tightly with bandages.bandages.

Finally , a priest came to say prayers.Finally , a priest came to say prayers.

He wore a mask on his head to look like He wore a mask on his head to look like the jackal god Anubis, god of the dead.the jackal god Anubis, god of the dead.

Not all the people passed to the “ after life”, only the pharaohs or important men. At the hall of the two truths all the dead people were judged by the god Osiris . If they had led good lives, they lived happily ever after. For bad people , there was a hungry monster waiting to gobble them up.

Egyptians believe in many gods , for example: RA , they believe in him because they said he has create the world, he was the most important god.

ISIS AND OSIRIS , they were the first king and queen , Osiris was the god of the under world and rebirth. Long ago , he had taught people to farm. Isis was the creator of the first mummy. Her weeping caused the flooding of the Nile.

OSIRIS

Geography of Egypt

Ignacio Burgoa Corel Stefan Lammers and Ignacio Vallecillo

Egypt is very important in history because it is where

one of the oldest civilization in the

world began .

Egypt is located in northeastern Africa. It’s bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the east.

The Egyptian weather is hot and dry. The soil of Egypt is sandy and rocky.

The Nile is the longest river in the world. It originates more than 4800 kilometers away of Egypt in the hid land of East Africa wear raining seasons each year cause the river to flood. Near the Mediterranean Sea, it opeous. The Nile is formed by two important smaller river: The Blue Nile and The White Nile. The Blue Nile originates in etch topita and The white Nile originates in Lake Victoria in Tanzania.

The people of Egypt lived in villages on the banks of the Nile. Very few Egyptians lived anywhere else.

The houses depended on how rich the owners were. All Egyptian houses were made of mud bricks with wooden roofs covered with plaster and palm branches. Most had just one or two rooms, but rich people had cool, spacious villas brightly painted inside, with gardens and pools.

The furniture was scarce. Even rich people didn’t have much, and they used chests to store things.They kept their houses cool any way they could. Most houses had very thick walls and only very small, high windows.

Women wore their hair padded with ornaments for special occasions. Boys wore a long braid of hair on the head and men shaved their heads or wore wigs.Men and women, rich and poor people used jewels. Rings, beaded collars, bracelets, pectorals, ear-rings, armlets and only queens and pharaohs wore crowns.

Writing was important because only a few people knew how to write and read. They were people called “scribes “ who had the job of reading and writing for everybody else. I t was also because they thought writing had special powers. The people wrote with pictures or sings. It is called “HIEROGLYPHS”, and there are over 700 of them.

If the person or animals sign was looking to the left, you had to start reading from left to right but if it was looking to the right, you had to read from right to left. The papyrus was a special paper, made from reeds or bits of broken pottery. They used wooden bushes or pens to write. This made the sign more rounded. The words were simpler to write. This writing system is called HIERATIC script.

They wrote with ink. The ink was made with gum, into blocks of color, not liquid ink. The most common color were red, blue and black. The pen was dipped in water and then rubbed on the ink-block.There were blocks of different jobs. Many Egyptians were farmers, but there were different craftsmen and woman like teachers and scribes, papermakers, carpenter, musicians, sculptors, soldiers, doctors, priestess, priests and embalmers.

The flooding is a result of the cumulative effects of a number factors. At the end of winter the snow on the mountains of central Africa melts flooding the tributaries of the Nile.

Then come the spring rains, followed by torrential rain in countries south of Egypt. There is a dramatic rise in the level of the river and this increased level flows down the river reaching Egypt in August.

The Nile rose metre in the summer and flooded out over its banks. The water covered the land for about 60 days.

After this time the water began to go down. The fields were divided up by means of dykes and canals into a series of basins. The water was trapped in these for about 40 days before being run off.

During late August and September the whole of the Nile valley in Egypt was flooded. The flooded river brings huge deposits of alluvium.

In October and November the waters started to recede. The ground was prepared buy ploughing. The seed was scattered by hand. Animals like sheep and goats were used to tread. The seed into the ground.

Apart from grain like emmer( used for making bread ) the Egyptian grew many other crops. Some of these were lentils onions , garlic lettuce and dates.

When the farmers could not work the land there were lots of free men to work for the Pharaoh.