EGYPTIANS

WHO WERE THE EGYPTIANS?

The Egyptians were a civilisation who settled on the Banks of the River Nile.

They did this because every year the river flooded and left rich soil which was used for farming.

They called their country Kemet, which means ‘black land’ after this dark soil.

The Nile was also a good source of transport.

RULERS

The Rulers of Egypt were called Pharaohs. Over 30 different dynasties ruled over ancient Egypt. A Dynasty is a line of rulers from the same family. Ramses II was the only Pharaoh to have the title ‘The

Great’ after his name. He also ruled for over 60 years! One of the most famous Pharaohs: Tutankhamun, was

only 9yrs old when he took the throne and died at the grand old age of 18!

PYRAMIDS

The famous Pyramids of Egypt are the burial places for Pharaohs.

They were filled with booby traps to keep robbers out. The Pharaohs would have all his belongings in his tomb

because the Egyptians believed that life would continue in the afterlife.

The walls of the Pyramids were covered in Hieroglyphics and pictures , which were telling a story and giving messages.

138 Pyramids have been found as over 2008.

The Great Sphinx is a mythical creature. It is half Lion, half Human. The first Sphinx ever recorded in Egypt, represented

Queen Hetepheres , who lasted from 2723 to 2563B.C.

The Great Sphinx of Giza is the tallest monolith(statue made out of a single rock)statue in the world standing at 73.5m tall.

THE GREAT SPHINX

GODS

The Egyptian believed in some very strange gods. Here are a few.

RA GOD OF THE SUN HEAD OF A FALCONANUBIS GOD OF

EMBALMINGHEAD OF A JACKAL

HORIS GOD OF THE PHARAOHS

HEAD OF A HAWK

OSIRIS GOD OF THE DEAD DRESSED IN WHITEAMUN GOD OF CREATION CROWNED WITH

FEATHERS

MUMMIFICATION When Pharaohs died they were turned into a

Mummy to preserve the body. First the important organs were removed, but the

heart was left in place. Afterwards the body was covered in lots of different

salts and then for 40 days left to dry. After the body was dried up it was carefully washed

and packed with linen and different stuffing to make sure it would keep its shape.

Finally it was draped in oils and tightly wound in bandages.

The population of Egypt stands at a whopping82,999,393, as of April 2011.Many of the Pyramids and Sphinxes are still standing and the public are allowed to go and view the ancient tombs.6 ancient sites are in Egypt’s top ten tourist attraction list and all of them help boost Egypt’s economy.Up until 1970 the River Nile still flooded, but that was stopped by the construction of the Aswan Dam.In the past couple of months protests have taken place across Egypt against Hosni Mubarak who eventually stepped d own as President of Egypt.During these protests some artefacts were stolen from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

EGYPT TODAY