10 Pyramids were built

Why do we call Egyptians ancient? We call the Egyptians ancient because they lived such a long time ago not because they all reached a ripe old age! The first Egyptians were farmers about 8,000 years ago. Within a few thousand years, Egypt had become one of the most powerful countries in the world. Why were the Egyptians great? The Egyptians were so good at farming that they became very rich. They built fantastic temples for their gods, and huge pointed tombs called pyramids where they buried their kings. They had armies and ships and courts of law. Their priests studied the stars and their craftspeople made beautiful things from gold and silver. Will people be studying us in 5,000 years' time? What will they think about the way we live now? The Egyptians usually built tombs for dead kings on the riverk western bank, where the Sun sets. They believed that their kings went to meet the Sun god when they died. Egypt is mostly sandy desert, where nothing grows. The ancient Egyptians settled on the banks of the river Nile, where there was plenty of water for themselves and their crops. The ancient Egyptians didn't know about distant parts of the world. But they did explore parts of Asia and Africa. And their merchants bought wood, gold, ivory, spices and even apes from nearby countries.

Who ruled Egypt? The king of Egypt was called the pharaoh. The Egyptians believed that their Sun god Re was the first king of Egypt, and that all the pharaohs after him were his relatives. This made the pharaoh very holy and very powerful! The people thought he was a god on Earth. Could a woman be pharaoh? Although very few women ruled Egypt, there was a famous pharaoh called Hatshepsut. When her six-year-old nephew came to the throne. Hatshepsut was asked to rule Egypt for him—just until he was a little bit older. But Hatshepsut liked ruling so much that she wouldn't let her nephew take over. He didn't get the chance to rule until he was 30 years old! How would you know if you met a pharaoh? He would be wearing a crown, of course! In fact, pharaohs sometimes wore two crowns at the same time a white one for Upper Egypt, which was the name for the south of the country, and a red one for Lower Egypt, which was the north. The pharaoh's advisors were called the Honoured Ones. There were all sorts of royal officials, too, with grand names like the Director of Royal Dress and the Keeper of the Royal Wigs. When she was pharaoh, Hatshepsut had to wear the badges of royalty. These included a false beard, made of real hair.

Who was the crocodile god? In old paintings and carvings, most Egyptian gods and goddesses have animal heads. The water god, Sebek, was shown as a crocodile. Thoth had the head of a bird called an ibis, while Taweret looked like a hippo! Osiris and Isis were luckier. They were shown as a great king and queen. Who was the goddess Nut? Nut was the goddess of the heavens and she was usually shown covered in stars. Many gods and goddesses were linked in families. Nut was married to Geb. Isis and Osiris were their children. The Egyptians loved to wear lucky charms. Their favourites were scarabs. The scarab beetle was sacred to the Sun god, Re. The ancient Egyptians worshipped as many as 2,000 gods and goddesses! Being a priest was a part-time job. Most only spent 3 months a year at the temple, and lived at home the rest of the time. Priests had to wash twice during the day and twice at night, to make themselves clean and pure for the gods.

Why did the Egyptians bury their mummies? A mummy is a dead body which has been dried out so it lasts for thousands of years. The Egyptians believed that the dead travelled to another world, where they needed their bodies. And they didn't want any bits missing! Why were mummies brainless? The ancient Egyptians believed that the heart was the most important part of the whole body. They thought that the brain was useless. So when they were preparing a mummy, they took out the brain—by pulling it down through the nose! Why were mummies wrapped in bandages? Wrapping the dead body helped to keep its shape. After the insides were removed, the body was dried out for 40 days in salty stuff called natron. Then it was washed, rubbed with ointments, and tightly bandaged. Some poorer families had their nearest and dearest mummified, but it was an expensive business. Only the rich could afford a really good send-off. The mummy was placed inside a series of wooden coffins. These were put in a big stone case called a sarcophagus. Monkeys, crocodiles, cats and other sacred animals were often mummified, too!

Why were the pyramids built? The pyramids were huge tombs for dead pharaohs and other very important people. No one knows exactly why the pyramids were shaped this way. Some people think they were built to point towards the Sun and stars, so that the dead person's spirit could fly to heaven like a rocket. The Great Pyramid at Giza was built more than 4,500 years ago. This is what it looks like today. Pharaohs were buried with all their finest clothes and jewellery, so tombs were given sneaky traps to catch out robbers. There are other, smaller pyramids at Giza, and over 80 at other places in Egypt. Some have stepped sides and bent tops This is what the Great Pyramid looks like inside.

Who liked to get knee-deep in mud? Egyptian farmers loved mud—it has all the water and goodness that plants need to grow well. The most important time in a farmer's year was when the Nile flooded and dumped rich, black mud on the dry fields. A good flood meant a good harvest. A bad one meant people went hungry. Which was the fastest way to travel? The quickest route in Egypt was the river Nile. Egyptian boats were made from river reeds or wood. They were the only way to get from one side of the river to the other—unless you swam and liked crocodiles! Priests watched the Moon and stars to work out a calendar of the months. This told them when the floods would come and when to plant crops. The only farm land in Egypt is near the river Nile. It used to be called the Black Land, because the mud left by the floods was black. The rocky desert was called the Red Land. Juicy grapes and fresh green vegetables were grown in the rich Nile mud. Golden ears of wheat and barley were harvested and stored in granaries. The big question each year was: "How deep is the flood?" Notched stones were used like giant rulers to measure the rising water. The stones were called nilometers. Farmers dug ditches to carry water to their crops when the Nile wasn't in flood. They used a clever machine called a shadu to lift water out of the river into the ditches.