The Ancient Egypt
The Old Kingdom (2700 BCE-2200 BCE):Pharaohs had absolute power and were considered gods on earth. Pharaohs were buried in pyramids only during this time period in history.
The Middle Kingdom (2100 BCE-1800 BCE):The middle kingdom was Egypt's Golden Age. Trade, arts and literature flourished. Egypt built strong armies to defend herself against her neighbors. During this period pharaohs were expected to be good kings and wise rulers. When pharaohs died, they were buried in hidden tombs. Probably, there are tombs yet to be discovered by modern archaeologists.
The New Kingdom (1500 BCE-1000 BCE):The new kingdom was Egypt's expansion period. Egypt expanded her borders through military conquest and became a world power.Pharaohs were all powerful, and were all buried in the same geographic area called the Valley of the Kings
There were deserts to the east and west of the Nile River, and mountains to the south. This isolated the ancient Egyptians and allowed them to develop a distinctive culture.The Nile is the world's longest river. It is over 4000 miles long! It is shaped like the lotus flower so often seen in ancient Egyptian art. The ancient Egyptian called this rich soil The Gift of the Nile.Because of the annual flooding of the Nile, the ancient Egyptians enjoyed a high standard of living compared to other ancient civilizations. Without the Nile, Egypt would be a desert
Thanks to the Nile, these ancient people had fresh water for drinking and bathing. The Nile supported transportation and trade. It provided materials for building, for making cloth for clothes, and even for making paper - made from the wild papyrus weed, that grew along the shores of the Nile.
The ancient Egyptians worked very hard, but saved time to enjoy family, friends, music, parties, swimming, fishing, hunting, sailing, and especially their children, all of which were very important to the ancient Egyptians.
In ancient Egypt, children were the heart of the family. If a couple could not have a child, they adopted a child.
Children were taught to be kind and honest, to respect their parents, to help with the family business, and to care for the elder members of their family.
The ancient Egyptians believed in "ma'at" - order and justiceThe ancient Egyptians believed that you could only reach your afterlife if your heart was light. The only way your heart would be light is if you had spent a lifetime being kind and honest.
PYRAMIDS
It was only during the time of the Old Kingdom that the ancient Egyptians built pyramids to hold the royal tombs of their kings. Pyramids were huge structures. Pyramids had storage rooms, courtyards, secret passageways, and all kinds of fancy traps designed to catch robbers who tried to break into the pyramid to rob it.
Pyramids were full of treasures. The average person created grave goods to take with them to their afterlife. Imagine the treasures a pharaoh might feel were necessary to bring along!
The first pyramid, the Step Pyramid, was built around 2700 BCE, Pyramid construction was abandoned after the time of the Old Kingdom. It was simply too easy to find a pyramid. Grave robbers knew exactly where the pharaohs were buried, and where to find riches and wealth.
The ancient Egyptians did not simply build a pyramid, bury a pharaoh, and walk away. A whole city grew up around a pyramid during its construction. These cities were called pyramid cities
The pharaoh provided homes for everyone who worked on the pyramid construction. People were paid for their work in goods and food and homes.
After a pyramid was finished, the pyramid city continued to exist. Some of the people who stayed had jobs maintaining and guarding the pyramid. Others, like bakers and basket weavers, were merchants who created needed goods.
King Tut's Tomb
Tutankhamun was only nine years old when he became Pharaoh. He was only 18 years old when he died.
The people did not have a lot of time to build Tut's tomb. Tut's tomb was very small compared to the tombs of other pharaohs.Because his tomb was so small, it was overlooked for thousands of years.
In 1922, a British archaeologist named Howard Carter entered King Tut's tomb. It was almost like entering a time machine.
Robbers might have been there because a bag of gold rings was found on the floor, as if dropped in haste. But they did not take everything because Carter and his team found many treasures inside the tomb including a solid gold mask of King Tut's face.
The artifacts in Tut's tomb told archaeologists and scientists a great deal about ancient Egyptian daily life. Many people all over the world became interested in learning more about ancient Egypt because of the exciting discovery of an ancient tomb full of treasure