EGYPTOLOGY

EGYPTOLOGY
by Dugald A. Steer
Teachers’ Notes
by Bridget Carrington and Nikki Gamble
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
CONTENTS
Introduction
Curriculum context
Front cover
Endpapers - The Framing Narrative
Arrival at Cairo
Notes on Ancient Egypt
A Trip to Giza
Saqqara and Memphis
Beni Hasan and Amarna
At Sacred Abydos
Deir El Bahri
The Valley of the Kings
Karnak and the Colossi
The City of the Hawk A Trip to Nubia
Back to Philae
The Tomb of Osiris?
1
1
2
3
4
5
8
9
10
11
12
13
16
17
17
19
20
Further reading
Recommended weblinks
21
21
IP FILTERED ON www.ologyworld.com
Egyptology: Search for the Tomb of Osiris, ISBN 978-1-84011-852-0
The book Egyptology was first published in the UK in 2004 by Templar Publishing, an imprint of
The Templar Company Limited, The Granary, North Street, Dorking, Surrey, RH14 1DN, UK
Illustrations copyright © 2004 by Ian Andrew, Nick Harris and Helen Ward
Text and design copyright © 2004 by The Templar Company Ltd
The Egyptology logo is a trademark of The Templar Company Ltd
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
EGYPTOLOGY
Introduction
On 1st November 1926, Miss Emily Sands arrives in Cairo. Her
interest in Ancient Egypt has been whetted by a friend’s family
heirloom – the Farncombe papyrus – and a lecture by the
renowned discoverer of Tutankhamen’s tomb, Howard Carter.
Eighty years later, the journal she wrote between that day and
the day of her unexplained disappearance in January 1927 was
sent to her great niece, who sought its publication. The journal
was extensively illustrated and contained many paper crafts
and novelties, including cutaway diagrams of the pyramids
and of mummified bodies, postcards, and guides to Egyptian
history, art, writing and mythology. There were also tables
of advice for travellers and many more flaps, fold-outs and
surprises. The journal was Miss Sands’ record of her encounters
and experiences on her journey to unravel the mystery of
the Farncombe papyrus and discover the lost tomb of the
god Osiris. Her work was accompanied by the illustrations
of draughtsmen and artists who accompanied her on the
expedition. At the point Miss Sands eventually reached the lost
tomb, her journal appears to end abruptly. Nothing further was
heard from her or her companions, who seem to have vanished
into the mists of time…
Primary Framework, these suggestions can most readily
be accommodated in one of the Narrative units for Year 5
– ­Myths, Legends and Fables – as well as when using these
types of story earlier in Key Stage 2. A range of writing
genres are suggested, each of which can be developed over
several lessons. These include persuasive writing (e.g. travel
brochures and adverts), reports, obituaries and journals.
Topics for research are highlighted and various outcomes for
presenting research are suggested. The conventions of drama
are discussed and their use in exploring emotional topics is
recommended.
Curriculum context
The suggested activities are intended to support a creative
curriculum with opportunities for links to be made across
subjects. Where possible, it is suggested that learning
can be enhanced by visits and opportunities for on-site
learning outside the classroom. In line with the thinking
behind Excellence and Enjoyment, opportunities to build on
children’s cultural capital are promoted. This includes making
connections with, and building on, existing knowledge that
may have been acquired through film, television and computer
games, as well as books and more traditional sources. This
is not a scheme of work but a menu of possibilities, which
teachers can draw upon to aid their planning.
Art and Design: Several art-related topics can be explored.
Pattern, colour, sculpture, jewellery, textiles and architecture
afford opportunities for pupils’ own artwork as well as
opportunities to learn more about the history of art and the
legacy of the Egyptians. Egyptian influences in works of art
and design through the ages provide further opportunities
for learning about art and artists, as well as providing a
stimulus for further cross-arts work, including writing. Finally,
it is suggested that where possible, opportunities for visiting
art galleries and museums are integrated in the study of
Egyptology.
History: This work links to QCA Unit 10, the study of Ancient
Egypt, which is recommended for pupils in Years 3–4. It also
has relevance for Unit 2, and for Unit 16 (as a comparison).
The activities presented here can also be used for extending
and adapting the unit for use with Years 5–6. In addition, there
are links to Citizenship Unit 5. Where appropriate, links to the
relevant QCA unit and section have been included.
EGYPTOLOGY
The following teaching suggestions have been organised
according to the order of chapters in Egyptology. However,
many of the suggested activities allow you to draw on material
from several chapters. For instance, the activity ‘Storytelling
performance’ is outlined in the notes for the chapter ‘Notes on
Ancient Egypt’ but is also relevant to other chapters, and the
teaching suggestions for archaeological investigation can be
applied at any point.
Literacy: These suggestions provide opportunities for
studying Egyptian myths and legends. They can be adapted
for different age groups. For those working with the revised
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
Front cover
Teaching suggestions
Discuss the front cover:
• What is written at the top and
bottom edges of the cover?
What is the central image? Why
is the cover gold, and the image
decorated in this way?
• Do the pupils know the
word ‘Egyptology’? In what
context have they heard it?
Encourage them to draw as
widely as possible on their own
cultural referents. They may,
for instance, be familiar with
computer games, stories, films
and comic strips based around
characters like Indiana Jones.
Invite them to share what they
know with talk partners or in
small storytelling circles.
• Talk about the image in the
centre of the cover. What does
this represent? Investigate the
scarab pectoral and the vulture
pendant found among the
grave goods of Tutankhamen.
• Vocabulary: Discuss the word
‘ancient’. Locate a dictionary
definition. Make a timeline and
place the Ancient Egyptian
Empire on that timeline.
• Make sure pupils understand the use of ‘B.C.’ and ‘A.D.’ as
well as the newer descriptions ‘B.C.E.’ (‘Before Common Era’)
for ‘B.C.’ and ‘C.E.’ (Common Era) for ‘A.D.’ Pupils might like
to consider why some dating methods use B.C.E. and C.E.
instead of B.C. and A.D.
• Note that there are differences of opinion about the start
and finish of the Ancient Egyptian era. The start date is
traditionally said to be 3100 B.C. (B.C.E.) – the date when
north and south Egypt were united by the first pharaoh,
Namer. The fall of the Roman Empire in A.D. 395 (or C.E.)
usually marks the end date. Alternative end dates might be
used, so explain this to the pupils.
• Names: Why are there so few Ancient Egyptian names
in use today? Unlike other ancient civilisations, such as
those of Rome and Greece, Ancient Egyptian names have
not been adopted widely in Europe. Explore explanations
for this, such as the history and culture of Egypt after the
Ancient Egyptian era.
Additional ideas
• Make a display. This might include:
· books and images about Ancient Egypt and Egyptology,
especially the mystery surrounding excavation and grave
goods
· postcards, photographs or travel posters showing
Egyptian monuments
· holiday souvenirs from pupils. If they have been to Egypt,
they may be able to provide photos, postcards or other
mementoes. They can produce informative labels for their
objects and place them in a class ‘museum’.
· maps and an atlas
· dictionaries (for identifying word origins)
• Transform the classroom into an Egyptian tomb interior. Run
a frieze around the top of the wall with hieroglyphs, Egyptian
patterns and stylised people and scenes. Grave goods could
be made from metallic papers. There is more information
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
about making (fake) mummies and death masks in later
chapter notes. Egyptian columns made from paper can be
used to mark display areas (see page borders for inspiration).
Teaching suggestions
• Mystery: What do the pupils think has happened to the
English explorer when Joanna Sutherland (Emily Sands’
niece) writes the following in her letter to the publishers?
‘…my great aunt and her companions vanished into the
desert, never to be heard of again.’ Ask pupils to consider the
story that is being set up and to predict how it will unravel.
Endpapers – The
Framing Narrative
Description
• Character: What image do pupils have of Miss Emily Sands?
Use a ‘role-on-the-wall’ technique to develop character
profiles based on the information presented here and the
inferences that the pupils make.
The endpapers show a collection of items relevant to the
journey of Miss Emily Sands and the subsequent history of her
journal. Some of them are displayed over a map of the Nile
Valley, which marks the places visited on the journey. These
items include:
• a photograph of the expedition team with Lord and Lady
Farncombe
• a ticket for a lecture given by Howard Carter (like T.G.H.
James, a real person)
• rail tickets from Waterloo to Portsmouth and from Dorking
to Waterloo
• a letter to the publisher from Miss Sands’ great niece
• a postcard from Miss Sands to her friend and sponsor,
Lady Farncombe
• a letter from a former Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities at the
British Museum, commenting on the journal’s provenance
• a note from the publishers giving modern spellings for
some of the names mentioned in the journal
• a collection of cards and labels in an envelope addressed
to Miss Sands at her hotel in Cairo
• Research the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen.
See also the journal entry in the chapter ‘The Valley of
the Kings’. How scientific and careful was Howard Carter’s
excavation compared with those in earlier centuries, and
with current excavation?
Look at the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography to find
out about Howard Carter. Details of his life and career can
also be found at:
http://www.archaeologyexpert.co.uk/HowardCarter.html
and extracts from his excavation diary can be found at:
http://griffith.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/gri/4sea1not.html
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
Original photographs of the discovery of Tutankhamen’s
tomb can be found at:
· What preparations would they make?
· How would they feel about leaving their families behind?
· How would they travel?
http://griffith.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/gri/carter/gallery/
Drama is a useful vehicle for creating a ‘need to know’
about a period and place depicted. After the role-play,
investigate travel in the 1920s. What methods of transport
would have been used? Use a map or an atlas to chart
your journey. Find out about the great explorations of
the period.
Information on the pharaoh can be found at:
http://www.akhet.co.uk/amarna/tutankh.htm
Many museums all over the world have Egyptian antiquities
(particularly statues, mummies and mummy cases).
• Writing in role: Following the role-play, pupils could be
invited to write in role. They might write a diary entry in
the role of a traveller on the night before leaving for Egypt,
or write postcards back to England once they have arrived
in Egypt.
• Fact or fiction? Research the railway company named on
the tickets. What other clues are there in the journal to help
us decide what is fact and what is fiction?
• Organise a debate with one half of the class arguing that
Egyptian antiquities should remain in Egypt (the position
taken by many countries whose treasures have been taken
for permanent display in other countries), and the other
half arguing in favour of foreign museum collections (the
position taken by museums who ‘own’ these artefacts and
justify their better preservation as a result).
• Journey drama: Preparing for a tour. Using the ‘teacherin-role’ drama convention, talk to the class as though you
were the leader of a tour to Ancient Egypt, with the pupils
in role as fellow travellers.
· Ask pupils to reflect on their expectations for the trip.
• Narrative: If you are planning to base your teaching about
Ancient Egypt around Egyptology and the chapter-bychapter organisation, you may want to use the framing
narrative to structure an extended journey drama.
Arrival at Cairo
Description
The left- and right-hand pages begin the travel diary of Miss
Emily Sands and include:
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
• Ancient meets modern: Investigate influences on art.
· ‘The Egyptian palette’ – Pupils may be familiar with the
highly patterned ‘op-art’ pictures of British artist Bridget
Riley. On a visit to Egypt, Riley noticed the recurring
colour palette used in Egyptian painting and decorative
arts. You can view examples of her work inspired by this
colour palette here:
· the ‘Farncombe papyrus’ in a pocket on the left-hand
page – this is the document that suggests that the god
Osiris was a ‘real’ person with an actual tomb, which gives
rise to the expedition
· a central painting of 1920s archaeologists near the
pyramids at Giza
· smaller sketches, which fill in the detail of street life in Cairo
· a drawing of a dahabeeya – the sailing barge in which the
expedition will travel up the Nile
· small images of some of the artefacts in the Egyptian
Museum at Cairo
· Egyptian columns, with relief images of figures and leaves
on either side of the spread
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/riley_bridget.html
· Using these colours, pupils could make their own stripe
paintings in the style of Riley.
· Can you find other examples of Egyptian-inspired art and
architecture? For example, pupils may wish to look at the
Pyramid Arena in Tennessee, the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas
or the Egyptian Bridge in St Petersburg.
Teaching suggestions
• Investigate papyrus:
· What is it?
· How is it made?
· Make papyrus – full instructions on this and other
Egyptian crafts can be found at:
http://www.pioneerthinking.com/makingpaper.html
http://www.lib.umich.edu/pap/k12/materials/papyrus.html
http://www.historyforkids.org/crafts/projects/papyrus.htm
• Research The Egyptian Museum’s collection in Cairo:
http://www.egyptianmuseum.gov.eg/
· What is a ‘curator’?
• Travelogue: Introduce the term ‘travelogue’ for a travel
journal. Have any pupils kept travel journals while on
holiday? You could suggest that this is a way of keeping
a record of special holidays.
Notes on Ancient Egypt
Description
This spread provides a map of Ancient Egypt, as well as
the story and background to the legend of Isis and Osiris.
A fold-out flap shows the chronology of Ancient Egypt.
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
The reverse side illustrates the crowns of the different
kingdoms of Ancient Egypt.
Flaps covering the map provide data on international distances
from Egypt and monthly temperatures at different locations
along the Nile.
Teaching suggestions
The seven sections in the QCA unit on Ancient Egypt can all be
addressed via the teaching suggestions that follow.
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes2/history/his10/
10q2?view=get
• The journey: Create an enlarged copy of the map and
display it alongside a map of modern Egypt. Chart the
journey taken by Emily Sands and her party, using coloured
wool or marker pins. As you read each chapter, you can add
the next stage of the journey to your map.
• Then and now: Accompany the map display with stimulus
questions to encourage pupils to explore the maps.
For example:
· Why is Suez famous now?
· What is there at Aswan now that wasn’t there in Ancient
Egyptian times?
· Where was Upper Egypt?
· Where was Lower Egypt?
· Where was Nubia?
You can extend this activity by considering places the
Egyptians might have traded with using the River Nile.
· Look at the full course of the River Nile. How far does
it flow?
· What countries does it pass through?
The questions accompanying the map display can be changed
periodically to inspire fresh engagement. Provide paper and
pens to encourage pupils to add their own questions.
• Important sites of Ancient Egypt: Obtain copies of travel
brochures, tourist-information leaflets and web pages with
information about the sites shown on the map. If you have
a good local travel agent you might arrange a talk about
cultural tours to Egypt.
· Ask pupils, in pairs, to research a site, finding out about
its significance in Ancient Egypt and its modern status.
Do all of these places still exist?
· Alexandria
· Cairo
· Aswan
· Memphis
· Thebes
· What city was originally sited at Luxor?
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
Note: This work can be aligned to QCA Unit 10 on
Ancient Egypt. Topic 3 requires pupils to investigate
what the landscape tells us about what life might have
been like in Ancient Egypt. This could form the core
work, with pupils researching other cities as extension
activities.
of Moses and the Plagues. A storytelling activity could be
used to tell stories about these Biblical characters.
· This activity could also be used to tell stories about
other Egyptian gods that are mentioned elsewhere in
Egyptology.
• Vocabulary: Generate an interest in words. This will help
establish good spelling strategies for pupils who are
‘transitional’ or ‘good’ spellers. For example:
· Ask pupils to define ‘archaeology’. Check definitions in a
dictionary.
· Find out about the etymology of the word. For example,
the root ‘archae-’ comes from the Greek for ‘ancient’, and
the suffix ‘-ology’ comes from the Greek ‘logos’, meaning
‘knowledge’. It is easy to work out how Egyptology got
its name!
· Make a collection of other ‘-ology’ words and display
them.
· Choose one of these words as ‘Word of the Week’ and
create a vocabulary focused display.
• The information resulting from this research could be used
to produce one of the following:
· a travel brochure
· a short tourist-information film
· a tourist-information leaflet
· a web page for the city
Some pupils might like to produce an itinerary and travel
advice for a ‘Rambling Rameses’ walking tour of Egypt in the
1920s, using the information provided on the flaps.
• Egypt is in Africa: The Petrie Museum has an excellent class
pack focussing on this topic:
• Mythology: The Ancient Egyptians had their own gods and
goddesses and their own mythical stories.
· Ask pupils to propose a definition for ‘mythology’. Ask
them to recall contexts in which they have heard the
word. Encourage them to use a range of dictionaries to
check their suggestions. Write the dictionary definition
on a large sheet of paper and display this in the
classroom.
· Explain that different cultures gave rise to their own
mythologies. There are many similarities in these
mythologies, e.g. creation stories and hero tales are
widespread. Cultural differences are also evident.
http://www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk/
• Storytelling performance: Provide small groups
(4–6 pupils) with copies of the legend of Isis and Osiris.
The account given in Egyptology is brief and can be
expanded on.
· Ask each group to read the story aloud and then retell the
story in a storytelling circle. This informal oral rehearsal
will help the pupils internalise the story.
· Provide each group with a large sheet of paper on which
they can storyboard their version. They need to include
six to eight key scenes, making sure the beginning,
developing conflict and resolution have all been drawn.
They may want to add some dialogue in speech bubbles,
or sound effects (e.g. the sounds of the desert, or a fight).
This activity should involve collaborative drawing. All
members of the group need to participate rather than
giving one person instructions. This further reinforces
the story and is vital preparation for the storytelling
performance.
· The storyboards are a visual aid that the pupils can use to
support their storytelling performances.
· Ask groups to decide how they will perform their stories.
They could use instruments and sound collage, as well as
acting out sections of dialogue.
· Groups perform stories to the class or perhaps a parallel
class or school assembly.
· For an extra special performance, set the scene with
Egyptian music, a PowerPoint presentation showing
Ancient Egyptian scenes or pictures showing a
reconstruction of a pyramid.
· Other stories that include information about Ancient
Egypt can be found in the Bible, and include the stories
Useful resources:
· Stories from Ancient Egypt, Joyce Tyldesley (Rutherford
Press, 2005) ISBN 978-0-95476-221-6
This collection includes stories about the gods, such as
‘The Creation of the World’, ‘Hathor and the Red Beer’
and the myths about Osiris, Isis and Horus. Fairy stories
and incredible adventures are represented in ‘The Story
of the Shipwrecked Sailor’, ‘The Adventures of Sinuhe’
and ‘The Prince, the Dog, the Snake and the Crocodile’,
while good and bad behaviour are to be found in
‘Three Magical Stories’ and ‘The Story of Truth and
Falsehood’. King Rameses II himself tells us about
‘The Battle of Kadesh’.
· The Orchard Book of Stories from Ancient Egypt, Robert
Swindells (Orchard Press, 2003) ISBN 978-1-84362-306-9
Stories from Egyptian mythology, retold by prize-winning
author Robert Swindells. This accessibly written, lively
collection vividly brings to life these powerful characters
and their amazing stories. Includes tales of Ra, Thoth, Isis
and Osiris, as well as famous pharaohs.
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
· Tales of Ancient Egypt, Roger Lancelyn Green (Puffin, 1995)
ISBN 978-0-14036-716-4
An older collection by the classic reteller of myths and
legends.
Where and what are they?
· What are the other six Wonders of the Ancient World?
· How many still survive?
· Seven ‘Modern Wonders’ have been proposed: what are
they? How do they compare with the Ancient Wonders?
· What can pupils find out about the New Open World
Corporation’s ‘New Seven Wonders of the World’? Are any
of the Ancient Wonders on this list?
· Show the pupils how to record sources for the
information they find. Introduce them to the idea of
checking information by using more than one source.
· This could be set as a homework task.
A Trip to Giza
Description
This spread gives background information on the pyramids,
with historical photographs. There are also images of what an
Ancient Egyptian funeral procession might have looked like.
• Maths Pyramids: These provide great technology
opportunities! Investigate how a pyramid can be made.
Some pupils may be able to produce a net to make a
pyramid. A variety of different nets, some based on
the proportions of specific Egyptian pyramids, can be
found at:
Three pyramid flaps lift to show their interior layout.
The text that accompanies a small photograph of the Sphinx
gives clues about how it used to look.
Teaching suggestions
http://www.korthalsaltes.com/pyramid.htm
These activities support sections 4, 5 and 7 of QCA Unit 10 on
Ancient Egypt.
Pupils could make paper or card pyramids from their own
nets or from pre-printed ones. These could be used to start
a table-top scene of Giza.
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes2/history/his10/
10q7?view=get
• The Sphinx at Giza should not be confused with the
Sphinx in the Greek myth of Oedipus. Although there are
cities called Thebes in both Greece and Egypt, it is the
• The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World:
· What do pupils already know about the pyramids at Giza?
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
Greek city outside which Sophocles’ Sphinx sat and posed
Oedipus a riddle.
· Pupils could investigate the difference between Greek
and Egyptian sphinxes.
· Would the Greeks have known about the Sphinx at Giza?
• Art history and architecture: Ancient Egyptian subjects
and images have been popular at various times as
inspiration for artists and designers. Find out about:
· paintings of Biblical scenes about Egypt
· images of famous Egyptians, such as Cleopatra
· rooms, furniture and decoration – Egyptian Halls were
created in some great houses, such as the Mansion House
in London. There is also a grandiloquent Egyptian Hall in
Harrods, Knightsbridge!
· furniture with sphinx heads and feet, designed after Admiral
Nelson’s victory at the Battle of the Nile in 1798
· buildings with Egyptian motifs in their masonry
– these were particularly popular in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries, and again as part of the twentieth
century Art Deco movement. Many cinemas that date
from the 1920s and 1930s have elaborate Egyptian-style
pillars outside, and lavish Egyptian interiors.
· Cleopatra’s Needle, London, placed on the Embankment
near Charing Cross. It was brought here in Victorian times
and is flanked by two sphinxes at its base. It comes from
Heliopolis and dates from 1450 B.C.
making a visit to see Egyptian subjects in works of art. You may
be able to arrange a curator talk. This can be linked to the QCA
Art and Design unit ‘Visiting a Museum’:
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes2/art/museum/
?view=get
SaQQara and Memphis
Description
These pages describe a visit to the tombs and a catacomb near
Memphis, and show mummified animals from baboons to cats.
Continuing the information about pyramids, these pages
describe the Step Pyramid at Zoser and the finds associated
with both sites.
Enclosed in a small packet attached to the page is a
sample of mummy cloth. More detailed information about
the mummification process is found later in ‘The Valley of the
Kings’ and ‘Back to Philae’, and on most of the websites about
Ancient Egypt listed at the end of these Teachers’ Notes.
Teaching suggestions
• Research could be undertaken about:
· the Step Pyramid. Can pupils construct a Step Pyramid
using the pyramid nets?
If you are in travelling distance of an art gallery, consider
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
· animal mummies. Many museums around the country
have mummified animals among their displays, which
pupils may have seen on a past visit. Which animals have
been mummified?
• Discuss the importance of birds and animals in Ancient
Egyptian religion.
· Can pupils find out which creatures were considered
sacred to the Ancient Egyptian gods?
· What reasons can pupils suggest for the deification of
animals?
· Which animals and birds are depicted on Egyptian friezes?
description of the Egyptian system of hieroglyphics. A
description of the discovery of the Rosetta Stone and the
resulting decoding of hieroglyphs is given.
Teaching suggestions
• Research hieroglyphs: The Ancient Egyptian systems of
writing and mathematics both used hieroglyphs.
An excellent tool for English- and Maths-related work can
be found at:
http://www.greatscott.com/hiero/
Beni Hasan and Amarna
A simple transliterating tool for pupils’ names can be
found at:
Description
http://www.upennmuseum.com/hieroglyphsreal.cgi
The text of these pages further describes the passage of the boat
up the Nile and a visit to the tombs of nobles at Beni Hasan.
• Art and Design: Ask each pupil to make a cartouche with
their name in hieroglyphs on it:
· A cartouche is an oval ring with a name in hieroglyphs
inside it. Ancient Egyptians made cartouches for kings,
queens and other high-ranking people.
· Firstly, ask pupils to find out how to transliterate their
first names.
· Arrange the hieroglyphs vertically on yellow or gold card,
then cut each cartouche into an oval shape.
· Display the finished cartouches.
An explanation of changes in Ancient Egyptian beliefs is
given, and we are told that at one time, a single god, the Aten,
was worshipped. We are reminded that Osiris was god of the
underworld, and that not only kings and queens, but also
Egyptian nobles, were mummified and buried in great tombs.
A small booklet called ‘Understanding Hieroglyphs’ is
attached to the right-hand page. This booklet gives a simple
Understanding
Hieroglyphics
10
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
The bust of Queen Nefertiti is almost as famous an image as
the golden mask of King Tutankhamen.
· Pupils could design other busts that might have been
found in the sculptor’s studio at Akhetaten.
are based on the idea of having the same text in three
different languages.
· Information about the stone can be found at:
http://www.mrdowling.com/604-rosettastone.html
• Maths: The ‘Maths is good for you’ website has a great deal
of information about maths in Ancient Egypt:
• The Ancient Egyptian environment:
· Research the wildlife depicted in Ancient Egyptian art.
Is this wildlife recognisable as the animals, birds, fish and
insects that inhabit the area today?
· Encourage pupils to attempt explanations for their
discoveries.
http://www.mathsisgoodforyou.com/topicsPages/
egyptianmaths/Egyptian.htm
· Research Horus – the Egyptian god whose eye symbol
was used as the basis for fractions.
· Ancient Egyptians used base 10 for their calculations, but
the symbols and method of calculation are quite different
from our own. Ask pupils to find out about these.
• Rosetta Stone:
Carry out research
about the discovery
and decoding of the
Rosetta Stone.
· The stone is in the
British Museum
in London. There
are many books,
jigsaws and
other items that
At Sacred Abydos
Description
Miss Sands and her party arrive at Abydos, the most sacred site
in all of Egypt, and the centre of Osiris worship. At one time, this
was thought to be the tomb of Osiris, and is called the Osireion.
The text describes the Temple of Seti I, father of Rameses II, and
a fold-out ground plan is attached. This is accompanied by a
painting and description of temple worship.
Other flaps elaborate on other artefacts and on the tools used
in archaeological excavation.
Picture: Copyright © The Trustees of The British Museum
11
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
Teaching suggestions
• Research:
· Travel in the 1920s: Pupils could research the car – a
Studebaker – in which the party travelled. Throughout
the book are incidental details such as this on life in the
1920s, which can be researched by any pupils who have a
particular interest in these aspects.
· Changes in archaeological techniques: Pupils could
research which of the tools used in the 1920s are still used
in archaeological excavation today. They could also find
out how advances in technology have developed these
tools and the whole process of excavating sites.
† Many pupils will have seen the Time Team programmes
and will be familiar with how a dig is carried out:
http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/
timeteam/
† Current Archaeology:
University College, Malet Place, London. In 2009, a new
museum will open here, displaying the largest collection
of Egyptian artefacts outside of Egypt:
http://www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk/
• Drama:
· Pupils could use the description of temple worship to
create a dramatic representation of the scene.
· Pupils of different faith groups could work on similar
scenes using the form of service from their own places
of worship. It is likely that more similarities than
differences in the procedures will be found.
Deir El Bahri
Description
The travellers are on board their boat, approaching the Valley
of the Kings – the richest of all Egyptian archaeological sites.
http://www.archaeology.co.uk/
† Young Archaeologists website:
http://www.britarch.ac.uk/yac/index.html
· A collection of Egyptian artefacts discovered between
the 1870s and 1920s can be seen at the Petrie Museum,
As they travel, they see more ruined temples and learn about
how the Egyptians used the Nile as their major transport route.
They fill their time on board by playing Senet – a board game
from Ancient Egypt. A board is printed across the spread, and
a booklet reveals the possible rules (no original rules exist).
An envelope contains pieces for playing the game.
12
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
Teaching suggestions
• Research the Nile: This will answer questions raised in QCA
unit 10, section 3: ‘What does the landscape tell us about
what life might have been like in ancient Egypt?’
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes2/history/his10/
10q3?view=get
• Play a game of Senet using the board, pieces and rules!
• Many other books and websites about Ancient Egypt also
provide resources for this:
The Valley of the Kings
Description
At last the travellers reach the Valley of the Kings, where the
tomb of Tutankhamen (also spelled ‘Tutankhamun’) is being
excavated by Howard Carter and his archaeological team.
Emily Sands records how popular the site has become in the
four years since its discovery.
Teaching suggestions
http://www.humanities-interactive.org/ancient/tut/senet/
‘The treasure dug up is not gold, but history… every day there is a
new light on the past’, William Matthew Flinders Petrie, 1886
• Another Egyptian game was Hounds and Jackals. See what
pupils can find out about this game.
The following suggestions support QCA unit 10, section 6:
‘What did the Ancient Egyptians believe about life after death?’
• Design a game (Design Technology/Literacy): Design a
board game (like Senet or Hounds and Jackals) based on
some aspect of Egyptology:
· Investigate a range of board games.
· What makes a good board game? Discuss.
· In groups, pupils can devise, design and make a board
game with a set of rules.
· Play each other’s games and evaluate them against
agreed criteria.
· The games could be based on an archaeological dig.
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes2/history/his10/
10q6?view=get
• Research: Tutankhamen – his life and death. A great deal of
current knowledge can be found at:
http://www.civilization.ca/civil/egypt/egtut01e.html
• Visit: There is a permanent Tutankhamen exhibition in
Dorchester, where his tomb and treasures have been
13
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
recreated. For more details, visit:
http://www.tutankhamun-exhibition.co.uk
• Art and Design: Pupils can make their own version of
Tutankhamen’s mask. See:
http://www.clevelandart.org/kids/egypt/index.html
Alternatively, a more elaborate ornamental version
for classroom display could be made directly onto a
polystyrene dummy head, or from moulding papier maché
onto a dummy head and then removing and painting it
once dry.
Topics for discussion:
• What did Tutankhamen look like? A suggestion of how
he may have looked can be seen on the Science Museum
website:
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/antenna/tutankhamun/
• Older pupils may consider other issues, suggested in the
teaching notes on the website of the Petrie Museum:
http://www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk/
These Petrie Museum notes include a discussion of the
way we view Ancient Egyptian civilisation. You will find the
following points on their website:
• Ancient Egyptian civilisation comprised of many different
cultures and changed enormously over a huge time period.
· Egyptians in the reign of Tutankhamen were as far away
in time from the pyramid builders as we are today from
the Vikings! Perhaps Tutankhamen’s subjects would have
found the age of the pyramids as distant as we find the
time of the Vikings.
· It is important to remember that things we often classify
as ‘Ancient Egyptian’ may have been produced hundreds
or even thousands of years apart, and do not represent a
single culture.
• The Petrie Museum notes also discuss the often stereotyped
images of Ancient Egypt from fictional sources like books,
Hollywood films and advertising. Often, these prevent
us from appreciating the reality of life in Ancient Egypt.
Pupils could gather source material that gives a false or
dramatised picture of Ancient Egypt. For example, they
may consider:
· films with names and plots like The Curse of the Mummy,
or the Indiana Jones brand of Egyptology
· ‘Egyptian’ music – from classical pieces such as Verdi’s
opera Aida to music-hall acts such as Wilson and Keppel’s
Sand Dance
· advertising based on Ancient Egyptian themes or motifs
14
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
Archaeology has played some part in shaping these fictions,
but physical evidence from the past can also be used to
challenge stereotypes and assumptions. It is important that
we encourage young people to draw their own conclusions
from the objects they can encounter in museums.
Mummification: Not recommended as a practical classroom
activity! However:
• Pupils can research the process and reproduce the artefacts
associated with mummification. Note, for instance, that
the process of mummification evolved over time.
What can pupils discover about burial in the Pre-Dynastic,
Old Kingdom, Intermediate and Roman periods?
• Canopic jars: Make a jar using the coil technique. You
will need to be familiar with basic pottery techniques for
this activity.
Materials
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Clay
Cloth-covered table or board
Plastic bag – large enough for storage of work-inprogress
Rolling pin
Clay slip and brush
Scoring and modelling tools
Small container of water to moisten hands
Circular base pattern – 10 cm diameter
Directions
1. Make a base:
Flatten clay with rolling pin 1 cm thick. Using a pattern as a
guide, cut a circle for the base.
2. Create a clay coil:
From a small ball, roll out a sausage of clay 1 cm thick with
moistened hands. Use a light rolling motion to keep the
sausage as even as possible.
3. Attach the coil to the base:
Roughen the edges of the base and coil with a scoring tool.
Apply some slip with the brush to the edge of the base.
Now gently press the coil around the edge of the base.
4. Continue to add coils:
Roll out another coil and place it on top of the first,
carefully joining it to the one below by roughening the
edges and then smoothing them with your thumb. Repeat
with more coils.
5. Shaping the walls:
The pot’s shape may be curved outwards or inwards
depending on the placement of the coils. The usual form
of a canopic jar is in the shape of an upright body (as seen
in the illustrations in Egyptology).
6. Decorate the pots:
Allow the pot to dry and then decorate it to represent
the appropriate god. Hieroglyphs and representations of
the four animal-headed sons of Horus (Duamutef, Imsety,
Hapi and Qebehsenuef) are the most common forms of
decoration.
7. Fire the pots:
When the pot is completely dry, it is ready to fire.
• A simpler version of this activity is to draw a vase-shaped
template and use this to cut out a clay slab. The slab can
be decorated as above.
• An even simpler activity is to cut out the shape of a canopic
jar from thin card and decorate as above. Then:
· Draw a square shape in the middle of the jar, to make
an opening.
15
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
· Cut round three sides of the central square and bend the
fourth side back as a hinge.
· Glue the card onto a sheet of paper to form a backing.
· Cut the paper round the jar shape.
· On a separate piece of card, draw and colour a picture
of the organ that would have been placed in that jar.
· Glue the organ onto the backing paper so it is visible
when the door at the front is opened. For extra effect,
a small amount of spare paper can be stuck behind the
organ to make it slightly three dimensional.
• Other golden, jewelled and decorated grave goods could
be made. For example false fingers could be constructed
using old gloves stiffened with glue and decorated, or even
joke fingers!
• The wrapping of bodies in cloth can be practised using
any conveniently body-shaped object and lengths of
bandage.
These pages are dominated by images of the colossi. Shelley’s
poem about Ozymandias – inspired by this site – is reproduced
on the reverse of a postcard.
Further information about triads of gods and their importance
to Egyptian cities is given.
Teaching suggestions
These activities suggest another way of approaching QCA Unit
10, section 4: ‘What objects survive from the time of the ancient
Egyptians?’
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes2/history/his10/
10q4?view=get
• Research:
· Look back at ‘A Trip to Giza’ where readers first
encountered the Seven Wonders of the World.
One of these was another colossus – at Rhodes. Pupils
can consider how large it must have been, if the
enormous colossi at Karnak weren’t big enough to
feature on the list!
· Find out about ancient Thebes. Why does it no longer exist?
· Can pupils discover other cities of Ancient Egypt that
have triads of gods? Where are they and who were
the gods?
· The right-hand page shows an ‘Eye of Re’ amulet. Pupils
could research the Eye of Re.
Karnak and the Colossi
Description
Miss Sands and her party arrive at Karnak. Here they walk
from the Temple of Karnak to the Temple at Luxor through an
avenue of sphinxes. A new element of mystery emerges when
they are introduced to a young man who claims to know
about the tomb of Osiris.
16
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
• Poetry: Look closely at Shelley’s poem. Consider:
· What is a sonnet? Look at the number of lines and the
rhyme pattern.
· From where does this form of poem originate?
· What other sonnets can pupils find?
· Vocabulary: Poetry tells us more than the obvious – how
does Shelley’s use of language add to the image? Pupils
could discuss the words and images used in the poem.
Why were these particular words chosen? How do they
differ from everyday speech?
· Imagery: Shelley’s poem gives us a realistic image of
the shattered colossus. What sort of person do we think
Ozymandias was? How has Shelley indicated this?
· Using this information, pupils can draw what they think
the original statue looked like.
· Research the context in which Shelley wrote this poem
(a poetry writing competition with a friend).
· Pupils could write a sonnet about an object that
interests them.
The City of the Hawk
Description
It is Christmas 1926. Emily Sands and her companions
celebrate and visit Hieraconopolis, the City of the Hawk,
and the Temple of Horus.
The main text tells us of Seth and Horus.
A large image of a golden hawk and a watercolour of the
Temple of Horus dominate the spread, while a local Christmas
card is also included.
Teaching suggestions
• These pages could be used to consider section 2 of QCA
Unit 10 – ‘What can we learn about Ancient Egypt from
one object?’
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes2/history/his10/
10q2?view=get
The Narmer palette, shown on the left, not only tells us
about the battle between rival kings, but also introduces
the topic of Egyptian make-up.
A Trip to Nubia
Description
The Kingdom of Nubia, with its magnificent temples at Abu
Simbel, is the focus of these pages.
A large central image of Rameses II in his war chariot is
17
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
• The modern Egyptian view is that the Ancient Egyptians
are the same group of people as the modern Egyptians.
• The Afrocentric view is that the Ancient Egyptians were
black Africans, displaced by later movements of peoples,
for example the Macedonian, Roman and Arab conquests.
• The Eurocentric view is that the Ancient Egyptians are
ancestral to modern Europe.
Pupils could be made aware of this debate, and may wish to
discuss the following questions:
• Is it important? Why?
• What do we know about who the Ancient Egyptians were?
What is uncertain?
• What can we find out about the Ancient Egyptians from
their wall paintings and sculpture? Why might they not give
realistic representations of what they looked like? (e.g. strict
visual code, vanity)
accompanied by drawings of his weapons and of the temples
and their statues. Also shown are pencil sketches of the party
visiting Nubia.
A lift-the-flap booklet attempts to indicate the progress of a
visitor to Rameses’ temple from the outer doorway through the
narrow passage into the inner chamber.
Teaching suggestions
These activities address section 4 of QCA Unit 10:
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes2/history/his10/
10q4?view=get
• Find out which modern countries were in the ancient land
of Nubia.
Discussion points
• Who were the Ancient Egyptians?
The following points on the race of the Ancient Egyptians are
notes from the Petrie Museum’s (http://www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk/)
teachers’ guide:
· When we talk about ‘Ancient Egyptians’ we are talking
about a wide range of people over a vast period of time
with origins in different parts of Africa.
· There is tremendous debate about the race of the ‘Ancient
Egyptians’. There are three main views:
18
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
Taking it further, use the internet and other sources to research:
• the earliest Egyptian civilizations and their location
• the Nubian pharaohs of the 7th and 8th centuries B.C.E.
• Christian Egypt and the reverence of St Menas
• Recent history of Abu Simbel: The two temples at
Abu Simbel are regarded amongst the most impressive
monuments in the world. When the temples were
threatened by the building of the Aswan High Dam, a world
appeal secured UNESCO support for their removal and
reconstruction. This took place between 1964 and 1968.
Find out more about the temples and the salvage operation
using the internet and other sources.
• Research – what is rescue archaeology? How was this
conducted at Abu Simbel?
• The Rose Theatre (Elizabethan) and the Temple of
Mithras (Roman) in London were rescued in this way
when modern office blocks were built. The Temple of
Mithras is about to move for a second time, because
an even newer office block is going to replace the
1950s building that necessitated the original rescue
archaeology.
• Research warfare in Ancient Egypt. Find out about:
· weapons
· transport – especially chariots
· battle techniques
· battles, especially the Battle of Kadesh
There are many paintings of warfare in Egyptian art, which will
help this research:
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/egypt/war/index.htm
Back to Philae
Description
The left-hand page details four steps in the process of
mummification, which are accompanied by small sketches.
A central painting shows the final preparation for burial.
The original dam at Aswan (as distinct from the High Dam, which
was built 40 years later, threatening the temples at Abu Simbel)
is drawn on the facing page, where Emily Sands speculates on
the impact of a high dam, should it be built.
Also on this page is a booklet containing a chapter from the
Book of the Dead.
The tension increases as the party are told of a nearby island
that may hold the secret of Osiris.
Teaching suggestions
If not covered in the section about the Valley of the Kings,
the teaching suggestions about mummification would be
equally appropriate here, to address Section 6 of QCA Unit 10:
The Egyptain
Book of
the Dead
19
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
‘What did the ancient Egyptians believe about life after death?’
·
·
·
·
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes2/history/his10/
10q6?view=get
• Research Amelia Edwards, the real woman who travelled
the Nile in the 1870s and 80s, and then left money in her
will to be used for Egyptological research.
• Discussion point: The Book of the Dead reveals the Ancient
Egyptian view of the judgement of souls.
· Pupils could compare the way in which their own belief
system differs from the way in which Egyptian theology
looked at good and evil.
· Are there any similarities? Why?
• Shadow puppet story (Design Technology): Revisit the
story of Isis and Osiris or create a new play for the ‘Weighing
of the Heart’. (Materials: sugar paper, acetate sheets, OHP
permanent pens and an overhead projector)
· This activity works on the principle that light will pass
through the acetate, which can be drawn on and
coloured, but will not pass through the sugar paper.
· Use the acetate to create a background for your story and
the sugar paper to cut out characters. These should work
in outline as you will not be able to see detail on the OHP.
· Attach long sticks to the characters, so you can move
them across the OHP.
· Accompany the puppet show with narration. Voices can
be used for dialogue and sound effects.
Musical instruments can be used to create sound effects.
Found objects can be used to create shadows on the OHP.
Encourage creative exploration of the materials.
Practise and rehearse a shadow puppet performance.
The Tomb of Osiris?
Description
These are the pages on which the record of Miss Emily Sands
and her companions ends.
More is learned of the Book of the Dead, with a detailed
painting of the ‘Weighing of the Heart’.
A drawing of the entrance door in the pit reveals a hollow
that seems to fit the Eye of Re, which Emily was given by the
mysterious young man in Luxor.
Even more mysterious is their encounter with a strange old
lady who claims to be a priestess of Isis. The final page is
incomplete and stained with a brownish liquid…
Teaching suggestions
Once pupils have completed the preceding sections, they
should be ready to consider the final section of QCA Unit 10
20
Egyptology Teachers’ Notes
to create an overall picture of how their varied research has
helped build up a picture of life in Ancient Egypt.
• Obituary: Write an obituary for one of the party who
mysteriously disappeared on the Island of Riga.
· Assemble a collection of obituaries of famous people.
· Consider the importance of obituaries as historical
evidence. They contain information about who, what,
where, when and how are particularly useful to historians.
· Differences of opinion may be expressed in obituaries
about the same person but by different writers.
· Pupils could write an obituary for one of the real
archaeologists associated with Ancient Egyptian
excavation – Howard Carter, Lord Carnavon, Amelia
Edwards or Flinders Petrie.
• Solve the mystery: Pupils predicted an ending when they
first began Egyptology – they could revisit their prediction
and discuss it.
· If they did not predict an ending, they might like to ‘finish’
the story. If this story was written or adapted as a play
script, it could form the basis of a murder mystery, thriller,
adventure or horror production. Depending upon the age
of pupils and available resources, this could be as simple
or elaborate a drama as you like.
Further reading
Templar Publishing has produced the following books to
support Egyptology:
Wonders of Egypt: A Course in Egyptology
An Egyptologist’s Writing Kit
Further books about Ancient Egypt are numerous:
Selected Fiction:
Carole Wilkinson, Ramose Prince in Exile, Catnip
Diane Hofmeyr, Eye of the Moon, Simon & Schuster
Diane Hofmeyr, Eye of the Sun, Simon & Schuster
Gill Harvey, Orphan of the Sun, Bloomsbury
The Cairo Museum
http://www.egyptianmuseum.gov.eg/
Discovering Egypt
http://www.eyelid.co.uk/
Ancient Egypt Webquest
http://www.iwebquest.com/egypt/ancientegypt.htm
Egypt Games
http://www.gamequarium.com/egypt.html
Ancient History – Egyptians
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/
Ancient Egypt and the Ancient Egyptians Multimedia Website
http://www.ancientnile.co.uk
Website of Snaith Primary School – Ancient Egypt
http://home.freeuk.net/elloughton13/egypt.htm
Ancient Egypt – Homework Help
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/Egypt.html
History Topics: Ancient Egyptian Mathematics
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Indexes/
Egyptians.html
Daily Papyrus
http://www.virtual-egypt.com/
Mysteries of Egypt
http://www.civilization.ca/civil/egypt/egypt_e.html
Ancient Egypt Online
http://www.ancient-egypt-online.com/
Egyptus.net
http://www.egyptus.net/
Selected Non Fiction:
Adele Geras, Cleopatra, Kingfisher (fictionalised biography)
Richard Platt, Egyptian Diary, Walker (fictionalised journal)
Stephen Biesty, Egypt in Spectacular Cross-Section, OUP
Terry Deary, Awesome Egyptians, Scholastic
George Hart, Ancient Egypt, Dorling Kindersley
Guardian’s Ancient Egypt Kid Connection
http://www.guardians.net/egypt/kids/index.htm#features
Recommended weblinks
Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
http://egypt.mrdonn.org/gods.html
Ology World
http://www.ologyworld.com/
Museums around the UK on the Web
http://www.mda.org.uk/vlmp/
The British Museum
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/
Kids – Hieroglyphics!
http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/hieroglyphs/4.html
Ancient Egyptian Warfare
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/egypt/
21