"Ancient Egyptian history is divided into several periods: Pre-Dynastic (3100-2686 B.C.), Old Kingdom (275-2130 B.C.), Middle Kingdom (1539-1400 B.C.) and Late Period (664 B.C. - 639 A.D.). The years in between are 'Intermediate Periods' of great political unrest."
"Before 3100 B.C., Egyptians did not make mummies. They wrapped their dead in reed mats and buried them under the sand."
"The first tombs where simple, mud brick lined pits with a rectangular 'mastaba' over them. Over time the mastabas grew large and more elaborate until they became step pyramids. Later, true pyramids were used as tombs for the Pharaohs."
"Although being buried in a pyramid was a great show of power, it also made it easy for robbers to know where to look ('The pyramid marks the spot!'). By the New Kingdom period, the pharaohs had abandoned the pyramid in favor of hidden and protected tombs carved in the solid rock in a valley near Thebes -- the Valley of the Kings."
"The Egyptians mummified animals in great numbers -- cats, storks, ibises, dogs, etc. in 1913 archaeologist Camden Cobern explored a tomb which was packed with the mummified corpses of wild dogs -- the Catacomb of Jackals!"
"It sounds gruesome today, but 'Mummy' was a well know medicine used by Arab and Christian doctors in treating their patients in the middle ages. 'Mummy', of course, consisted of ground up mummies. It was supposed to stop bleeding."
"In 1989 a mummy was found untouched in the most frequently looted of places -- the Great Pyramid of Khufu. It was 4,400 years old. It is known as the 'Smiling mummy' because of the peaceful expression on her face."
"Study of Tutankhamun's mummy shows that he died of a cerebral hemorrhage. It is highly likely that the young pharaoh was murdered, as was his brother before him."
"A study has estimated the average life expectancy of an ancient Egyptian as 52 years for a man, 54 for a women. Many believe that it was much lower -- 40 being considered a good age"
"The ancient Egyptians had terrible teeth. The grit and sand found in their staple food -- bread -- wore down their teeth rapidly. Dental work was done, but only after the person was dead and before the body was mummified."
"Even the 'nobles' suffered their share of diseases and physical problems. Pharaoh Pum II suffered hardening of the arteries. Princess Makare died in child-birth. Pharaoh Siptah had a shortened leg from polio. Pharaoh Merenptah was very fat. TaBes, a noblewomen, had a curved spine."
"The longest recorded reign of any ruler in history was that of the Pharaoh Pepy II, at the end of the Old Kingdom, who reigned 94 years. Since we know he was at least 6 when he became Pharaoh, he must have lived at least 100 years."
"The scarab beetle was a sacred symbol and a powerful amulet. In Egyptian mythology, it was a scarab beetle that pushed the sun into the sky when it rose at dawn. The beetle hieroglyph represented the sounds that could spell the Egyptian word for 'come into existence'."
"According to an Egyptian myth, Horus lost one of his eyes in a great battle. The pieces of the eye were found by the god Thoth (often shown in art as a man with an Ibis's head). Thoth magically put the pieces of the eye back together. The symbol for healing in Egyptian hieroglyphs is the 'wedjat-eye' or 'eye of Horus'. The word 'wedjat' means to be whole."
"Egyptian hieroglyphics were meant to represent sounds and sometimes whole words, yet their form was often of animals, plants, etc. Ancient scribes sometimes worried that the symbols could become magically alive. So to prevent them from running away or from doing harm, bird-based hieroglyphics sometimes have the legs left off, and snake-based (cobra and horned viper) hieroglyphics sometimes have their heads cut off from their bodies."
"The latest Egyptian hieroglyphics known were written in 394 A.D. By that time, few people knew the ancient Egyptian writing system. The knowledge was then lost for many, many years. Then in 1799 Napoleon's army discovered the 'Rosetta stone', a stone tablet with the same passage inscribed in three writing systems -- hieroglyphics, Demotic, and Greek. Greek was readable. 20 years later, Jean-Francois Champollion 'broke the code' and deciphered the ancient writing system -- 1500 years after it had died out!"
"At the end of the Middle Kingdom, the 'Hyksos' attacked and conquered the Egyptians. The Hyksos were Asians and possessed formidable war chariots drawn by powerful horses, both of which were, at that time, unknown to the Egyptians. The Hyksos were driven out by the Theban Pharaoh Kamose in 1580 B.C. and the citadel of the Hyksos was conquered. This marked the start of the New Kingdom and from that time on the chariot drawn by horses was a major battle weapon of the Egyptian armies."
"There were some 6,000 Hieroglyphics in the Egyptian alphabet, but only a few hundred are needed to write a text of the Middle Kingdom, for instance."
"For sport, nobleman hunted in the Nile marshes using boomerangs."
"The temples of Egypt were the principle land owners and the herds of livestock belonging to the temples were enormous. The temple of Amon possessed over 400,000 head, the temple of Ra had more than 50,000. The Egyptians branded their cattle with a hot branding iron, much like the cowboys of the American West."
"Gold was considered 'flesh of the Gods' and was very tightly controlled. All gold was owned by the Pharaoh."
"Conquered people were required to send the Pharaoh a carefully calculated annual tribute. These tributes were carefully registered by scribes and presented to the Pharaoh with great ceremony."
"Egyptian noblemen often had several wives and many children. The Pharaoh Ramses II is said to have had 162 children!"
"Sometimes the Pharaoh himself would venture into the desert on a chariot drawn by swift horses. He hunted mainly lions, wild bulls, ostriches, (occasionally) elephants, and (rarely) rhinorceros. He was always accompanied by his pack of greyhounds."
"The Egyptians feared the desert, the domain of the god 'Set' -- an evil God. This did not prevent them from penetrating the desert to hunt or to search for minerals and precious metals. The state, the owner of all the mines, maintained a desert police force to watch over them."
"3,400 years ago, Prince Thutmose stopped to sleep near a pyramid. In his sleep he heard the cries of the Great Sphinx, completely buried under the sand by the great winds of the desert. When he became Pharaoh, he had the giant uncovered."
"By tradition, the Pharaoh always led a battle in person, riding his chariot, and surrounded by his mercenaries. Ramses II was always accompanied into battle by a trained lion who would charge the enemy."
"After a battle, the number of enemies killed was counted by the collecting of their severed right hands by the Pharaoh's scribes."
"There were more than 700 gods in the religion of the Egyptians. Each region had its own gods along with the more universally adopted gods of the greater Egyptian kingdom."
"Noble Egyptians ate well, but for ordinary people, the diet consisted mainly of bread, beer, and onions."
"People found guilty of capital offenses would be thrown to the crocodiles or burnt alive (in either case, the aim being the destruction of the physical body, making mummification and life after death impossible); the punishment for tomb robbery was impalement on a stake. Beating were common for minor offenses, and some crimes were punishable by the cutting off of the offender's ears or nose and subsequent banishment to the desert to work in the desert mines."
"It was fashionable for wealthy boys to wear earrings in ancient Egypt. Tutankhamun was buried with several pair."
"We know the time of year Tutankhamun died because of a large, beautiful bouquet of flowers found on the tomb floor -- possibly laid there by Tutankhamun's queen Ankhesenamum. The flowers making the bouquet bloom only in March and early April."
"The ancient Egyptians filled their tombs with food and drink so that the spirits of the dead could feast in the next world."
"Menes was the pharaoh who united the two countries of 'Upper Egypt' and 'Lower Egypt'. He founded the city of Memphis and was supposedly killed by a hippopotamus."
"Natron was heavily used in the mummification process. Natron is a powdery white salt that had the ability to draw water from the skin and other tissues. The Egyptian desert was a plentiful source of natron -- especially the oasis region of Wadi Natrum. Here, underground water bubbled to the surface, laced with ordinary salt and other various 'salts'. As the water evaporated, natron was left in clumps on the ground, ready to use for mummification."
"Measurements of mummies tell us that most Egyptians were of slender build and short to medium in height -- never much more that 5 ft. 6 in. tall. One notable exception -- Ramses II was 6 feet tall!"
"Color was important to the Egyptians and usually of great significance. However, their appreciation of color was different than ours. For instance, light blue was considered a shade of green or white, rather than related to dark blue, which was considered a shade of black. The Egyptians thought black a very beautiful color. They often referred to Egypt as 'the black country'."
"Tutankhamun's tomb was equipped with 35 model boats ranging from 3 feet in length to over 8 feet in length."
