Hieroglyphics

What are hieroglyphics? Ancient Egyptian writing style-one of the world first forms of writing! The earliest known examples are from 3300 BCE

What did they use to create them? Stone, chisels, and hammers were used to carve them into temples and monuments.

What else did they use to create them? Brushes, ink, and papyrus were used to record hieroglyphics on scrolls or to paint them onto temples. Papyrus is a long- lasting paper-like material made from reeds.

How did you read them? Hieroglyphics can be written right to left or left to right They can also be written horizontally or vertically Each symbol represented one or more sounds in the Egyptian language. For example a picture of an owl represented the same sound as the letter M

How did they learn to decipher hieroglyphics? In 1799 a French soldier found a stone, later named the Rosetta Stone, with three languages chiseled into it: Greek, Domain, and Hieroglyphics. The same phrases were repeated in all three languages so Egyptologists could read one of the languages and were able to the stone as a key to decipher the hieroglyphics

Now its your turn to create your own hieroglyphics!

Pyramids

What are the pyramids? Huge stone tombs with four triangle-shaped walls that met in a point on top. The Egyptians started building pyramids during the Old Kingdom.

What were their purpose? Pyramids were used as burial chambers for pharaohs and other royals. Egyptians believed burial sites were very important and built spectacular monuments, such as the pyramids, to bury their rulers. Burial in a pyramid demonstrated the pharaoh’s importance, the size was a symbol of the pharaoh’s greatness. Often statues and curses were placed on the burial sites to protect them from grave robbers, but they did not always work

The Sphinx

The Sphinx A statue used to guard Khafre’s tomb The head of a pharaoh the body of a lion

What does the shape mean? The pyramid’s point symbolized the pharaoh’s journey to the afterlife. The Egyptian’s wanted the burial sites to be spectacular because they believed that the pharaoh was their link to the gods and he controlled everyone’s afterlife. Making the pharaoh’s spirit happy was a way of ensuring a happy afterlife for every Egyptian.

The Great Pyramid of Khufu Covers more than 13 acres at its base Stands 481 feet high Took more than 2 million limestone blocks to build

How were they built? Historians are still not sure exactly how Egyptians built pyramids, their creation was lost over time. Pyramids were very large and took many decades and tens of thousands of workers to create them. Early Egyptians had to use very advanced technology to move stones that weighed a couple tons a piece!

How do you think the pyramids were built?