INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS LEFT OF ANCIENT EGYPT?

WOODEN HEADREST

Headrests, a type of pillow to support the head, have been found in tombs
from the beginning of the Old Kingdom and continued through the
Ptolemaic Period. They usually consist of a curved upper piece on which
the head rested, mounted on a pillar set in a supporting base and were the
same basic shape throughout their long history.

It has been proposed that little cushions were placed on the headrests to
soften them, but this is purely speculative. The headrests were sometimes
decorated with images of Bes and other gods, presumably to protect the
sleeper from evil at a time when he could not defend himself.

They were mainly made of wood, like this example from the New
Kingdom, but stone examples have been found. However, some
Egyptologists suggest that most stone headrests were made for use in the
Afterlife and were not intended for everyday use.

Headrests have been found close to the head of the mummy within the
tomb, either on top of the coffin, or within it. It is believed they were
protecting the head from being severed from the body after death.

Symbolically, the headrest was connected with the sun, which like the
head was lowered in the evening and arose in the day. The headrest
represents the hieroglyph akhet sign for the sun in the horizon.

New Kingdom.

Museum - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, number 1969W3647.

Part of the Henry Solomon Wellcome collection. Presented by the

Trustees of the Wellcome Trust, 1969.
 INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS LEFT OF ANCIENT EGYPT?

LEATHER BALL
The game of handball was practiced in ancient Egypt, and drawings of
this sport are found on the Saqqara tombs, which are five thousand years
old.

The painting shows four girls playing handball. Each team has a ball and
throws it to the other team at the same time. Players can either be on their
feet or on top of their team-mates' backs while exchanging balls.

The ball was usually made of leather and stuffed with plant fibres or hay,
or could be made of papyrus plants, in order to be light and more durable.

This leather ball was found at Qasr Ibrim, which in Arabic means the
castle of Ibrim. This is a site in Lower Nubia which was occupied from
around the late New Kingdom until the 1840’s. It was a military
stronghold, as well as a destination of religious pilgrimage for various
armies and religious denominations.

Qasr Ibrim was once an eagle's nest over Lower Nubia but is now an
island, or at times a peninsula, on the east bank of the artificial Lake
Nasser which was created after the closing of the Aswan High Dam in the
early 1960's.

The Egypt Exploration Society has conducted regular excavations at the

site since 1959, and continues to rescue as much information from the site
as possible.

Museum - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, number 1969A564.

Excavated from Qasr Ibrim by the Egypt Exploration Fund.

 INTRODUCTION

RECONSTRUCTING ANCIENT EGYPT

FRAGMENT OF STATUE BASE FROM BIAHMU

This is a corner of a statue base, with a vertical hieroglyphic inscription.

This fragment is presumably from one of the quartzite sandstone colossi
statues that guarded the approach to the province.

From the fragments found, the excavator Petrie determined that the
statues were seated figures with inscriptions down the sides of the front,
and the names of the 42 nomes (provinces) around the base.

In his report on Biahmu Petrie stated that ‘The statues were 35 feet high
(10.6 meters), with bases 4 feet (1.2 meters) high, or 39 feet (11.8 meters)
high in all, monoliths of quartzite sandstone, polished until it glitters like
glass. They stood on pedestals 21 feet (6.4 meters) high, so that the
whole mass rose 60 feet (18.2 meters).’

‘In the N.E. corner of the eastern court several fragments of red granite
were found. With these was found a portion of an inscription of
Amenemhet III, the most likely king to have erected such monuments.’

Similar size statues are the two Colossi of Memnon which stood at the
entrance to Amenhotep III’s memorial temple in Thebes. Including the
stone platforms on which they stand, these statues are also around 60 feet
(18.2 meters) in height.

12th Dynasty, Middle Kingdom

Museum - Ashmolean number 1888.759.j

Given to the Ashmolean by W. M. Flinders Petrie as they helped to fund
the 1888 excavation of Biahmu.
 WHAT IS REAL? WHAT IS FAKE?

THE EGYPTIAN ART OF IMITATION

RIQQA PECTORAL

This beautiful Pectoral or Pendant is made of gold set with semi-precious

stones. The back of the pectoral is a sheet of engraved gold, while the
front is cloisonné:- small pieces of semi-precious stones - carnelian,
turquoise and lapis lazuli - set between thin strips of gold.

At the top of the pectoral, two sacred Eyes of Horus (wedjet eyes) offer
protection, while the sun represents the sky. Below this are two falcons,
symbols of the King of Egypt and the god Horus. The falcons stand on
the hieroglyphic sign meaning ‘gold’ (nub). In between and behind the
falcons are papyrus plants.

History

This beautiful gold pendant was found in 1913 in a small tomb cut deep
into a cliff in Egypt. The solid rock ceiling had collapsed in antiquity,
trapping someone inside. This might have been an ancient tomb robber,
trying to take gold jewellery from the tomb.

The report from excavator Englebach says ‘Over what had been the foot
of the coffin, and across it, there could be easily traced the remains of a
skeleton, and again over this were the arm-bones of another body…it
appeared as if it had been suddenly crushed while in a standing, or at least
a crouching position when the fall occurred’

Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty. From tomb 124 el-Riqqa

Museum - Manchester Museum, accession number 5966

 WHAT IS REAL? WHAT IS FAKE?

THE EGYPTIAN ART OF IMITATION

FRAGMENT OF DEATH MASK

This painted cartonnage, wood and plaster, funerary mask would have
been used to cover the face of a mummy. A famous example of a funerary
mask is, of course, the mask of Tutankhamen now in the Egyptian
Antiquities Museum in Cairo.

Most funerary masks were not made of solid gold, but used paint to
depict the gold skin of the gods in order to present the deceased in the
likeness of an immortal being. Funerary masks therefore, often show gilt
flesh tones and blue wigs as they were associated with the glittering flesh
and the lapis lazuli hair of the sun god.

Funerary masks were also a part of the elaborate precautions taken by the
ancient Egyptians to preserve the body after death. The protection of the
head was very important and so a mask helped preserve the deceased, and
also provided a permanent substitute, in an idealized form, in case of
physical damage to the head.

These masks could also be embellished with inlaid eyes or eyebrows, as

well as other details, such as hairstyles and jewellery, that would have
increased the cost of the finished product considerably. However, these
details can be helpful in determining social status of the deceased, as well
as in dating masks.

Unfortunately though, because the objective of the mask was to show the
idealized image of transfigured divinity, most masks were not
individualized as portraits, resulting in many funerary masks with
anonymous facial features.

Museum - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, number 1913A339

 WHAT IS REAL? WHAT IS FAKE?

SELLING ANCIENT EGYPT: FORGERIES AND SOUVENIRS

TETISHERI STATUETTE

This limestone statue shows Tetisheri on a throne. There is hieroglyphic

text on the block throne and painted detail on the vulture headdress.

History

This attractive limestone statuette inscribed with the name of Queen

Tetisheri (c. 1550 BC) was long regarded as a key piece for the study of
Egyptian sculpture of the late 17th to early 18th Dynasties.

However, recent scrutiny of this sculpture, and comparison of its

inscriptions with those of a similar piece in the French Institute in Cairo,
has cast serious doubts on its authenticity. It appears that the texts were
copied from the Cairo figure and are of an inferior quality, containing
numerous elementary errors and omissions.

Additionally, traces of red and blue paint on the figure contain barium
sulphate (barites), used by modern artists but not by ancient Egyptians in
this context.

Plus, certain peculiarities of the queen’s costume cast further doubts on

the statue’s authenticity. When all these factors are taken into account the
obvious conclusion is that the statue is the work of a modern forger made
at Luxor probably shortly before 1890.

Acquired from the Luxor dealer Mohammed Mohassib in 1890

Museum - British Museum, number 22558

 DID ALIENS BUILD THE PYRAMIDS?

THE GIFT OF THE NILE

POT DECORATED WITH BOATS, BIRDS AND FANS

This Naqada II fired clay pot has a boat scene typical of the period, and
also has paint decoration on the base.

Naqada was a necropolis which contained burials from Egyptian pre-

history. Excavations here were so important that the site's name lends
itself to the pre-history periods between 3800-3100 BC, which are called
Naqada I, II and III.

This type of pottery is called ‘D-ware’ or ‘Decorated Ware’ and is found

throughout Egypt. It is rare on settlement sites and not as frequent in
graves as other types of pottery.

Most Egyptologists now agree that the decoration shows a boat bearing a
standard or banner. The standards on poles are usually accepted as divine
emblems, or signs of clans or nomes (provinces).

This pot is made of marl clay, found on the desert edge. The decoration
was applied before firing. Brushes were made from reeds and the paint
from oxides of iron.

Predynastic, Naqada II

Museum - Ashmolean number 1891.25

Provenance: Semainah, Egypt. Given by G. J. Chester, 1891

 DID ALIENS BUILD THE PYRAMIDS?

HOW NATURE INSPIRED MYTH

HAWK MUMMY AND COFFIN

This mummified hawk dates to the Late Period of Egypt, which refers to
the time from the end of the Third Intermediate Period to the beginning of
Greek rule.

Many species of animals were mummified in the later periods of Egyptian

history. Some were considered sacred because they were believed to
possess the spirit of a god or goddess. The falcon, or hawk, was identified
from the earliest times with the sun god Horus and the reigning king who
was his manifestation on Earth.

Animals were mummified almost as elaborately as humans and offered in

the temples by pilgrims. When a sufficient number of animal mummies
had collected in the temple, they would be buried by the priests in sacred
animal cemeteries. Hawk and falcon catacombs have been excavated in
Tuna el-Gebel and Saqqara.

This mummified hawk is encased is a gilt wood coffin, which is in two

parts. The coffin lid has remains of gesso finish with black paint and
gilding. The ancient Egyptians used gesso to prepare wooden panels for
painting as it provided a protective layer when they primed the wood and
prevented the wood from absorbing the paint.

Late period.

Museum - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, number 1969W3667

Part of the Henry Solomon Wellcome collection. Presented by the
Trustees of the Wellcome Trust, 1969.
 DID ALIENS BUILD THE PYRAMIDS?

THE WEALTH OF THE LAND

MODEL BAKERY

Wooden model of a bakery with four figures on a flat base; painted red
(for skin) and black (for details).

The four figures are shown:-

a) separating wheat from chaff with a paddle
b) lifting a cake of bread
c) grinding grain
d) seated figure

Bread making was part of the day to day provisioning of palaces, ordinary
households, temples and tombs. Models placed inside tombs were
intended to capture the most characteristic elements of the process in
order that it be continued throughout eternity.

Bread was central to the diet of the Ancient Egyptians, and was consumed
at every meal, by everyone, and no meal was considered complete
without it. Bread, nutritionally, provided protein, starch and trace
nutrients.

In ancient Egypt bread was made from emmer wheat, which was
laboriously ground on an arrangement of stones known as a saddle quern.

First Intermediate Period, from Sidmant in Middle Egypt

Museum - Manchester Museum number c6598 a-g

This model was a donation from the British School of Archaeology in
Egypt during 1920-21.
 DID ALIENS BUILD THE PYRAMIDS?

THE WEALTH OF THE LAND

HORUS THE YOUNGER AMULET

This is a silver amulet of Horus the Younger, on a marble base.

Horus the child was also known as Harseisis or HerusaAset (Horus son of
Isis) and Harpocrates or Herupakhered (Horus the Child or Horus the
Younger) while still an infant.

He was the child of Isis and Osiris who was conceived after the death of
Osiris at the hands of Set. He was brought up in secret by Isis and took up
the battle against Set when he had come of age.

As Horus the Younger, he is shown as a naked infant wearing the side

lock of youth. As an adult, he is depicted as a human with a falcon's
head. He represents rebirth (life out of death).

This amulet is made out of silver and at the onset of recorded history,
silver may have been unknown to the ancient Egyptians. When it was
finally introduced into Egypt, it was probably more valuable than gold.

However, by the New Kingdom, there was a readily available supply of

silver and its price remained relatively constant at about half the value of
gold.

Museum - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, number 1969W3838

Part of the Henry Solomon Wellcome collection. Presented by the

Trustees of the Wellcome Trust, 1969.
 DID ALIENS BUILD THE PYRAMIDS?

EGYPT BEFORE THE PYRAMIDS

FLINT ARROWHEAD

This arrowhead dates from the Neolithic period when along the Nile the
culture was of hunters, fishers, and gathering people using stone tools.

Stone was used to make a wide variety of different tools, including

arrowheads and spearheads. They were made of either ground stone or
chipped stone, and a person who creates tools out of the latter is known as
a flintknapper.

Flintknappers work a raw piece of stone into its shape by hitting it with
another stone (called percussion flaking) and/or using a stone or deer
antler and soft pressure (pressure flaking) to get the final product to just
the right shape and size.

This arrowhead is a projectile point with a pointed end and a worked

element called the haft, which allowed attaching the point to a shaft of
wood or reeds.

The bow and arrow was one of ancient Egypt's most crucial weapons and
was used from Predynastic times.

Some of the first bows that we know of were the "horn bows", made by
joining a pair of antelope horns by a central piece of wood.

Prehistoric

Museum - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, number 1973A473

From Birmingham University Medical School

 DID ALIENS BUILD THE PYRAMIDS?

EGYPT BEFORE THE PYRAMIDS

DISK-SHAPED MACEHEAD

Clubs were perhaps one of the earliest weapons used by Egyptians in

warfare. However, as they are usually made of wood they are light and so
were only partially successful when used against an enemy. Therefore,
early in Egypt's history the club was replaced by the mace.

The mace is a wooden club with a head made of a heavy and hard
material, such as stone. Stone mace heads were first used in Predynastic
Egypt and the earliest known are disc maces with stones mounted
perpendicular to their handle.

The problem with early maces is that their stone heads shattered fairly
easily, and it was difficult to fix the head to the wooden handle reliably.

However, as one of the earliest weapons in ancient Egypt, long after it

was abandoned as a practical weapon, the mace became a symbol of
Egypt's ancient power as pharaohs continued to smite their opponents
with the mace, at least on temple walls.

Predynastic. Excavated at Naqada by Casira.

Museum - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, number 1969W55

Part of the Henry Solomon Wellcome collection. Presented by the

Trustees of the Wellcome Trust, 1969.
 DID ALIENS BUILD THE PYRAMIDS?

EGYPT BEFORE THE PYRAMIDS

WAVY HANDLED JAR

Through the study of wavy-handled jars such as this one, archaeologists

were able to piece together the sequence dating system that forms the
basis for much of our knowledge of the Pre-dynastic period.

These pots and vases often had very small or rounded bases and had to be
placed in pits dug into the floor or on stands. The stands also caught any
surplus water oozing out and prevented dirt from sticking to the moist
outer surface of the pot, as unglazed pottery is somewhat porous. This
was sometimes used to keep liquids cool through evaporation of some of
the water content.

Most of the pottery manufactured in Egypt was made of reddish brown

clay, which is called Nile silt ware. It served everyday purposes and was
often left undecorated. The red colour of the fired product was the result
of iron compounds oxidizing.

Pottery was produced by the ancient Egyptians from a very early period.
The oldest pottery technique consisted in hollowing out a lump of clay by
hand and pinching it to give it the final form. Later a flat tool was used to
press the clay against the other hand. The potter's wheel, which came into
use during the Old Kingdom, was initially rotated by hand.

Museum - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, number 2005.4467

Source unknown.
 DID ALIENS BUILD THE PYRAMIDS?

THE TOOLS TO BUILD A PYRAMID

PYRAMIDION

The uppermost stone on a royal pyramid in the Old Kingdom and Middle
Kingdom is called a pyramidion. In the New Kingdom it became the
practice for tombs to have small brick pyramids above them, on which
were placed small pyramidia, relatively small pyramid-shaped stones.

After the New Kingdom the practice seems to have died out, although it
did appear briefly in the 26th Dynasty at Abydos, and this pyramidion
dates to this period.

It belonged to Wedjahor, who was a scribe with the titles of ‘God's

Father; Scribe of the God's Books’ and has relief scenes and hieroglyphic
inscriptions on all four sides.

Each face of the pyramidion is decorated with a figure of the Anubis

jackal, beneath which is a figure of Wedjahor adoring different gods.

The east and west faces show forms of the sun god (the pyramid shape is
a solar symbol) while the others show a form of Osiris and Anubis.
Therefore, one aspect of this item is solar in nature, while another is
concerned with death and the afterlife.

Early 26th Dynasty. Possibly from Abydos.

Museum - British Museum, number 1482

Acquired 1909, funded by Lady Wantage.
 HOW WELL DO WE KNOW THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS?

WHAT DID THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS LOOK LIKE?

STELA OF SAMONTU

The round-topped stela of Samontu bears a mixture of texts and

representations common on such Middle Kingdom objects.

The stela is cut in sunk relief and the original paint is well preserved. The
hieroglyphs were coloured blue, and the men and women red-brown and
yellow-brown, while the offerings are a mixture of all these colours.

It is divided into three registers -

1 - The cartouche of Amenemhet II is above ten columns of hieroglyphic

text, which include the prenomens of Amenemhet I and Senusret I.

2 - A scene of the deceased and his wife before an offering table.

3 - Three male and two female figures with hieroglyphic text around
them.

The style of the stela, with its slightly elongated figures, suggests that it
was made in the same workshop as a number of similar pieces from the
reign of Amenemhet II, a considerable number of which definitely came
from Abydos.

12th Dynasty. Possibly from Abydos.

Museum - British Museum, number 828

Acquired 1857, purchased from Giovanni Anastasi.
 HOW WELL DO WE KNOW THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS?

WHO WAS AKHENATEN?

CARVING OF QUEEN NEFERTITI ON A COLUMN

This limestone column fragment shows a relief of Nefertiti, who is

perhaps even better known than her husband, the ‘heretic’ king Akhenaten
(Amenhotep IV).

Her famous painted limestone bust found in a sculptor's workshop and

now in a museum in Berlin, is one of the most recognizable icons of
ancient Egypt.

However, she also seems to have taken a hitherto unprecedented level of

importance in the Amarna period of Egypt's 18th Dynasty. In artwork, her
status is evident and indicates that she had almost as much influence as
her husband.

Nefertiti and Akhenaten lived during a time of religious controversy when

the traditional gods of Egypt were more or less abandoned, at least by the
royal family. They worshiped a single god, the sun disk named Aten, and
it was only through them that this god was accessed.

Indeed, the remainder of the population was expected to worship the

royal family, as the rays of the sun fell and gave life to, it would seem,
only the royal pair.

18th Dynasty. Amarna. Petrie 1891-2 excavations.

Museum - Ashmolean, number 1893 1-41 (71)

Given by Petrie and H, Martyn Kennard, 1893.
 HOW WELL DO WE KNOW THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS?

WHO WAS AKHENATEN?

CLAY HEAD

This clay artist model face was given to Bolton museum in 1966 with a
large number of other objects from Amarna. It was part of a
disbursement of material from the Egypt Exploration Society (EES)
stores that had come from the EES excavations at Tell el-Amarna.

Similar clay and plaster models are known from the site of Tell el-
Amarna, and include royal and private persons. Some examples are in
the Neues museum in Berlin as a team from Berlin discovered a
sculptor’s studio in which were found, among other items, a large number
of portrait masks with extremely realistic faces.

The individuals shown in these realistic portraits remain unknown, as is

the purpose for which they were made. It is possible that they are casts
made directly from the faces of the people concerned.

The site of Tell el-Amarna (also known as el-Amarna or as Amarna) is on

the east bank of the river Nile in the modern Egyptian province of Minya,
312 km (194 miles) south of the Egyptian capital of Cairo.

The area contains the remains of the capital city built by the Pharaoh
Akhenaten and abandoned shortly afterwards. The ancient Egyptians
called the city Akhetaten, which means "Horizon of the Aten."

18th Dynasty. Tell el-Amarna.

Museum - Bolton, number 1966.27.A

Came to Bolton in 1966 from EES.
 HOW WELL DO WE KNOW THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS?

THE ROYAL FAMILY OF AKHENATEN

HEAD OF NEFERTITI

This limestone head and neck is a small statuette of Nefertiti. There are
remains of red paint on the face, and the top of head missing.

Nefertiti may or may not have been of royal blood. She was probably a
daughter of the army officer, and later pharaoh, Ay, who may in turn have
been a brother of Queen Tiy. Ay sometimes referred to himself as "the
God's father", suggesting that he may have been Akhenaten's father-in-
law.

If she was the daughter of Ay, it was probably not by his chief wife, Tey,
who was not referred to as a "Royal mother of the chief wife of the king",
but rather 'nurse' and 'governess' of the king's chief wife. It could be that
Nefertiti's actual mother died early on, and it was left to Tey to raise her.

Other suggestions are that Nefertiti may have been a daughter of Tiy, or
that she was Akhenaten's cousin. However, she never lays claim to
King's Daughter, so we certainly know that she cannot have been an
heiress in the direct line of descent.

Akhenaten and Nefertiti had six daughters, and he seems to have had a
great love for his Chief Royal wife. They were inseparable in early
relief’s, many of which showed their family in loving compositions.

18th Dynasty. From Tell el-Amarna. Petrie excavations 1891-92.

Museum - Ashmolean, number 1892 1-41 (255)

Acquired from Petrie and H. Martyn Kennard, 1893.
 HOW WELL DO WE KNOW THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS?

THE ROYAL FAMILY OF AKHENATEN

ARTIST’S TRIAL PIECE OF AKHENATEN

On the smooth front of this irregular piece of limestone is depicted the

head, neck and shoulders of a royal person from the Amarna period. The
piece is clearly not a fragment broken off from a larger relief but a small
work in its own right.

The artistic style of the Amarna period is distinctive. Human figures are
often set in very un-traditional poses, with thin necks, prominent
stomachs, and elongated jaws. The distinctive neck and face are well
illustrated in this limestone fragment.

Many reasons have been offered to explain the style of the Amarna
period, but perhaps the simplest explanation is that Akhenaten needed to
make a clear distinction between the artistic output of his reign and that of
previous periods.

The short pointed wig and the uraeus cobra on the forehead would
identify this as Akhenaten or his main queen, Nefertiti, although it is most
likely Akhenaten.

The fragment is probably a sculptor’s trial piece, many of which have

been found at the site.

18th Dynasty. From Tell el-Amarna.

Museum - British museum, number 63631

Acquired 1932. Donated by the Egypt Exploration Society.
 HOW WELL DO WE KNOW THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS?

WHO WAS TUTANKHAMEN?

KOHL-TUBE

Eye-paint (kohl) was an important cosmetic for the ancient Egyptians. It

was usually stored in tube-shaped containers such as this one, which
allowed the applicator (kohl stick) to be easily inserted.

This item is of a white glazed composition, which is made of finely

powdered quartz grains fused together with small amounts of alkali
and/or lime through partial heating.

The kohl-tube bears the names of Tutankhamen and his Great Wife
Ankhesenamen. Tutankhamen was nine years old when he became
pharaoh of ancient Egypt and he reigned for approximately ten years.

In historical terms, Tutankhamen was significant because of his rejection

of the radical religious innovations introduced by Akhenaten. His
original name was Tutankhaten, meaning "Living Image of Aten", but he
changed his name to Tutankhamen meaning "Living Image of Amen".

Ankhesenamen ("Her Life is of Amen) was originally named

Ankhesenpaaten, and she was the third of six known daughters of
Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti.

The 1922 discovery of Tutankhamen's nearly intact tomb by Howard

Carter and the 5th Earl of Carnarvon received worldwide press coverage
and sparked a renewed public interest in ancient Egypt.

18th Dynasty.

Museum - British museum, number 2573

 HOW WELL DO WE KNOW THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS?

WHO WAS RAMESSES II?

RAMESSES II STATUE BASE

This is a sandstone statue base of Ramesses II and is inscribed on all

sides. The inscriptions consist of the prenomens and nomen of Ramesses
II with epithets.

On the top of the base stood an alabaster statue of Ramesses II striding

over the nine bows (a term used to represent the traditional enemies of
Egypt) which are incised on the top of the base. Only the feet of the
original statue remain.

Ramesses II, also called Ramesses the Great, was the son of Seti I and
Queen Tuya, and was the third king of the 19th Dynasty. He lived to be
96 years old, had 200 wives and concubines, 96 sons and 60 daughters.

When Seti I died, Ramesses II assumed the throne and began a series of
wars against the Syrians. The famous Battle of Kadesh is inscribed on the
walls of Ramesses’ temple.

Ramesses II outlived the first thirteen of his heirs and was succeeded by
Merneptah (or Merenptah) who took the throne when he was almost sixty
years old.

19th Dynasty.

Museum - British museum, number 29282

Purchased from Rev Chauncey Murch, who had purchased the piece from
Mohammed Mohassib, an Egyptian antiquities dealer in Luxor.
 HOW WELL DO WE KNOW THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS?

WHO WAS RAMESSES II?

RAMESSEUM FOUNDATION DEPOSITS

Foundation deposits are ceremonial objects, usually amulets, scarabs,

food, or ritual miniature tools, which are put into mudbrick lined pits or
holes dug at specific points under Egyptian temples or tombs. They were
magically supposed to prevent the building from falling into ruin.

These foundation deposits are from the Ramesseum, which is the

mortuary temple of Ramesses II, and the ones shown here are:-
- Four faience plaques of oxen with their legs tied together.
- Three faience plaques of sacrificed oxen heads.
- Four faience plaques with the cartouche of Ramesses II. Two read
‘Ramesses, beloved of Amun’ and two his throne name of ‘User-maat-re’
- Three faience plaques of lotus flowers (originally described as hands).

In Quibell’s 1896 Research Account of The Ramesseum he states ‘The

bulk of the deposit was below the brick floor. Here, scattered through the
sand were a wooden hoe, two wooden bowls painted blue and with traces
of cartouches, one plain blue tile, and three with the gilt foil, and sixteen
small bowls of pottery. Besides these there were many small pieces of
glaze, models of hands, calves’ heads, oxen with their legs tied together,
legs of oxen, seeds and cartouches. The glaze was in four colours, red,
violet, blue and white. There was no apparent reason in the number of
objects of each colour.’

19th Dynasty. Excavated by Quibell from the Ramesseum.

Museum - Manchester museum, numbers 1844, 1845, 1846, 1848

Donated to Manchester Museum by Jesse Haworth.
 BEWARE THE MUMMY’S CURSE?

HOW A CURSE WORKED IN ANCIENT EGYPT

FOUNDATION DEPOSIT

These two plaques of glazed frit have the name of ‘Amenirdis, God’s
Wife Of Amen’ and are from the end of the Third Intermediate Period.

At this time, the rulers of Kush began to extend their authority into Egypt
and took power away from the Libyans. Piankh invaded Thebes from
Kush to become the first ruler of the 25th Dynasty.

Amenirdis I, was the sister of the general Piankh, and reigned as Divine
Wife under Piankh, Shabaka, and Shabitko of the 25th Dynasty. She
adopted Piankh’s daughter to succeed her as Shepenwepet II. When
Amenirdis I died, her niece completed a mortuary chapel at Medinet
Habu for her.

These two plaques are foundation deposits, perhaps from her mortuary
chapel or tomb, and are ceremonial items that were magically supposed to
prevent the building from falling into ruin.

They are made of glazed frit which is a ceramic composition that has
been fused and quenched to form a glass. Frits, glazes, and faience are
similar materials; they are all silica-based but have different
concentrations of alkali, copper, and lime.

Third Intermediate Period.

Museum - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, numbers 1969W91 &

1969W3938.
Part of the Henry Solomon Wellcome collection. Presented by the
Trustees of the Wellcome Trust, 1969.
 WERE THE EGYPTIANS OBSESSED WITH DEATH?

HOW MUMMIFICATION WORKS

ANUBIS PLAQUE

This glazed frit plaque is of Anubis, the God of Embalming. Frit is a

ceramic composition that has been fused and quenched to form a glass. In
antiquity, frit could be crushed to make pigments or shaped to create
objects.

This plaque shows Anubis, who is an incredibly ancient god, and was the
original god of the dead before Osiris took over the position. After that
point, Anubis was changed to be one of the many sons of Osiris and the
conductor of souls of the underworld. He is portrayed as a black jackal or
a man with the head of a jackal holding the divine sceptre carried by
kings and gods.

Anubis had three important functions. He supervised the embalming of

bodies. He received the mummy into the tomb and performed the
Opening of the Mouth ceremony and then conducted the soul in the Field
of Celestial Offerings. Most importantly though, Anubis monitored the
Scales of Truth to protect the dead from deception and eternal death.

One of the reasons the early Egyptians sought to make their tombs more
elaborate was to keep the bodies safe from the jackals lingering about the
graves. It is only natural therefore that a god of mummification would be
connected with them. By worshipping Anubis, the Egyptians hoped to
invoke him to protect their deceased from jackals, and later, the natural
decay that unprotected bodies endure.

Museum - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, number 2005.4434.

 WERE THE EGYPTIANS OBSESSED WITH DEATH?

THE TOMB CHAPEL

STONE OFFERING TABLE

The ancient Egyptians believed that to obtain eternal life, the individual
must join the gods after death. Since to ancient Egyptians, death was thus
merely a continuation on a different plane of existence of the life they had
known, shelter and material goods were considered necessary for the
deceased’s well-being.

A tomb equipped with clothing and everyday utensils as well as food and
drink would supply those needs. Just as offerings were also presented to
the images of gods in order to nourish and sustain them, so also were food
and other offerings made to the deceased’s ka (soul) to nourish and
sustain it.

The food was brought into the tomb-chapel, where it was offered to the
deceased at the false door, from which his ka would emerge to partake of
the items spiritually. The offering tables were decorated with food stuffs
and inscribed with offering prayers, which would nourish the deceased
through their magic, if real foodstuffs were not provided.

In depictions the offering tables are laden with a great variety of exquisite
foodstuffs, and quite possibly that was the quality and quantity of
offerings customary among the rich. Poorer folk restricted their food
offerings and libations to what they could afford, sometimes to the basic
bread and water.

Museum - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, number 1969W2958.

Part of the Henry Solomon Wellcome collection. Presented by the
Trustees of the Wellcome Trust, 1969.
 WERE THE EGYPTIANS OBSESSED WITH DEATH?

THE TOMB CHAPEL

FALSE DOOR AND STATUE OF SAHATHOR

"False doors", also known as "Ka doors" as they allowed the Ka (an
element of the "soul") to pass through them, were common in mortuary
temples and tombs from around the Third Dynasty. The false door was
thought to be a threshold between the world of mortals and the world of
deities and spirits. The deity or the deceased could interact with the world
of the living either by passing through the door or receiving offerings
though it.

This rectangular limestone stela of Sahathor was designed as a

combination of a shrine and a false door. Along with the standard
offering prayer at the top, the inscriptions contain texts of a type found on
tomb walls.

This item was found in Abydos, and recent research has shown that many
of these stones were not simply erected haphazardly by pilgrims and
visitors, but were arranged in chapels in various parts of the site, with
concentrations around the area of the main Osiris temple.

Abydos was the principal cult centre of Osiris and it became the
expressed desire of an Egyptian to visit Abydos and be commemorated
there. The practice reached its peak during the Middle Kingdom, when
these were made.

12th Dynasty. From Abydos.

Museum - British museum, number EA569/EA570 .

Acquired 1839. Purchased from Giovanni Anastasi.
 WERE THE EGYPTIANS OBSESSED WITH DEATH?

THE BURIAL CHAMBER

MUMMY OF PERENBAST

The mummy of Perenbast is bandaged and covered with a thin coat of

resin, which results in the blackened appearance. The name Perenbast
means ‘The House of Bast’ (Bast is the cat-headed goddess) and the
hieroglyphs on her coffin state that she was a ‘Chantress of Amen’.

She lived during the Third Intermediate Period. She was over 60 years
old when she died and she was in reasonable health, although she may
have had problems with her knees and teeth.

When her body was x-rayed several metal objects were found wrapped in
the bandages. These appear to be a winged scarab beetle and also a plate
over the incision where her internal organs were removed.

The x-ray showed that she had facial packing under her skin in order to
give her a more lifelike appearance, and she has four packages in her
abdomen which are thought to be her mummified organs.

Perenbast was found in a previously unopened pit tomb at Qurna by

Flinders Petrie. Lotus flowers, still preserved, rested on top of the
mummy. Also in the tomb was a mummy of a man (now in Bristol
museum). He was around 30 years old when he died, but we do not know
if they were related.

Third Intermediate Period. From Qurna, Thebes.

Museum - Manchester museum, number 5053a.

Donated in 1909 by the British School of Archaeology.
 WERE THE EGYPTIANS OBSESSED WITH DEATH?

THE BURIAL CHAMBER

COFFIN LID OF PERENBAST

The wooden mummiform coffin of Perenbast consists of a deep base and

shallow lid, which were once held together by dowels and pegs.

The exterior of the coffin is black with resin, and designs are painted in
yellow. The coffin is finely painted with scenes from the Book of the
Dead, this is the text of magic spells intended to assist a dead person's
journey through the Duat, or underworld, and into the afterlife.

The lid represents the deceased with her arms crossed, her eyes and
eyebrows are inlaid with glass, and she wears a tripartite wig, (a three part
wig, two pieces either side of the face, third part down the back).

Scenes on the body of the lid show:-

- Osiris enthroned with Perenbast being presented to him
- the sacred boat of the god Sokar
- the goddess Hathor as a cow.

On the base of the coffin, the sides are decorated with rare scenes of
protective deities, beheaded enemies and a spitting snake.

Also found with Perenbast were a Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figure on a hollow

wooden base designed to hold a papyrus, and two Shabti boxes which
contained many small shabtis.

Third Intermediate Period. From Qurna, Thebes.

Museum - Manchester museum, number 5053c.

Donated in 1909 by the British School of Archaeology.
 WERE THE EGYPTIANS OBSESSED WITH DEATH?

THE BURIAL CHAMBER

OSTRACON

The word "ostracon" is derived from the Greek "ostrakon" meaning a

piece of pottery used as a voting ballot. In ancient Egypt ostracon, pieces
of broken pottery or stone were used as notepads as they were a cheaper
and more plentiful option than papyrus which was costly to make.

Ostraca were used by students in scribal schools to practice their writing

and by administrators to write notes, keep tallies of goods and calculate
taxation. They were used to scribble messages and draw preparatory
sketches for artworks.

This limestone ostracon has an ink drawing sketched on one side which
shows the shaft of a tomb, with the burial chamber at the bottom of the
shaft. The coffin is in the burial chamber, and the Ba is shown as a bird.

The ancient Egyptians regarded the human being as made up of five

different elements; the Ba, the Ka, the Akh, the Name and the Shadow.
Originally the word Ka meant 'bull', but its meaning became intellectual
and creative power.

The Ba refers to all the non-physical qualities making up the personality

of a human. The Ba transformed into a bird with a human head so that
the deceased could fly between the tomb and the underworld.

New Kingdom. From Thebes, West Bank.

Museum - Manchester museum, number 5886.

Acquired 1913. Donated by Sir Alan H. Gardiner.
 WERE THE EGYPTIANS OBSESSED WITH DEATH?

THE BURIAL CHAMBER

HEART SCARAB

The ancient Egyptian protective amulet for the heart was the scarab
beetle, which was the manifestation of the creator and solar deity Khepri.

The scarab, or dung, beetle was a symbol of new life and resurrection as
it seemed that the young scarab beetles emerged spontaneously. The
beetle rolls balls of dung in which she lays her eggs, the larvae would use
the dung for food, and when consumed the young beetles would emerge.

The heart scarab was an amulet which was wrapped in the bandages of
the mummy over the deceased's heart. It was inscribed with Chapter 30
of the Book of the Dead, which is an instruction from the dead person to
their heart that in the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony, it should not
confess to any wrongs that they might have committed during their life.

‘O my heart that I received from my mother, my heart that I have had

since birth, my heart that was with me through all the stages of my life, do
not stand up against me as a witness! Do not oppose me at the tribunal!
Do not tip the scales against me in the presence of the Keeper of the
Balance! You are my ka of my body, you are the creator god Khnum who
makes my limbs sound. Go forth to the Hereafter...

This heart scarab is made of basalt and has nine lines of inscription from
Chapter 30 of the Book of the Dead. It was made for the Lady Tay.

New Kingdom or Third Intermediate Period.

Museum - Manchester museum, number 5053c.

Bequested in 1939 by Sir Robert Mond.
 WERE THE EGYPTIANS OBSESSED WITH DEATH?

THE BURIAL CHAMBER

SHABTI

During the Predynastic and Early Dynastic Period there is some evidence
of the sacrificial burial of servants with the deceased. However, this
practice was quickly seen as unnecessary and wasteful, and instead
symbolic images of servants were painted inside tombs to aid the
deceased in the afterworld. This practice developed into the use of small
statuettes known as Shabti (also Shabtiu, Shabty, Shawabti or Ushabti).

A Shabti is a small human figure representing a person who would

perform a given task for the deceased in the afterlife. The Amduat
(underworld) included tracts of land granted to the deceased by the sun
god Ra from which the blessed dead could receive their nourishment. Of
course, wealthy nobles and royalty did not plan on doing any work
themselves and so they would take their (symbolic) servants with them.

Early versions of Shabti were modeled to represent the task that they
would perform and given tiny tools etc with which to complete their
tasks. Later on they were inscribed with a magical formula which would
activate them. Shabti were made from various materials including clay,
faience, wax, wood, stone, terracotta and, occasionally, glass and bronze.

This wood and plaster painted Shabti has 6 lines of text for Hor.

New Kingdom

Museum - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, number 1969W2967.

Part of the Henry Solomon Wellcome collection. Presented by the
Trustees of the Wellcome Trust, 1969.
 WERE THE EGYPTIANS OBSESSED WITH DEATH?

THE BURIAL CHAMBER

SHABTI BOX

The number of shabtis placed in burials increased during the New

Kingdom and reached as many as 10 by the early 19th Dynasty, with the
number increasing still further thereafter. Wooden shabti boxes or pottery
shabti jars were introduced as a means of storing the figures in the tomb.

Royal burials contained a considerably larger number of shabtis than the

nobility. 88 shabtis, made in a variety of materials, were found in the
tomb of Amenhotep II. About 60 shabtis are known for Amenhotep III,
and there are numerous fragments of shabtis for Akhenaten.

Tutankhamen was buried with 417 shabtis, including many of outstanding

quality, while Seti I appears to have had in excess of 700 shabtis, the
largest number for a New Kingdom pharaoh.

This painted wood Shabti box was made for the scribe Ptah-hetep.
It is one of a set of at least two, and so he must have been quite important
and fairly wealthy.

The box has three lids and the central one is topped by a figure of Anubis.
The polychrome painted decoration depicts the deceased offering before
various gods.

New Kingdom. Collected between 1880 and 1936.

Museum - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, number 1969W3635

Part of the Henry Solomon Wellcome collection. Presented by the
Trustees of the Wellcome Trust, 1969.
 WERE THE EGYPTIANS OBSESSED WITH DEATH?

HOW MUMMIFICATION WORKS

PTAH-SOKAR-OSIRIS STATUETTE

Sokar was the Memphite god of the dead and patron of the workers who
built the necropolis, tomb and ritual objects, and substances used in
mummification.

His name is shrouded in scholarly controversy, although one theory is that

it is derived from and based on the term sk r ("cleaning of the mouth")
found in Coffin Text Spell 816 and a 12th dynasty papyrus.

As early as the Old Kingdom, the god Ptah of Memphis formed close
links with Sokar, leading to the creation of the god Ptah-Sokar. In later
times this god also acquired the characteristics of the god Osiris, resulting
in the god Ptah-Sokar-Osiris.

Statues of the god appear at the end of the New Kingdom, and the Ptah-
Sokar-Osiris statue is a very common feature of burials through to the
roman period. The elements of Osiris emphasise the divine nature of the
god as a symbol of the power of regeneration and resurrection.

The god is presented as a wooden mummiform figure with a plumed

crown, and sometimes a small wooden falcon would sit on the wooden
base looking at the figure. Often the hollow base of this funerary figure
would contain the copy of the deceased's Book of the Dead.

Museum - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, number 1969A4312.

Part of the Henry Solomon Wellcome collection. Presented by the
Trustees of the Wellcome Trust, 1969.
 WERE THE EGYPTIANS OBSESSED WITH DEATH?

HOW MUMMIFIATION WORKS

FRAGMENT OF MUMMY CASE

This painted plaster/linen cartonnage shows Osiris and Isis. Osiris is a

common feature in Egyptian funerary art as he presides over the last
judgment of the soul, while Isis was the sister and wife of Osiris.

Osiris was an originally an earthly ruler, but Set, his brother, was jealous
and planned to be rid of him. He secretly obtained his brothers
measurements and had a magnificent casket, in the form of a human
shaped box, made to measure. Set then organised a large feast to which
Osiris and others were invited. At the feast Set produced the casket and
said that it would be given to whoever it fitted. All the guests tried the
casket, but none fitted until Osiris tried it. Set immediately slammed the
lid closed, sealed the casket shut, and threw it into the Nile.

Isis was devastated at the loss of her husband and searched for the casket,
eventually finding it in the roots of a large tree. Isis returned the coffin to
Egypt for a proper burial, but Set found it and chopped the body of Osiris
into pieces, scattering the parts throughout Egypt. Isis had to search for
the parts of her husband, and she eventually found all the parts except
one. She reassembled Osiris and wrapped him in bandages, and he
became king of the underworld.

Therefore, because of this myth, it was usual for the deceased to be

identified with Osiris, in order to ease their passage into the afterlife, and
also to warn that they were under the protection of the god.

Third Intermediate Period.

Museum - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, number 1952A266.

 WHOSE EGYPT?

THE END OF ANCIENT EGYPT

COPTOS STELA

This limestone stela is from the Greco-Roman period and was found at
the town of Coptos, which is on the right bank of the Nile, around 27
miles (43 km) north of modern Luxor. The town was of importance in
Greco-Roman times, when it was the terminus of a caravan route to
Berenice on the Red Sea. The present-day village of Qift is on the site.

A chapel of Ptolemaic dynasty pharaoh Cleopatra VII and her son,

Ptolemy XV Caesarion, has been found at the site of Coptos.

The Ptolemaics were rulers of Ancient Egypt for six hundred years, but
were of Greek origin. However, they adopted the culture and religious
practices of Egypt and sought to find parallels to their own religious
beliefs, describing the Egyptian deities as related to their own.

Gates associated with the Roman emperors Caligula and Claudius are
also documented at Coptos. After the conquest by the Romans in 30 AD,
they too continued the policy of building temples in Egypt, thus ensuring
the loyalty of the Egyptians and a stable flow of grain out of the greatest
granary of the world.

In ancient Egypt and continuing into the Roman period, stelae were
erected not only as tombstones and boundary markers, but also as votive
and commemorative monuments. In temples and sanctuaries, they were
set up to worship the gods, and also to commemorate special events, such
as successful expeditions to the mines in the desert or victories over
foreign powers.

Museum - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, number 2000A55.

 WHOSE EGYPT?

THE END OF ANCIENT EGYPT

HORUS DRESSED AS A ROMAN SOLDIER

This cast bronze standing figure of Horus is wearing Roman military

costume. He has one arm raised; the other is broken off below shoulder.

When Horus was a baby, his father Osiris was killed by Seth. Horus and
his mother Isis hid in the papyrus reeds in the Nile until Horus grew up.
Then he went to war with Seth to get his father's crown and kingdom. The
battles raged for a long time. Once Seth managed to blind Horus by
taking out his eye, but Thoth, God of Wisdom, managed to heal the eye.

Isis decided to help her son Horus. She met Seth, and asked for his help.
She described someone killing a man and taking all he had away from the
man's son. Seth said that killer should pay for his crimes. Isis said that
Seth himself was the killer, and he had condemned himself. The other
gods agreed, and Seth was driven out into the Sahara Desert.

In Graeco-Roman times the Egyptian name got its Greek form, Haroeris,
Horus the Elder. Haroeris was the god of light, his left eye was the sun
and his right eye the moon. He was the brother of Osiris and Seth, and
sometimes he was the son, or the husband of Hathor.

Greeks and Romans throughout Egypt continued to worship many of the

Egyptian deities, especially Horus the Elder (Haroeris) who was
represented as a Roman soldier with a falcon head.

Roman period. Acquired 1868.

Museum - British Museum, number 36062.

Purchased from Rollin & Feuardent, a French dealer in antiquities.
 WHOSE EGYPT?

THE END OF ANCIENT EGYPT

GOLD COIN, ARSINOE II

This Greek Oktadrachm coin of Arsinoe II is made from Gold. It is of the

type issued in the reign of Ptolemy II in the mid 3rd century BC and
continued in use for more than 150 years.

Arsinoe II was the sister, and wife, of Ptolemy II, the second king of the
Macedonian dynasty that seized control of Egypt after the death of
Alexander the Great in 323 BC, and ruled there for three hundred years.

Arsinoe II was born around 316 BC and was the daughter of Ptolemy I
and Berenike. At the age of 16 she married king Lysimachos of Thrace.
In recognition of her influence, the king gave her large estates in the
Aegean, including the city of Ephesos.

She accused Agathokles, who was the son of the king and husband of her
half-sister Lysandra of trying to seduce her, and as a result the king had
him executed. After the death of Lysimachos she married Ptolemy
Keraunos, but he killed two of her sons and tried to capture her so she
took refuge in Alexandria at the court of her brother Ptolemy II.

She soon became very influential and Ptolemy II exiled his first wife
Arsinoe I, married Arsinoe II and adopted her surviving son. Five years
after the marriage she died, her husband/brother declared her a god and
issued these magnificent coins in her memory.

Ptolemaic. 3rd Century BC.

Museum - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, number 1964C529.

Bequest by Charles Weare, 1964.
 DOWNSTAIRS FOYER

COLOSSAL STATUE OF RAMESSES II

In the downstairs foyer is the upper part of a red granite colossal statue of
Ramesses II. All the decorated elements of the king’s attire are finely
chiseled.

Ramesses II wears a double crown upon a curled wig. The royal uraeus is
fixed at the forehead, while a ceremonial beard is attached under the chin.

On the arms are engraved his birth and throne names, the cartouches are
surmounted by a double plume flanking a disk, and are placed on the
hieroglyphic sign for gold.

This bust is from a colossal statue that represented Ramesses II standing,

with his hands crossed over his chest, and holding the insignia of royalty,
the flail and the crook.

The middle part of the sculpture has not been found, but the base of the
statue supporting the royal feet was unearthed much later in the Temple of
Khnum at Elephantine and was recently identified as belonging to the
bust.

The royal costume was certainly a kilt, completed with an animal tail
hanging between the legs. The tip of the tail is still preserved on the
lower part of this sculpture, which is kept on Elephantine.

19th Dynasty.

From the Temple of Khnum, at the south end of the island of

Elephantine.

Museum - British Museum, number EA 67.