Category: cairo
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The Great Pyramid of Giza
UNESCO World Heritage Site The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It served as the tomb of pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Built c. 2600 BC, over a period of about 26 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World,…
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Granite Statues, Furniture, Jewelry, Animal Mummies
The Ancient Egyptians mummified animals as well as humans. There are four different types of animal mummies: first, pets buried with their owners; second, victual or food mummies that would provide sustenance for the owner throughout eternity; third, sacred animals; fourth, votive offerings. The four different types of animal mummies provide us with many insights…
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Pottery, Weapons, Tools, Scribes
It is no exaggeration to say that we owe most of our knowledge of ancient Egypt to the work of her scribes. The ancient Egyptians covered their temples and tombs with hieroglyphs, but they also employed scribes to record everything from the stocks held in the stores for workers to court proceedings. Scribes recorded magic…
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Pharaohs, Sphinxs, False Doors
The title “pharaoh” is used for those rulers of Ancient Egypt who ruled after the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by Narmer during the Early Dynastic Period, approximately 3100 BC. However, the specific title was not used to address the kings of Egypt by their contemporaries until the New Kingdom’s 18th Dynasty, c. 1400…
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Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun 1341 BC – 1323 BC, was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who ruled c. 1332 – 1323 BC during the late Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Born Tutankhaten, he was likely a son of Akhenaten, thought to be buried in KV55. His mother was identified through DNA testing as The Younger Lady buried in KV35; she…
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Dioramas, Panoramas, Ostracas, Special Gear
Wooden tomb models were deposited as grave goods in the tombs and burial shafts throughout ancient Egypt since its early history, most notably in the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. They included a wide variety of wooden figurines and scenes, such as boats, granaries, baking and brewing scenes and butchery scenes. These served as ways to…
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Akhenaten, Stelas, Paintings, Obelisks
Many Roman Emperors celebrated their rise into power by bringing an obelisk from the province of Egypt to Rome, by that time, capital of the Roman Empire. And obelisk is a one piece, solid rock, architectural structure with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs weighting at most 1300 tons. With today’s technology is very hard to move one…
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Mortuary Items, Musical, Agriculture, Priests
Before going to the afterlife you had to stack on all the necessary stuff you would need there. These are some of the stuff the ancient Egyptians place in their tombs so that they could live in the field of reeds. It was like moving to a new home in another country, you moved with…
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Sarcophagi, Games
Journey to the Afterlife Despite the influence of foreign rule, the Egyptians preserved their ancient customs when preparing for eternal life. One such tradition was the decoration of anthropoid (human-shaped) sarcophagi according to a common theme – rebirth. Each sarcophagus represents the mummy form of the deceased, or the ‘Osiris form’, which he or she…
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Limestone Statues, Amulets, Foundation Deposits, Bronze Statues
Ancient Egyptian statues of people often depicted individuals as healthy, fit, and in the prime of their lives. The statues were often created to protect and provide for deceased spirits. The primary purpose of most Egyptian sculpture was to represent the individual in death before Osiris, or in life and death before the deities of…
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Yuya & Thuya, Special, Daily Life
Yuya and Thuya were ancient Egyptian nobles who lived during the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt’s New Kingdom. The couple were from Akhmim, and held titles associated with the cult of the local god Min. Although non-royals, their daughter Tiye became the chief wife of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. They were buried in a private-style tomb in…