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Tomb texts

Practically everything that we know about Egyptian kings derives from their monuments. The Pyramid Texts, which were spells concerning the king's afterlife, began to be inscribed inside Egyptian pyramids from the reign of King Unas, about 2350 BC. The temples for the king's posthumous cult were decorated with reliefs and contained many statues, all of which give us information about the role of the king in Egyptian society. Scenes that show real events are rare. We must not forget that the purpose of these reliefs was to show an ideal state of affairs, which the king wished to last forever, not the contemporary reality.

Documents written on papyri were found in some pyramid temples, especially at Abusir. They concern such matters as lists of priests on duty, records of offerings brought to the temple, accounts, inventories of temple equipment and passes authorizing access to the temple. Several settlements of priests, and of craftsmen and artists, involved in the running of pyramid temples, have been located, in particular at Giza.

Representations carved on the walls of tombs include scenes of everyday life on the owner's estates and so show how even ordinary people lived and worked. We must be rather careful when interpreting these scenes and must not take them entirely at face value. They were included in order to play a role in the tomb owner's afterlife, not as an accurate record.

Sometimes, especially in the later part of the Old Kingdom, the tombs contained biographical texts. Many are just self-praising but others are real records of the tomb owner's achievements. This is how one of them, an official called Weni, described a mission assigned to him by King Merenre of the Sixth Dynasty:

(The travertine, or alabaster, Hatnub quarries are in Middle Egypt, some 186 miles [300km], south of Saqqara, where King Merenre's pyramid was built. The barge was over 98ft [31.5m] long and over 49ft [15.75m] wide).

Find out more
Books
When the Pyramids Were Built. Egyptian Art of the Old Kingdom by D Arnold (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1999)

The Pyramids of Egypt by IES Edwards (Harmondsworth, 1993)

Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids [Exhibition catalogue] (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1999)

The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts by R Faulkner (Warminster, 1986)

'The Old Kingdom' by J Malek, in The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt edited by I Shaw (Oxford University Press, 2000)

In the Shadow of the Pyramids by J Malek (London, 1986)

Links

The British Museum COMPASS Tour: Egypt in the Old Kingdom: An online display featuring a selection of objects chosen by the curators at the Museum to reflect the extraordinary range of The British Museum's collection.

Fathom: The World of the Pyramids: Fathom offers online learning experiences, developed with leading scholars and experts, including in-depth courses and free seminars, shorter features, interviews and articles.

The Egypt Exploration Society: The Society was founded in 1882 to fund and mount archaeological expeditions to Egypt, and to publish the results. This work continues today at sites such as Amarna, Memphis and Qasr Ibrim in Egyptian Nubia, and is published in full in a series of monographs, the annual Journal of Egyptian Archaeology and bi-annual magazine, Egyptian Archaeology. Membership of the Society is open to all those interested in ancient Egypt, indeed without its members' subscriptions the Society could not continue to operate.

Places to visit

Ashmolean Museum, Beaumont Street, Oxford, OX1 2PH: The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology is a museum of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1683, it is one of the oldest public museums in the world.

The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3DG: The museum has the largest and most comprehensive collection of ancient Egyptian material outside Cairo.

Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, University College London, Malet Place, London, WC1E 6BT: The museum has an inspiring collection of Egyptian and Sudanese archaeology.

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Practically everything that we know about Egyptian kings derives from their monuments. The Pyramid Texts, which were spells concerning the king's afterlife, began to be inscribed inside Egyptian pyramids from the reign of King Unas, about 2350 BC.

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Triumph and Tragedy of King Tut's Treasure

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Begin your research by brainstorming keywords - the words and phrases you'll use to search for books, articles, websites, government documents, and other resources. These may include names of people and places or historical concepts like eras and movements. A librarian can suggest "subject headings" to find the most relevant resources.

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The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

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The Middle Kingdom designates a period of ancient Egyptian civilization stretching from approximately 2030 to 1650 B.C. (Dynasty 11 through Dynasty 13). During this era, the cultural principles set out at the beginning of Egyptian civilization and codified during the Old Kingdom were reimagined, including the ideology of kingship, the organization of society, religious practices, afterlife beliefs, and relations with neighboring peoples. These transformations are attested to in architecture, sculpture, painting, relief decoration, stelae, jewelry, personal possessions, and literature.

Many Middle Kingdom monuments are poorly preserved, which contributes to the era's relative lack of modern prominence. Because Egyptian temples dedicated to deities were often replaced by succeeding kings, almost no Middle Kingdom temples remain standing. Many Middle Kingdom pyramids were constructed with mud-brick cores that eroded after their limestone casing was removed by ancient stone robbers. The lack of attention to Middle Kingdom monuments is unfortunate, as this was a period of beautiful artworks rendered with great skill and sensitivity ( 14.3.17).

The preceding Old Kingdom appears to have been an age of supreme confidence-at least through the scrim of five thousand years. This is exemplified by the pyramids, soaring monuments of solid stone that attest to the sophisticated organizational skills of the era; sculptures that portray youthful, self-assured individuals; and reliefs and paintings depicting abundant landscapes. The most accomplished artworks of the era project an arresting individuality and an overall impression of serenity and poise ( 52.19).

At the end of the Old Kingdom, centralized political control disintegrated and local rulers came to the fore, ushering in an era we call the First Intermediate Period. The collapse was perhaps the result of poor harvests caused by low Nile floods, although the reasons have been debated. Political power coalesced around two centers, Herakleopolis in the north and Thebes in the south, with the southern rulers eventually defeating the Herakleopolitans ( 57.95). In some sense, ancient Egyptian culture never seemed to completely recover from this cataclysm; in fact, according to the surviving Middle Kingdom texts, there was a more pronounced fear of chaotic forces and an emphasis on unity within the country. At the same time, the memory of upheaval may have proved inspiring to the ancient Egyptians, as it showed them that they could recover from periods of disorder. Perhaps this is at least part of the reason the Middle Kingdom was viewed in subsequent eras as an ideal epoch.

While Middle Kingdom culture represents a significant transformation of Old Kingdom society, the period itself underwent three distinct transitions, the first occurring between the end of Dynasty 11 and the beginning of Dynasty 12. Although within the norms of Egyptian representation, southern Theban art at the very beginning of the Middle Kingdom displays distinct local traits, including figures with attenuated limbs and emphasized eyes, and forms with a high degree of interior patterning ( 14.2.7). Some two-dimensional representations that seem to have little precedent are particular to the Theban area, including depictions of intriguing rites connected with the goddess Hathor and the beautification of queens. Tombs and temple have dramatic pillared facades, and these are set against the sheer limestone cliffs that are an impressive feature of the southern landscape. As the reunification of the country proceeded under Mentuhotep II ( 26.3.29), and closer connections were established with the north and its traditions, Theban artworks melded the styles and iconography of the two regions.

The early Middle Kingdom revival of Old Kingdom forms continued at the start of Dynasty 12 under kings Amenemhat I and Senwosret I, when a new capital was established in the north at Itjtawi, near the center of Old Kingdom political power. Sculpture, relief, painting, and architecture show clear affinities with Old Kingdom traditions, though some influence of Dynasty 11 remains ( 08.200.5). During these reigns the building of pyramid complexes resumed, accompanied by mastabas constructed as memorials and burial places for the elite.

While there is evidence that Old Kingdom pharaohs contributed artworks to temples dedicated to deities, royal patronage of such monuments expanded considerably in the Middle Kingdom. Particularly during the reign of Senwosret I, we find the first substantial remains of god's temples with stone walls, extensive relief decoration, and sculpture programs. Thebes witnessed the inception of one of the greatest temples of ancient Egypt, the Karnak complex, dedicated to the increasingly powerful god Amun. The presence of deity temples in important locations throughout Egypt can also be understood as a means to unify the populace and stress the king's dominant role in regional centers.

Much of our fascination with the Middle Kingdom lies in the dramatic shift that occurred in mid- to late Dynasty 12, during the reigns of Senwosret II, Senwosret III, and Amenemhat III. Unfortunately, no text explains these transformations, which are manifested in the remains of architecture, tombs and their grave goods, relief decoration, literature, and, most vividly, the sculpted faces of the kings and their courtiers ( 56.136). These changes must reflect profound alterations in religious beliefs and practices, the king's role as a political and spiritual leader, and the relationship between the king and his people.

Most intriguing is that these developments seem to have been pervasive and perhaps interconnected. For example, the more mature faces on statues of Senwosret III ( 26.7.1394) and Amenemhat III likely embody new ideas concerning kingship, in relation to either political power or the ruler's religious role. At the same time there were significant alterations in the form of the royal cult complex, which saw the emergence of different temple types, the shrinking of older ones, and changed location of the complexes. New types of symbolic jewelry worn as sets were deposited in the burials of royal and elite women, indicating further alterations in religious practice ( 16.1.6; 16.1.7a). There was a vast increase in the number of private monuments constructed at sacred sites such as Abydos and Elephantine, and these memorials feature depictions of large and extended family groups, including associates who were not kin. The larger family groups depicted on stelae find a contemporary parallel in tombs that accommodated multiple individuals. Beyond the religious sphere, around the reign of Senwosret III the political office of nomarch, or regional governor, was suppressed or phased out, a development that corresponded to the disappearance of elaborately decorated regional tombs. Concurrently, the production of certain types of objects ceased, including models of workshops, food-production facilities, and domestic structures ( 20.3.13), which first appeared in late Old Kingdom tombs and were prevalent in Dynasty 11 and early Dynasty 12.

The final era of Middle Kingdom transformation occurred in Dynasty 13, when about fifty kings ruled over approximately 150 years. While a few occupied the throne for longer periods, some reigned for a year or less. Kingship in Dynasty 13 certainly did not pass serially from father to son or even within a single family, but rather seems to have circulated among the leading families. It is unclear what happened to these short-reigning kings. One might speculate that the role of the king had become largely ceremonial, with rotating pharaohs serving for a limited amount of time and high-ranking officials wielding true political power. But surviving records do not substantiate such practices.

Imagery in Dynasty 13 transitions between the idealizing and humanizing tendencies of art from Dynasty 12, often combining the two. Magnificent statues of the kings were still created, despite the fact that most royal tombs seem to have been left unfinished and temple additions were limited. The numerous statues and stelae of nonroyal elite are often as fine as those of the earlier Middle Kingdom.

During the Middle Kingdom, monumentality achieved a greater balance between architecture and sculpture. While large temples, pyramid complexes, and tomb superstructures were built, none of these buildings had the same massiveness as their Old or New Kingdom counterparts. At the same time, overlifesize and monumental sculptures-largely, though not exclusively, depicting the pharaoh-became widespread ( L.2011.42). Monumentality was a device used by Middle Kingdom kings to stress their dominion over the entire country.

Contrasting with monumentality in Middle Kingdom art is a penchant for delicate, intimate detail ( 26.7.1275a-j). In some cases, Middle Kingdom artists lavished extraordinary attention and labor on parts of objects that were not easily visible. For example, Middle Kingdom jewelry was not only covered with impossibly tiny inlays, but the backs of the best pieces were embellished with elaborate chased decoration visible solely to the women who wore them ( 16.1.3a, b).

The Metropolitan Museum has long been at the forefront of the excavation and study of Middle Kingdom art and archaeology. Between 1906 and 1934 excavations were undertaken in the temple of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II at Deir el-Bahari; the tombs of officials on the West Bank at Thebes; the pyramid complexes of Amenemhat I and Senwosret I at Lisht; and the mastabas of officials built at Lisht. In the last thirty years, excavations at Lisht and the pyramid complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur have brought to light fresh information about Middle Kingdom architectural forms, iconography, and artistic development. The Museum's collection of Middle Kingdom art is among the most important outside of Egypt, and includes pieces found during earlier excavations, when Egypt allowed finds to be divided with excavating institutions.

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Egypt in the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030-1650 B.C.) | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

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The Middle Kingdom (mid-Dynasty 11-Dynasty 13, ca. 2030-1640 B.C.) began when Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II reunited Upper and Lower Egypt, setting the stage for a second great flowering of Egyptian culture.

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Scribes of the Old Empire Tombs are major primary sources of information about Ancient Egypt. The Ancient Egyptians believed that death was not the end; there was an afterlife. This afterlife would be very much like this life. The deceased would still need food, drink, clothing and other necessities of ordinary life. Ancient Egyptians who could afford to do so

constructed tombs for themselves and placed many of their possessions inside. They wrote their own names and titles, and sometimes something about their characters, on the walls of their tombs, so that the living would be moved to pray for them. Knowing that thieves might break into their tombs and steal their provisions, the Ancient Egyptians also placed named images of these articles on the walls of their tombs. Their own bodies - mummified human remains or skeletons - are still often found in their tombs.

The Ancient Egyptians were literate. By five thousand years ago, they were keeping records of all kinds of information. For the Age of the Pyramids, there are many good written sources of information. A few of these sources are stelae, tomb biographies, letters, papyri, and pyramid texts.

Archaeological Remains

Egypt's dry climate has preserved almost everything that was buried in the deserts. Because tombs were constructed in the deserts, their structures and contents often survive for thousands of years. Towns, however, were built nearer to the Nile. People have continued to live in many of the same places, so that ancient towns are often buried underneath modern ones. They can't be excavated without disturbing the people who live and work there. Even when townsites are accessible, changes in the course of the river, and the natural rot that occurs in wet soil, mean that fewer materials from towns and villages have survived. Modern methods of archaeology, however, can coax secrets even from water-logged soils in the Delta. Here is a list of the main types of archaeological evidence found in Egypt:

bakeries and food processing areas

cemeteries

garbage dumps

houses

palaces

pyramid complexes

quarries

roads

temples

tombs: mastaba and rock carved

townsites

workshops

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Primary Sources of Information about the Age of the Pyramids

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Scribes of the Old Empire Tombs are major primary sources of information about Ancient Egypt. The Ancient Egyptians believed that death was not the end; there was an afterlife. This afterlife would be very much like this life. The deceased would still need food, drink, clothing and other necessities of ordinary life.

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This story is based on one found on a papyrus scroll of hieroglyphs from the nineteenth century B.C., Egypt. It tells the tale of a voyage on the Red Sea to a mysterious and enchanted land of riches located south of Egypt.

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Hieroglyphics Activity & Worksheets | Teachers Pay Teachers

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Browse hieroglyphics activity resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, a marketplace trusted by millions of teachers for original educational resources.

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King Tut Activities & Worksheets | Teachers Pay Teachers

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Browse king tut activities resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, a marketplace trusted by millions of teachers for original educational resources.

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Ancient Egypt Lesson Plans and Activities for Teachers - Egyptian Pyramids, Tombs, Temples, Structures - Ancient Egypt for Teachers

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Egyptian Architectural Marvels - Pyramids, Temples, Structures, lesson plan and activity

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Please note that unfortunately there is an error in this game. The part of the game that looks at canopic jars incorrectly states that in an Egyptian burial the jar in the form of the human-headed god Imsety contains the lungs and the jar in the form of the baboon-headed god Hapy contains the liver. However, Imsety should contain the liver and Hapy the lungs.

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Search our website Key in a search term below to search our website. Close Section Can't find what you're looking for? The game below was created using Adobe Flash a long time ago and may no longer be playable on all web browsers. We have a range of other online games for you to explore.

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How quickly can you help the craftsmen find their basic supplies in the temple stores?

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Journey back four and a half thousand years to Egypt's Old Kingdom, to the Pyramid Age.

As the vizier, or head of state, you are about to undertake the building of the king's pyramid.

Have you got what it takes to be a pyramid builder?

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Journey back four and a half thousand years to Egypt's Old Kingdom, to the Pyramid Age. As the vizier, or head of state, you are about to undertake the building of the king's pyramid. Have you got what it takes to be a pyramid builder?

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Live a Day in the Life of King Tut | National Geographic

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Ancient Egypt: Crash Course World History #4

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Ancient Wonders: Pyramids | National Geographic

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Lets take a look into the mummification process!