History of Ancient Egypt: Encyclopedia II - History of Ancient Egypt - Old Kingdom

History of Ancient Egypt - Old Kingdom

Egyptologists consider the Old Kingdom as beginning with the Third Dynasty, and around the time of the Fourth Dynasty, the art of embalming began.

History of Ancient Egypt - Embalming mummification and preservation

A cautionary note about embalming, mummification and preservation: To embalm and to mummify essentially mean the same thing. To embalm (from Latin in balsamum, meaning to "put into balsam," a mixture of aromatic resins) and the process of mummification are very similar in that corpses were anointed with ointments, oils, and resins. The word mummy comes from a misinterpretation of the process. Poorly embalmed bodies (from the Late Period) are often black and very brittle. It was believed these had been preserved by dipping them in bitumen, the Arabic word for bitumen being mumiya.

There are many modern techniques for preserving a body, however, these were not available to the ancient Egyptians (freezing, pickling etc). The only method they were aware of was drying the body out in the hot sand. This left the body looking most un-lifelike, and not a very suitable home for the Ka. It also wasn't a very reverent way to treat your Pharaoh. The answer came from the Nile.

The Nile floods every year. Without it Egypt would be no more than a desert with a river going through it. The flooding brought with it essential silt which made the land fertile. When the waters subsided, it left pools of water behind which dried out in the sun. Once the water had evaporated it left behind a white crystalline substance called natron. The most notable thing about this substance is that it is highly hygroscopic: it will draw and absorb moisture. During the Old Kingdom, Queen Hetepheres' internal organs were removed and placed in a solution of natron (about 3%).

When the box was opened it contained just sludge, which was apparently all that remained of the Queen. Early attempts at mummification were total failures. This was recognized by the embalmers, so they took to preserving the shape of the body. They did this by wrapping the body in resin soaked bandages. They became so good at this that one example from the Fifth Dynasty of a court musician called Waty still holds details of warts, calluses, wrinkles and facial details.

The embalming process took 70 days. A few centuries later came a new technique for mummification. First, the embalmers would wash the inside and outside of the body and fill it with special wine and spice mixtures. They would then take out all the internal organs, removing the brain with a hook through the nose, and stuff the body with a natron salt solution. The heart was left inside the body because the Egyptians believed it was where the person's Ka resided. When this was done they would put all the organs pulled from the body in canopic jars to be buried with the body

They would then leave the body to dry for about 40 days, then wash it out again with wine and spice mixtures. The body would be wrapped in wet bandages and dried. This procedure ensured that the body would not swell, but rather retain its normal shape and size. The embalmers would then put scented oils, perfumes and jewelry on the body, put it in a coffin, and bury it.

History of Ancient Egypt - Upper and Lower Egypt

A word about Upper and Lower Egypt. Lower Egypt is to the north and is that part where the Nile Delta flows into the Mediterranean Sea and Upper Egypt is to the South from the Libyan Desert down to just past Abu Simbel. The reason for this apparent upside-down naming is that Egypt is the 'Gift of the Nile' and as such everything is measured in relation to it. The Nile enters Egypt at the top, winding its way down until exiting via the fertile delta into the Mediterranean Sea in Lower Egypt.

It was in this era that formerly independent ancient Egyptian states became known as nomes, ruled solely by the pharaoh. Subsequently the former rulers were forced to assume the role of governors or otherwise work in tax collection. Ancient Egyptians in this era emphatically believed that their pharaoh could assure the annual flooding of the Nile for their crops. They also perceived themselves as a specially selected people, "as the only true human beings on earth" ([3]). There is some evidence that around 2675 BC, Egypt started to import timber from Lebanon.

History of Ancient Egypt - Pyramids

Several Egyptian pyramids were built and some abandoned before they were finished. Around 2575 BCE, Pharaoh Khufu (aka. Cheops) made his mark on the landscape. For him, the greatest and most famous pyramid of all was constructed, the Great Pyramid of Giza. When looking at the pyramid group on the Giza plateau, it does not seem to be the largest. This is because the tallest looking one was built on higher ground, but is 10 metres smaller.

One notable example is the Bent Pyramid—about halfway up it appears that the builders feared they would not be able to maintain the angle they were already building and decided to change it to a less steep angle. This resulted in an odd looking pyramid, whose top sloped in suddenly. The Pharaoh Khufu was also responsible for sending expeditions into Nubia for slaves and anything else of value. It is unlikely that these people would have been used for the building of the monuments, at least not at first, as there would not have been enough of them. One popular and convincing theory is that the peasant farmers of Egypt built all of the temples and monuments during the floods. This is an attractive theory for many reasons.

When the Nile flooded, the people of Egypt would have had nowhere to live. The Nile floods up to the edge of the desert and would have covered all of the farming and living areas. If there was work to be had building monuments during the flooding season, then the peasant farmers would have had the chance to feed and house their family. This would also account for how the country had become, and stayed, so stable for several hundred years. Pyramid building continued for some time, in fact there are 80 known pyramid sites; although not all of them are still standing.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Old Kingdom", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki