We dialled into the Internet and went to AltaVista to look at Egyptians. First we went to the pages on pyramids. We found out how pyramids were built, like the Great pyramid. This is how we think they were built. At first a square shape had to be cut out of stone, usually limestone.Then hieroglyphs were painted on the blocks, such as ones telling which side up the blocks went or personal messages.The vast Egyptian pyramid of khufu is the oldest of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It is also the only wonder still standing today.When it was built, the Great pyramid was the tallest structure in the world and it probably held that record for almost 4,000 years.On the great pyramid 100,000 slaves helped in the building. Some others worked for the king which was a great honour. Others would unhappily work away moaning and crying.

A Royal Tomb

The Great pyramid was built as a tomb for King Khufu, known to the Greeks as Cheops. He was one of the Pharaohs, or kings of Ancient Egypt, and his Tomb was finished in about 2580BC. Later, two more pyramids were built at Giza for Khufu’s son and grandson, as well as smaller pyramids for their Queens.

The Afterlife

The Fate of the Mummy

The mummy would be placed in it's coffin
and the coffin placed in the tomb.
The dead person would then
have to pass through a dangerous place known as the Duat.
The dangers were monsters, boiling lakes and rivers of fire.
The snake that spat poison was particularly nasty.
The monster could be overcome with the right spells.
It was best to write the spells on Egyptian paper
and leave them in or near the coffin.
This is the book of the dead.

The Afterlife part 2 and Gods

The Egyptians were very religious
and believed that Gods played a great part in their lives.
They also believed there was life after death.
They thought that the dead person made a journey to the next world
and continued to live the same sort of life there.
The king would still be a king;
a farm labourer would still be a farm labourer.
To help in this journey,
the rich were given a painted tomb with a variety of their possessions.
The Egyptians buried food and drink in the tomb
because they thought an actual journey was made at death.

The Afterlife Part 3

If they overcame the monsters in part 1
then they’d reach the gates of Yaru and meet their friends again.
But first they had to pass the greatest test of all
in the hall of two truths.
Their heart was weighed.
The heart was placed on one side of the balance
and on the other side was the feather of truth
which held all the lies of their past life.
The three great Gods Osiris, Anubis and Thoth,
decided the result of the weighing.
If the heart passed the test
then the dead person was allowed through the gates of Yaru.
But if they failed ...
their heart was eaten by a terrifying monster known as
the Devourer.
The Devourer was part crocodile, part hippopotamus and part lion.
Once the Devourer took your heart you would be lost forever.