…there is no country that possesses so many wonders…
Herodotus
This picture of modern Egypt with its ancient wonders was kindly provided by Mrs McQueen in the library. She has more exciting holidays than I do, though I must admit, I have climbed those ancient stones myself. There's a photo below, in which I look uncomfortably hot. That was taken back in 1987. Since then I've become cool...
Egypt has a great fascination for historians. In fact, the study of ancient Egypt has its own “-ology”. In today’s class you will be doing some reading and activities to induct you into the world of the Egyptologist. Then, you’ll be concocting an adventure in ancient Egypt, in the role of a small impulsive alien, whose name is Emit Repoons. He gave my blog its name and there’s an explanation of his identity on this page.
But back to Egypt. The study of this long-lived and intriguing civilisation has been around for a long time. Herodotus, the man who has been dubbed the “father of history” by some, visited ancient Egypt in the mid 5th century BC; by that time, the civilisation had already been in existence for thousands of years. Nevertheless, the knowledge of how to read hieroglyphs was lost a few hundred years later, and for at least one and a half thousand years no one was able to decipher all those beautiful pictorial symbols. Then a man called Jean-Francois Champollion broke the code. His stroke of genius meant that thousands of primary sources could suddenly be read. It was a huge boost for Egyptology and the study of history.
Remember, I'm a god - even though I suffer from abscesses on my teeth and other mortal problems.
I’m saving Champollion’s story, however, for another day. Today is strictly introductory. But keep in mind that in the 1800s and early 1900s there were huge numbers of historians and archaeologists trying to get the story of ancient Egypt down pat. Many were from England, which explains why many great Egyptian treasures may be seen in London in the British Museum, along with some Greek marbles. (There’s been great controversy over whether the British should give the Elgin marbles back – and countless other treasures of antiquity.)
One of the reasons Herodotus was interested in Egypt was that he found the culture of the Egyptians strange as well as fascinating. You may feel the same as you wander the desert sands, sail across the Nile and show your embalming skills on our class mummy. I hope so.
↑I went to Egypt in 1987. It was hot, fascinating and hot!
Resources for Studying Ancient Egypt
The School Library has now bought the World Book Online. This is a brilliant resource, which you can even access from outside through the intranet or this blog. You will need the username (bhhs) and password (worldbook) to use it, however. Ask Ms Green or Mrs McQueen to give it to you so that you can use the link below:
Here are some more websites to whet your curiosity about this ancient civilisation:
♥Click on these links to find out more about the Nile River:
