ANCIENT EGYPT Egyptian archaeologists work at an ancient burial ground in Saqqara Egypt The 4 300 year old pyramid of yeen Sesheshet the mother of King Teti founder of Egypt s 6th dynasty was discovered here Khaled Desouki AFP Getty Images The desert sands have also preserved the remains of prehistoric people By their sides in the burial pits lie stone tools and weapons carved figures and decorated pottery These artifacts help archaeologists and historians piece together the story of life in the Nile Valley centuries before the beginning of the historical period I2
THE WORLD OF THE AIENT EGYPTIANS THIE ART OF MUMIMTIFICATION R In the great museum of Egyptian antiquities in Cairo throngs of sightseers daily look into the very faces of the pharaohs and nobles who ruled Egypt many centuries ago They were preserved as mummies thousands of which have been taken from the sands and tombs of Egypt The word mummy refers to a dead body in which some of the soft tissue has been preserved along with the bones The Egyptians practiced the art of mummifying their dead for 3 000 years or more in the belief that the soul would be reunited with the body in the afterlife so the body had to be kept intact The most carefully prepared Egyptian mummies date from about much older Sacred animals such as cats ibises and crocodiles were also mummified The most elaborate Egyptian process used for royalty and the wealthy took about 70 days First most of the internal organs were removed The brain was usually extracted through the nostrils with a hook and then discarded The heart considered the most important organ was usually left in place Most of the other vital organs were embalmed and placed in four vessels called canopic jars which were buried with the body In later Egyptian times the treated organs were
ANCIENT EGYPT It is A wooden coffin lies open showing the mummy inside at an excavation site in Saqqara Egypt Archaeologists discovered three ancient coffins dating back to the 26th pharaonic dynasty which ruled from 672 BC to 525 BC AFP Getty Images returned to the body cavity rather than sealed in jars The body was washed with palm wine which would have helped kill bacteria and then covered with natron a salt and left for many days to thoroughly dry out Next the body was treated with resin oils spices palm wine and other substances to help preserve it It was then wrapped in strips of linen The shrouded mummy was usually placed in two cases of cedar or of cloth stiffened with
THE WORLD OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS glue The outer case was often covered with paintings and hieroglyphics telling of the life of the deceased A molded mask of the dead or a portrait on linen or wood sometimes decorated the head end of the case This double case was placed in an oblong coffin and deposited in a re sarcophagus THE NILE To understand how Egypt developed into a great civilization it is first important to under stand its setting Though most of Egypt s land is made up of the forbidding Sahara Desert the Nile River snakes through this land as a vital lifeline The Nile is the longest river in the world It rises south of the equator and flows northward through northeastern Africa to drain into the Mediterranean Sea It has a length of about 4 132 miles 6 650 kilometers and drains an area estimated at 1 293 000 square miles 3 349 000 square kilometers The Nile River basin covers about one tenth of the area of the continent The Nile is formed by three principal streams the Blue Nile and the Atbara which flow from the highlands of Ethiopia and the White Nile the headstreams of which flow into Lakes Victoria and Albert 15
