FUNERALS IN ANCIENT EGYPT The ancient Egyptians believed that death was not an end to life It was a journey to eternal life To prepare for a safe journey a person had to honor the gods who ruled over Earth When the person died loved ones buried the body with tools food and drink The person WHY PYRAMIDS In ancient Egypt a mound of earth was a symbol of new life The people lived along the Nile River Every year the river rose and flooded the land nearby When the water dropped again it left behind rich soil Plants grew there starting on the highest mounds of earth A pyramid stood for a mound of earth It was a symbol of new life after a time of waiting needed these items to journey through the world of the dead and reach eternal life in paradise Ordinary people were buried in the ground with some everyday objects and food Important people were buried in tombs The more important The pyramids incredible scale continues to impress visitors today more than 4,500 years after their construction 6
Egyptian mummies are on display at museums around the world including this one in Cairo Egypt only simple building tools They made their own axes chisels and hammers from copper wood and stone They didn’t have pulleys or cranes Those had not been invented yet 9
