ancient egyptian book of the dead - british · pdf fileancient egyptian book of the dead ......

Journey through the afterlife

ANCIENTEGYPTIANBOOK OF THE DEADThe BP Special ExhibitionSupported by BP

Scene from the Book of the Dead of Hunefer. Egypt, c. 1280 BC. © The Trustees of the British Museum.

Students’worksheets Key Stage 2


ANCIENT EGYPTIANBOOK OF THE DEAD

Exhibition activity worksheets

These worksheets can be used by students in the exhibition. They do not require any written input. The sheets are presented in the order in which they are best used in the exhibition.

The sheets work best if the students are organised into small groups with an adult helper. The adult helper can then mediate the use of the sheets and enable each student to discuss the questions and take part in the challenges suggested on the sheet. You may also wish to provide adults with some of the background information sheets in the separate teachers’ resources PDF before they visit the Museum so that they have an overview of the exhibition before working with the students. There is also an adult briefing sheet for the whole exhibition giving a brief introduction to each section. You may wish to brief adults about any objects or aspects of the exhibition which you will be using as a stimulus for follow-up work so that they can ensure the students engage with these while they are going round the exhibition.

Teachers can select which (and how many) sheets to print out and distribute to the groups. There is not a sheet for each section of the exhibition. Instead, a selection of sections (shown at the top of each sheet) have been chosen as possible points to spot some objects, share some information or discuss as a small group. There is no expectation that groups have to use the sheets but please remember that the exhibition may be very busy and not necessarily best suited to a written worksheet approach. As an alternative, you could encourage adult helpers to view the exhibition as a rich visual experience and an opportunity to encourage the students to apply existing knowledge about ancient Egypt. Accompanying adults and their groups should feel free to engage in discussion about the objects, look at all or some of the objects, dwell at objects which particularly interest them, and share things they find out as they go round.

You can download the teachers’ resource for the exhibition from the Journey through the afterlife: ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead section of the website at www.britishmuseum.org



Sheet 1: Preparing for the afterlife

Before you set off, take a moment to think about what you already know about ancient Egypt. Ask each person in your group to say three things they know.

As you go round, keep an eye out for these gods and goddesses:

Take a moment to look closely at each god and goddess. Work out some clues to help you spot them later on. What are they wearing? Are they shown with an animal head? What are they holding?

My name is Ani. This is Tutu, my wife. You will see a lot of my

Book of the Dead.

Think

Did you know? If you see somebody on a papyrus dressed in white linen clothes it’s the dead person.

1, 2, 3...

At the end of the exhibition think about what you found out that you didn’t know already.

Osiris

Horus Anubis

Isis and

Nephthys



Sheet 2: The day of burial

The funeral was when the dead person moved from the world of the living to the world of the dead. This was the day that their mummy was put in the tomb.

Find the funeral of Ani.

Can you see…

the tomb? the mummy? the food offering? the priests? the cows? the mourners? the servants?

What would you have as your food offering –

n a pile of pizza? n apples? n ice cream? n grapes?

Make a group pile with one suggestion from each person.

My name is Henutmehyt and this is part of my coffin. Inside is my mummy. Can

everybody in the group say one thing about how to make a

mummy? Did you miss anything out?



What would you transform into to help you:

Sheet 3: Empowering the dead

Some spells in the Book of the Dead enabled the dead person to turn into different animals. Find these:

Sometimes spells helped with information that had to be repeated at certain points on the journey.

get over a mountain?

cross a lake?

escape from a monster?

travel through a cave?

get over a mountain?

cross a lake?

escape from a monster?

travel through a cave?

And finally… how about turning into a water lily? Can you spot this flowery spell?

Test your memory Ask everybody their favourite colour and shape. Can you repeat all the answers?

Now a looking test Choose an object, look at it for 1 minute, turn round so you can’t see it and describe it. Look back at the object and check your description

– did you remember everything?



Sheet 4: Judgement

Your heart was weighed against the feather of truth. If your heart was heavy with lies it was eaten by the Devourer and you ceased to exist forever!

The Devourer has the head of a crocodile, the front legs of a leopard and the back legs of a hippopotamus. All very fierce animals on their own but imagine all three together!

+ + = monster!

What animals would you use to create a fierce monster? Have a go at making your own monster sum. Who got the scariest answer?

The Devourer was also called ‘Great of Death’ or ‘Eater of Hearts’.

What would you call your monster?

Big teeth!

If they have been good, I’ll be hungry.

Thoth and the

Devourer



Sheet 5: Exploring the Book of the Dead

Scribes and painters wrote out and illustrated the Book of the Dead rolls.

Being a scribe was a lifelong job in ancient Egypt. What skills do you think you would need? Is it a job you would like to do? Why?

Today experts look after the fragile papyrus and reassemble damaged pieces so that they can be safely stored and read. What skills would you need for this job?

Find 3 different damaged papyri and decide what needs to be done to them.

Look around this section to see what tools a scribe used.

Start by finding these tools – what were they used for?

ancient egyptian book of the dead - british · pdf fileancient egyptian book of the dead ......

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