Learning Objective:What is a tomb and why were they made?

What is a tomb?• A tomb is a place in which you are buried when you die. The

ancient Egyptians believed that life did not stop when you died. They believe that when you died, you moved to another place, a place they called the afterlife.

• After the time of the Old Kingdom, pyramids fell out of style. Pyramids cost a lot of time and money to build. They were also very easy for robbers to spot. The royals began burying their dead in secret tombs.

• The ancient Egyptians loved their tombs. They worked on them their whole life.

What is a tomb?• In the Egyptian times, a popular family outing was visiting the family

tomb, with armloads of grave goods. They filled their tombs with small and large statutes of friends and family, and little statues of workers who would do all their chores for them, along with other items they might need to keep them company and to help enjoy their days in their afterlife.

• They believed their Ka (their spirit) flew home to their tombs at night so their mummies could get a good night's sleep. The Egyptians were very practical. Obviously, everyone needs sleep, even mummies.

• It was very important that your name was written down in your tomb, so your Ka could find its way home at night. If it got lost, you would disappear forever

https://www.bbc.com/teach/class-clips-video/tombs-in-ancient-egypt/zh276v4

VIDEO TIME

Watch the video to visit tomb and find out all about what ishidden inside.

https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/games/discover-ancient-egypt/discover-ancient-egypt/egyptian-tomb-adventure

GAME TIME

Play the tomb robber game to find out about why there were so many tombs and what they were used for.

Spells and curses

• In ancient Egypt, magic and medicine overlapped. The ancient Egyptians believed in spells and in medicine. They used both to solve their problems. They might chant a magical spell they bought in the marketplace, and swallow medicine they bought from a different vendor, to solve the same problem.

• They believed in magical bricks. One magical brick was placed on each side of a tomb to ward away evil spirits.

• They believed cats had magical powers. All homes had a cat to protect the home and the children within.

• They believed amulets had magical powers to protect and bring good luck. All ancient Egyptians carried and wore amulets. No one left home without an amulet or two.

• They believed gods had the magical power to communicate with them through their dreams. They believed dreams could foretell the future.

• They believed in curses and omens and magical powers, all of which were an important part of their daily life and religion.

What was it like inside a tomb?

• Here you can see that a tomb was made of lots of different rooms

• They would need a burial chamber for thesarcophagus (coffin) where the mummified pharaoh would be placed.

• The treasury would house all their gold and treasure.

• The antechamber would keep everything they wanted to take to the afterlife.

• The annex was an extra room with even more possessions including foo.

Let’s look at 10 things you would find in an Egyptian tomb.

Look carefully at the next slides.

You are going to making your own tombs at home/in the classroom.

You will need to fill your tomb with lots of important things.

So let’s take a closer look inside tombs of the ancient Egyptians…

Your TurnChoose an activity below:

Activity 1

Make a tomb at home. Can you make a den and fill it with the things you would find in ancient Egyptian tomb? Can you fit in it? Be as creative as you can be with the things you can find.

Activity 2

Draw a tomb. Remember to include all the different rooms. Label your picture with everything you would find in a tomb.

Activtiy 3

Make a tomb: Use anything you can at home to make a 3D model of a tomb. You could use cereal boxses and recycling materials. You could create small version of the rooms and all the things you would find in a tomb.