HISTORICAL INVESTIGATION IN ANCIENT
EGYPT PART 2
YEAR 7 HISTORY – INVESTIGATING THE ANCIENT PAST
AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM LEARNING OBJECTIVES
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
ACDSEH0011: How historians and archaeologists investigate history, including excavation
and archival research
ACDSEH0292: The range of sources that can be used in an historical investigation, including
archaeological and written sources
RESOURCES REQUIRED
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
Lost tombs of Thebes3 (5 mins) captioned online video plus suitable facilities for showing to
class including access to the Internet
Map of Egypt
LESSON OUTCOME: Students learn about the importance of the historical value of artworks
found in Theban tombs.
Lesson outline:
1. Introduce students to the concept of Egyptian tombs. Explain that the wall paintings within
the tombs provide an interesting insight into Ancient Egypt as they reflect what life was like
at the time.
2. Show students map of Egypt, indicating the location of Thebes. Most maps feature Thebes
less predominantly than other notable locations of historical value, so point out to your
students that whilst it may not look important on a map, there is much to be learnt from the
investigation of its tombs.
3. Pre-teach relevant vocabulary such as: vizier, artisan, scholar, Golden Age, afterlife,
mummy, embalming
4. Students view Lost tombs of Thebes (5 mins)
5. Individually, students record key pieces of information they learnt from the clip.
6. Students view clip a second time.
7. Students work in small groups to answer the question: ‘What information can be gained from
the lost tombs of Thebes? How do you think this information might be used?’
8. Introduce students to the Tomb of Nebamun, a specific tomb within Thebes. Using the
PowerPoint presentation4 compiled by The British Museum show students’ examples of
artworks from this tomb.
1
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Elements/ACDSEH001
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Elements/fcc662cc-69fa-4791-994b-9e4600a316e4
3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Smdp5Amkx6c&feature=relmfu
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9. Allocate different examples of art from the PowerPoint presentation to small groups of
students. Each group should consider what the value of their specific image might be with
regard to the historical insight it may provide.
HOMEWORK/EXTENSION
Each student chooses a specific Theban tomb to investigate, focussing on looking at what
historians and archaeologists have learnt from its exploration.
OPPORTUNITY FOR FURTHER ACTIVITY
Students could read this blog about the filming of the clip5. From this point, students could
investigate further the difficulties which are involved in capturing records of ancient remains.
4
http://www.britishmuseum.org/learning/schools_and_teachers/resources/all_resources1/resource_tomb_of_nebamun.aspx
5 http://heritage-key.com/blogs/sandro-vannini/shooting-lost-tombs-thebes-photographing-post-production
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