Egypt In Africa
Teachers’ Pack
Planning a Meaningful Visit to the
Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology
Contents

What is the purpose of this Pack?

How can this pack support your Scheme of Work?

How to book your visit

How to get There

What is UCL and Widening Participation?

What is special about the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology

Why is a preliminary visit important?

Timing the visit right

Setting Objectives for the Visit

Preparing Pupils before a visit

Activities to maximise Learning during the Visit

Meaningful Ways to Follow-up the visit and assess learning

Other Learning Initiatives at the Petrie

Useful Resources

Appendices
What is the purpose of this Pack?
This Pack has been designed to support both primary and secondary school
teachers in planning a visit to UCL’s Petrie Museum.
The pack has been developed with 5 key objectives in mind:
1) To promote an investigative approach that encourages pupils to observe,
think, make choices and draw their own conclusions. The Petrie Museum is a
university museum and supports UCL’s Widening Participation Mission to
raise young people’s aspirations towards Higher Education. Through activities
outlined in this pack, we hope to give youngsters a taster of university style
learning
2) To promote learning about Egypt and to offer new perspectives on daily life in
ancient Egypt. The Petrie Museum specialises in objects about daily life. So
for this reason we have included very little about ‘Death’ in ancient Egypt. We
want to extend learning beyond the ‘popular’ themes of mummies,
Tutankhamun and pyramids
3) To offer activities that support a range of learning styles, including notetaking, drawing, role play, debate, independent and group work
4) To place the visit in context and maximise learning by encouraging
appropriate pre-visit work and meaningful follow up activities
Some Key Issues to bear in Mind

Egypt is in Africa
It may seem obvious but it is amazing how many young people (and adults for that
matter) do not realise that Egypt is in Africa. It is important that any study of Egypt
begins with its geography and locates Egypt in north east Africa, with access to both
the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
Egypt today is a modern, thriving country with a unique and vibrant culture. It did not
die out with the collapse of the pharaohs and the arrival of the Romans. Modern
Egyptians speak and write Arabic and although Egypt today is an Islamic country,
Christianity and Judaism, amongst other faiths, co-exist happily in a country whose
culture and history are very much alive.

Ancient Egyptian Civilization was made up of many different cultures
and changed enormously over a huge period of time
Egyptians in the reign of Tutankhamun were as far away in time from the pyramid
builders as we are today from the Vikings. Perhaps Tutankhamun’s subjects would
have found the pyramid age as unfamiliar as we would have found the time of the
Vikings. It is important to remember that things which we often group as belonging to
‘ancient Egypt’ may have been produced hundreds or even thousands of years apart
and do not represent a single culture.
2

We cannot be sure what the ancient Egyptians looked like but we can
assume that they had black or brown skin
When we talk about ‘ancient Egyptians’ we are talking about a wide range of people
over a vast period of time with origins in different parts of Africa. Although the ancient
Egyptians produced countless images of themselves on wall paintings, inscriptions,
in sculpture, etc, they followed a changing but strict visual code for portraying
themselves at the peak of health and beauty. Paintings and sculpture do not
necessarily represent reality and should therefore not be taken too literally.
There is tremendous debate about the race of the ‘ancient Egyptians’. There are 3
main (mutually exclusive) views:



The modern Egyptian view is that the ancient Egyptians are the same group
of people as the modern Egyptians
The Afrocentric view is that the ancient Egyptians were black Africans,
displaced by later movements of peoples, for example the Macedonian,
Roman and Arab conquests
The Eurocentric view is that the ancient Egyptians are ancestral to modern
Europe
Although the debate on race continues, this was probably not an issue for the ancient
Egyptians themselves. We know that they were NOT white and that there was an
enduring black presence in Egyptian culture. Evidence of the earliest Egyptian
civilization was found in Upper Egypt (near the Sudan) and was therefore more likely
to have been black. At various times b lack people ruled Egypt, such as the Nubian
pharaohs of the 7th and 8th centuries BCE. Later, when Egypt was Christian, black
saints like St Menas were revered.

It is hard to agree on dates for the start and finish of ‘ancient Egypt’
The year 3100BCE is one date traditionally used to mark ancient Egypt’s beginning.
This was when north and south Egypt were united as a single kingdom by the first
Pharaoh of Egypt, Namer. The end of ancient Egypt is set sometimes at the death of
Cleopatra in 30 BCE, when Egypt became part of the Roman Empire; or in the early
4th Century CE, when Egypt became widely Christianised.

Many of the powerful images we have of ancient Egypt come from
fictional sources like books, Hollywood films and advertising and hinder
us from appreciating the reality of life in ancient Egypt
Archaeology has played a part in shaping these fictions but since it deals with
physical evidence from the past, it can also be used to challenge assumptions and
raise questions. It is important that we encourage young people to look beyond the
stereotypes and draw their own conclusions from the objects they can see face to
face in the Museum.
“The treasure dug up is not gold, but history… every day
there is a new light on the past”, William Matthew Flinders Petrie, 1886
3
How can this pack support your Scheme of Work?
A visit to the Petrie Museum is ideal for supporting the National Curriculum History
Study Unit: Ancient Egypt; and in particular schemes of work that encourage the use
of objects and/or that look at daily life in the past.
Although particularly relevant to Key Stage 2 History, the Petrie Museum can also be
used to support Art and Design at all Key Stages and to offer a range of curriculum
enrichment opportunities for gifted and talented pupils or those with a particular
interest in Egypt, Africa, History or Archaeology.

National Curriculum specification for Key Stage 2 History
Programme of Study for History Study Unit: A World History Study of a
Past Society: Ancient Egypt, Ancient Sumer, the Assyrian Empire, the
Indus Valley, the Maya, Benin, or the Aztecs
A study of the key features, including everyday lives of men, women and
children
Key Features: the society in relation to other contemporary societies; chronology; the
reasons for the rise and fall of the civilization; significant places and individuals;
distinctive contribution to history
Aspects of everyday life: houses and cities; arts and architecture; technology, work
and leisure; food, health and medicine; pictures, words and communication; rulers
and ruled; beliefs, customs and legends, gods and goddesses; temples and tombs;
wealth and economy; transport and exploration; wars and warfare

QCA Scheme of Work for History Years 3-4
Unit 10: What can we find out about the ancient Egyptians from what
has survived?
This scheme of work encourages pupils to make ‘simple observations,
inferences and deductions’ from ‘sources of information’, especially
‘archaeological discoveries’.
The following key questions outlined in the scheme of work can all be supported with
a visit to the Petrie Museum:




What can we learn about Ancient Egypt from one object?
What objects survive from the time of the ancient Egyptians?
What do objects that have survived tell us about ancient Egypt?
What did the ancient Egyptians believe about life after death?
Go to http://www.standards.dfee.gov.uk/schemes to browse, edit or print
this and other schemes of work.
4
How to book your visit

Please call the Petrie Museum on Tel: 020 7669 2884 to discuss dates.

Then use the electronic booking form to register your provisional
booking.

You can find this by going to: www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk
 Click on: visitor information
 then group visits
 then school booking form

Alternatively you can print and post/fax the form back to us
Contact details
Petrie Museum Of Egyptian Archaeology, University College London, Malet Place,
London WC1E 6BT
Tel: 020 7679 2884
Fax: 020 7679 2886
Email: petrie.museum@ucl.ac.uk
How to Get There
Access to the Petrie Museum is through the DMS Watson Library on Malet
Place. The Museum is located on the first floor of the Library, within the heart
of UCL itself. There is a lift available.
Public Transport
Train station – Euston
Underground stations - Euston, Euston Square, Warren Street, Russell
Square, Goodge Street
Buses - 14a, 18, 30, A2 on Euston Road; 14a, 24, 29, 73 on Tottenham Court
Road; 134, 176, 253 on Gower Street
Car/Coach
Parking nearby is difficult; coming by car is not recommended. Coaches may
drop off, but not park, at the end of Malet Place. See map for suggested
dropping off point.
Congestion Charge Zone: Please note, the Petrie Museum is situated within the
congestion charge zone.
5
Map showing location of Petrie Museum
6
What is UCL and Widening Participation?
The Petrie Museum is part of University College London and provides an
excellent opportunity to introduce pupils to the concepts of Higher Education
and university.
UCL is one of the three oldest universities in England, being founded over
175 years ago. Established to admit students no matter what their race,
religion or class, it was also the first to admit women students. It pioneered
university-based teaching of English literature, modern languages, geography,
law, medicine and engineering. UCL’s former academics helped to form the
modern world; among their breakthroughs were the identification of hormones
and vitamins, the discovery of the inert gases, including neon, and the
invention of the thermionic valve, which made radio and modern electronics
possible.
Today UCL has a student population of over 17 000 students following one of
the widest range of degree programmes, from Fine art to Medicine, from
Russian to Chemical engineering and from Archaeology to Law. Students
come from all over the United Kingdom and from 144 countries to study at
UCL.
UCL, based in central London, is now recognised as one of the top
universities in Britain for teaching and research and has a worldwide
reputation for excellence.
Some of the subjects our students study here are: Anatomy, Anthropology,
Archaeology, Architecture, Astronomy, Biochemistry, Biology, Chemical
Engineering, Classics, Computer Science, Dutch, Earth Sciences, East
European Languages, English, Fine Art, French, Genetics, Hebrew and
Jewish Studies, History, Human Sciences, Law, Mathematics, Mechanical
Engineering, Medicine, Pharmacology, Physics, Project Management for
Construction, Russian, Spanish and Latin American Studies, Speech
Sciences, Urban Planning Design.
Alongside the Petrie Museum, there are 3 other museums at UCL and all are
open to the public and to pre-arranged school groups. To find out more check
out http://collections.ucl.ac.uk
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Widening Participation/ Aim Higher
UCL recognises that some people don't get the same chance as others to go
to University. Due to too little information or too few resources, there are
students who are missing out. Through outreach activities and by providing
information on what university is all about, we plan to change that, to widen
the participation of students from different backgrounds at UCL.
Pupils can check out the website www.ucl.ac.uk/wp to find out more about
going to university, although currently the site is aimed at young people aged
16 years and over. The site covers ‘Why go to University?’ and gives pupils
the chance to email questions to current UCL students as well as offering
general careers advice, interview tips and guidance on how to find out more
about Higher Education.
A visit to the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology is one way teachers can
help in raising the aspirations of their pupils. At UCL we are working towards
widening access to all our museums and collections by arranging group visits,
by developing Loan Boxes of objects for schools to borrow free of charge and
by running Outreach Sessions in schools on various topics. These sessions
are tailor-made and aim to enrich and support the curriculum at both Primary
and Secondary level.
To find out more about UCL’s Museums and Collections or about our
Widening Participation activities please contact our Education and Access
Officer:
Tel: 020 7679-2151 or Email: educationofficer@ucl.ac.uk
Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/wp
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9
What is special about the Petrie Museum
of Egyptian Archaeology ?
The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology has one of the most important
collections of ancient Egyptian objects in the world.
Flinders Petrie (1853 –1942) spent over fifty years excavating material in Egypt and
is thought to have discovered well over a million objects during the course of his
archaeological career.
The museum contains about 80,000 objects and these objects represent the
development of daily life in and around the Nile Valley. One of the priorities for Petrie
in putting together this collection and then donating it to University College London
was that it should be used for teaching and research and this informs some of the
object types found in the museum. There are plenty of objects to reinforce the
ancient Egyptian stereotypes such as mummy cases and death masks. But there are
also rich examples of objects illustrating daily life, from earrings and hair curlers to
wooden mallets and weights and measures.
The age range of objects spans from the very earliest times of settlement in the Nile
Valley (6,000 years ago) to the Greek, Roman and Arabic influences on Egypt (1,800
years ago up to the present day).
Highlights of the Collection include:

examples of the earliest linen clothing in the world (over 5,000 years old)

a Bead Net dress, one of only two in the world and made entirely of faience
beads (a kind of glazed plaster)

the world’s largest collection of Roman mummy portraits

objects from the glamour period of Egypt’s history, the New Kingdom, and the
site of Amarna, the city of Pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti and
where his son Tutankhamun would have spent his early years
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Why is a preliminary visit important?

It is important that you plan a preliminary visit to the Petrie Museum prior to
your actual visit. Any booking you make is provisional and will not be
confirmed until you have made a preliminary visit

As the Petrie Museum is located within a large university it is important that
you are familiar with its location when you visit with your group

Since we do not have a lunchroom, you are also advised to find in advance a
suitable place for lunch. Weather permitting there are a number of squares
with gardens close-by to the Museum (See Map)

Research has shown that the attitude and motivation of pupils on a school
visit is influenced by the teacher’s confidence. It is hard to appear confident in
an unfamiliar environment

Your familiarity with the museum, important exhibits and the location of key
facilities such as toilets will ensure the visit runs smoothly

You are responsible for managing pupils’ work in the museum. A crucial
aspect of a successful visit is meaningful tasks supported by appropriate
resources. You should check the activities you should select from the pack
are appropriate for your class.
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Timing the visit right
To get the most out of a visit, you need to think carefully about when is the best time
during the study unit to take pupils to the Petrie Museum; at the beginning, in the
middle or at the end of the study unit? The section below looks at some of the
advantages of leading a trip at these times.
At the beginning of the History Study Unit (HSU):
 To engage and inspire pupils’ interest in the topic
 To introduce the importance of archaeology and material evidence in our
understanding of how the ancient Egyptians lived
 To challenge at the outset the stereotypical views pupils may have of the
ancient Egyptians
 To encourage pupils to think in an original way about ancient Egypt
In the middle of the HSU:
 To reinforce the knowledge and understanding pupils have acquired so far
 To refresh and maintain pupils’ interest in the topic
 To encourage pupils to ask questions about what they do not know and want
to find out
 To gain new knowledge and understanding and build on this back in the
classroom
At the end of the HSU:
 To reinforce and extend pupils’ knowledge and understanding
 To provide an opportunity to assess what pupils have learned – this could be
informal or formal.
 To reward pupils for completing the unit
 To let them look critically at the material evidence that informs our
understanding of ancient Egypt. “Can we really be sure this is what the
Ancient Egyptians believed or how they lived or is it merely guess work based
on the evidence available?”
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Setting Objectives for the Visit
It is important to set some clear objectives for the visit to ensure it is meaningful. Try
to think broadly in terms of how your pupils can benefit from the visit.
The definition of ‘Learning’ below offers a broad and useful perspective on learning:
“ Learning is a process of active engagement with experience. It is what people
do to make sense of the world. It may involve an increase in skills, knowledge
or understanding, a deepening of values or the capacity to reflect and
appreciate. Effective learning leads to change, development and the desire to
learn more.”
DfEE, The Campaign for Learning 2000
The emphasis above is on ‘learning’ through ‘doing’. The activities you give pupils to
do during the visit will determine what and how effectively they learn.
It is important therefore to match activities to objectives.
You could think about setting objectives in 3 areas:

Improving pupils’ knowledge and understanding
e.g. of archaeology, of life in ancient Egypt, of learning how to use museums
or of what university is, etc

Developing pupils’ key/transferable skills
e.g. team-work, problem solving, learning how to look at objects, literacy,
making deductions, communication, etc

Encouraging pupil’s personal development
e.g. increasing personal motivation and confidence, changing pupils’ views
about museums or about history, encouraging them to take their learning
further by visiting other museums or bringing their families, etc
The Petrie Museum is also ideally placed to help support a range of quite specific
learning objectives:




Learning how to use museums
Learning about universities
Thinking differently about Egypt and Africa
Developing a view on ethical and political issues
To find out more about these please look at the section entitled ‘Activities to
maximise Learning during the Visit’.
13
Preparing Pupils before a visit
To make any visit meaningful it is vital that pupils are prepared for the visit.
Ideally this means telling them the purpose of the visit, sharing in advance the tasks
they will be doing during the visit and informing them of any relevant follow up work
they will be doing back in school after the visit.
It is advisable to spend one lesson a day or two before the visit on briefing the pupils
and engaging them in a preparatory task that will motivate them and provide some
context for the visit.
Some practical suggestions
1. Engaging Pupils with challenging questions
Ask pupils 4/5 key questions in class which will inspire interest and generate
thought and discussion. Pupils should write down their responses and could
then discuss them in class.
You could ask the same questions in the first lesson after the visit to see what
has been learned/ how perceptions have changed.
Questions might include:








Where in the world is Egypt?
What objects do you think survive today from ancient Egypt?
What do you think an archaeologist does?
How are we similar to the ancient Egyptians? (think of 2 ways)
How are we different to the ancient Egyptians? (think of 2 ways)
Would you have liked to live in ancient Egypt? (say why or why not)
Do you think it is right for museums to display human remains?
Do you think museums in Britain should return ancient Egyptian artefacts to Egypt?
2. Investigating the Museum on-line
Using the Petrie Museum’s On-line Catalogue, pupils can browse the
collection in advance via the web. They can create their own virtual gallery or
find objects that interest them.
To view the catalogue, go to www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk and click on ‘Search the
Collection’. See Resource Sheet 1.
3. Thinking up questions
Pupils think up 3 questions each about life in ancient Egypt that they would
like to find answers for in the Museum
e.g. What toys did children play with? What did people wear? What did
Egyptian homes look like? What weapons and tools did they use? How were
the royal palaces decorated? What gods and goddesses did they worship?
14
4. Researching in teams
Divide pupils into small teams (3-4). Give each team a question to r
research before the visit
e.g. What did people wear? What were ancient Egyptian homes like? What
weapons and tools did they use? What gods and goddesses did they
worship? What jobs did they do? How did they travel around the country?
How did they treat the dead? What did they do in their spare time?
See ‘Useful Resources’ section for suggested books and websites.
Pupils could continue their research in the Petrie Museum, perhaps with a
view towards giving a group presentation or creating a display of their main
findings back in the classroom.
5. Finding out about Flinders
Pupils could find out about Flinders Petrie. There are good websites with
biographical material including the Petrie Museum’s own site
www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk (see Useful Resources for other suggestions).
6. Making Maps
Pupils could draw their own map of Egypt and mark on it the following places:
Abydos, Amarna, Bubastis, Cairo, Giza, Hawara, Karnak, Luxor, Meydum,
Saqqarah, Tarkhan and Thebes.
These are all places in Egypt where Petrie excavated. Pupils can bring their
map to the Museum and use it to locate where particular objects were found.
7. Learning to look at Objects
Learning to look at objects for information is a very important skill. You can
prepare pupils to look at objects in the Museum and help them develop their
visual literacy by using everyday objects in the classroom before the visit e.g.
a pencil, a flower pot, a school bag, an exercise book, a lunch box, a football.
Use the Object Investigation prompt sheet (Resource Sheet 2) to get pupils
talking in small groups about their object. Remind them to disregard prior
knowledge about the object and use only the clues they can find in/on the
object itself. This may mean that there are some questions they cannot
answer.
After small group discussion, you could rotate the objects and get pupils to
complete an Object Form (Resource Sheet 3) on one object. The same
forms can also be used in the Petrie Museum itself during the actual visit.
8. Egypt Today
Pupils could find out about modern Egypt. What are the people like? What
language do people speak? What religion(s) do they follow? How do they
live?
9. Identifying Stereotypes
Read out the following statements one by one to the whole class. After each
statement, give pupils a chance to call out ‘True’ or ‘False’. This will allow you
to see what they already know but also will help to challenge their
assumptions and stereotypes about ancient and modern Egypt.
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Statement
Actual answer
Egypt is in Africa
True
Egyptians today still mummify their dead
False
The ancient Egyptians wrote on papyrus
True
False - this myth
The mummy’s curse does exist
Egyptians today still read and write in
hieroglyphs and Egyptian children learn
it in schools
The period known as ‘ancient’ Egypt
lasted 300 years
originated in the
19th century
False – they
speak and read
and write in Arabic
False – it
spanned more
than 3000 yrs
True
70 million people live in Egypt today
(UK population is
59 million)
The ancient Egyptians worshipped many
different gods and goddesses
True
At one time the capital city of Egypt was
Memphis. Today it is Cairo
True
False – Queen
All the pharaohs of ancient Egypt were men
Hatshepsut was a
pharaoh and there
may have been
more
True – Scribes
The ancient Egyptians were excellent at maths
and this helped them to build the pyramids
16
were trained in
geometry and
arithmetic. The
ancient Egyptians
were also very
advanced in
medicine.
False – the River
The River Thames flows through Egypt
The pyramids were built as royal palaces for
the Pharaohs
Nile flows through
Egypt and is 1,913
miles long. It rises
in Ethiopia.
False – they were
built 4,500 years
ago as tombs in
which to bury dead
pharaohs
True – dolls, toy
Ancient Egyptian children played with toys and
even grown ups played games
Feel free to add your own…
17
mirrors and pots
and even board
games like Senet
can be seen in the
Petrie Museum
Resource Sheet 1
To find out more about the objects in the
Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology
 Go to: www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk
 Click the screen to enter the site
 Click ‘Search the Collection’
 Find ‘Object Type:’
 Enter one type of object
 e.g. axes, canopic jars, coins, cosmetics, coffins, daggers, lamps, hand
mirror, human remains, pot, mummy bandages, mummy cases,
sandals, writing equipment .
 Click ‘search terms’ if you want more ideas for different
types of objects
 Then click ‘Search Now’
 A group of objects will appear on your screen. You can
choose one of these or keep looking using the page numbers
given at the bottom of the screen
 Once you have chosen an object you like, click on it
 A larger picture of the object will come up on your screen
together with information about it
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Resource Sheet 2

Investigating Objects

Choose an object

Describe the shape and size of your object

What colour (s) is it?

Is it plain or decorated? How is it decorated?

Is it whole or is something missing?

What is it made of?
wood, stone, glass, ceramic (clay), metal

What do you think it was used for?

Who do you think used it? (a man, a
woman, a child, a rich or a poor person?)

What would you like to know about this object?

What does it tell you about the Ancient
Egyptians and the way they lived?
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Resource Sheet 3
My Object
Description
What size is it?
______________________________________________
What colour is it?
__________________________________________________
What material is it made of?
(glass, clay, wood, stone,
paper, cloth or metal?)
__________________________________________________
What shape is it?
______________________________________________
Draw it on the other side of the sheet.
Use
What do you think it is?
__________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Who do you think used it?
____________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
What do you think it was used for?
______________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
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Activities to maximise Learning during the Visit
Warm-up Activities
It is a great idea to give pupils a 10-15 minute activity at the start of their visit to
orientate them with the Museum and get them used to the space and the range of
items on display. You could try one of the following activities:
1.
Pupils could explore the Museum and find one object made of stone, one
object made of clay, one object made of wood, one object made of metal and
one made of cloth.
2.
Working in pairs, pupils could choose one large and one small object and use
the Investigating Objects Sheet (Resource Sheet 2) to discuss their objects.
3.
Alternatively pupils could complete the Object Sheet (Resource Sheet 3) for
one object of their choice.
4.
Pupils could explore the Museum and find 3 objects people still use or wear
today
Main Activities
These activities are more substantial tasks and each one should take pupils about 45
minutes to an hour to complete. They should form the main learning activity
undertaken in the Museum. Choose the one that is most appropriate for your class.
1.
Research Task: Every Day Life
Divide pupils into small teams (3-4). Give each team a question to research
perhaps with a view towards giving a group presentation or creating a display
of their main findings back in the classroom.
Pupils should use the visit to collect information and make sketches.
Possible research topics:
What did the ancient Egyptians wear?
What were ancient Egyptian homes like?
What weapons and tools did they use?
What gods and goddesses did they worship?
What jobs did they do?
How did they travel around the country?
How did they treat the dead?
What toys and games did adults and children play?
2.
Research Task: Comparing Everyday Life Then and Now
Divide the class into small teams of 4-5 pupils.
Each team must select 5 objects in the Museum that they can compare with
objects they know and use in their own lives.
Each Team will need 5 sheets to record their evidence, one per object. See
Resource Sheet 4.
21
They will need to think about how each of the Museum objects they have
chosen is similar or different to modern day objects with which they are
familiar.
Each Team can then draw their own conclusion about whether we have more
similarities than differences with the ancient Egyptians. Each team can write
A short speech summarising their views and describing the objects they
selected as evidence. Speeches can be presented back in school or be used
as part of a class debate on “How much do we have in common with the
ancient Egyptians’?
3.
Character Case-Studies: What objects were used in daily life?
Divide pupils into small groups and give each group an Egyptian Character
Brief from Resource Sheet 5. They have to select 10 objects from anywhere
in the Museum that might have been used by their character at home as well
as in the market or in the work place. They could list or draw their objects
and then present their selection to the class, being ready to give reasons for
their choices.
Pupils should be encouraged to choose appropriate objects for the age,
gender, wealth and background of their character. They could draw and label
the objects they have selected and write a sentence explaining why each
object is appropriate for their character.
4.
Selecting Evidence relating to Death and Burial: Preparing a Tomb
Remind pupils that only wealthy Egyptians could afford to embalm the bodies
of the dead and place them in special tombs. These tombs were then filled
with everyday objects that could be used by the dead person in the Afterlife. It
was important to place in the tomb all the things a person would need in order
to live as comfortable in the Afterlife as possible.
Give pupils Resource Sheet 6. They could tour the museum and select
objects to put in a person’s tomb. They should decide in advance if the
person is a wealthy man, woman, boy or girl.
They need to think about clothing, furniture, games, make-up, amulets (for
good luck) and perhaps a model house or a model boat for transport. (The
Egyptians believed these models became life size in the Afterlife). Also rich
Egyptians were buried with lots of ‘Shabtis’ - these were small clay or stone
model servants that (they believed) would come to life and work for the dead.
They might also want to look round the Museum for canopic jars, linen
bandages, coffins and other evidence of the embalming process.
Back in school the class can compare the contents of the different tombs.
How are the contents of a woman’s tomb different to that of a man’s? How is
a young boy’s tomb different to that of an old man or woman?
22
Resource Sheet 4
Name of Object:
Object number:
Description of the object and what it was used for:
How is it similar/different to something you might use today?
Make a drawing of the object here or on the back of this sheet
23
Resource Sheet 5
Character Briefs
Five Men
Mereruka
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(Mer-er-oo-ka)
He was a Vizier, like our Prime Minister
He worked in Memphis which used to be the capital of Egypt
He lived in the 6th Dynasty (about 4,200 years ago)
He was probably over 40 years old when he became Vizier
He was an important man so he had his own private tomb with a chapel
There were many rooms in his tomb-chapel and each of these had carved
reliefs on the walls showing him with his family and life on his estates. The
chapel is very well preserved, and gives us a detailed picture of life in his
times
Wealth - He was one of the richest people in Egypt
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Heqanakht
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(He-ka-nakt)
He was a part-time priest, looking after the chapel of a General, and he
travelled around Egypt. The family home was at Thebes
He lived in the 11th Dynasty (about 4,000 years ago)
He sent letters back to his home when he was away on business. Two long
letters survived by chance, and from them we can build up a picture of what
he was like.
He seems to have been quite an old man, who was rather impatient and
fussy, but very good at business.
He had several sons who helped him in farming
Wealth – He and his family were comfortable, but not among the very rich
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Paneb
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(Pa-neb)
He was an artist – he drew the outlines of pictures and hieroglyphs
He lived with his family in the village over the hill from the Valley of the Kings,
in the 19th Dynasty (about 3,200 years ago)
He helped decorate 5 tombs of the Pharaohs buried in the Valley
He was a foreman, which means he was in charge of other workers like stone
masons and painters. There are many surviving inscriptions, letters and
accounts that mention him and his family and workmates. These writings and
the preserved walls of the village give us a good picture of their lives
He had an important job and was paid better than most workers
He could afford to buy fine linen clothes and wear good sandals to work
He also provided well for his family who had wooden furniture and copper
cooking pots and tableware in the home
Wealth – comfortable but not rich
24
Nekhure
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(Ne-ku-ray)
He was a workman at Amarna (capital of Egypt for only a short time, under
Akhenaten, about 3,400 years ago)
He probably lived with other people in a one-storey house in Amarna
He was a servant, who would have worked for an important town official.
He was quite poor, and would have herded goats at some times, and worked
in the kitchen at others
He had no family. His relatives stayed in Thebes when the capital moved to
Amarna
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Nakht
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(Nakt)
He was the son of a fisherman and lived in Gurob, near the Fayum, a fertile
lush area of Egypt with a large lake
He was 10 years old
His father did not own his own boat, but he owned his own nets. He worked
with a group of other fishermen from a small fleet of boats and they sailed in
the Fayum catching fish
Nakht helped his father mend his nets as they would break if he caught lots of
fish. They would leave the nets out to dry in the sun at the end of each day
The family was poor. Nakht’s mother also worked at home, weaving linen
clothes
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Five Women
Queen Tausret
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(Ta-wes-ret)
She lived in the 19th Dynasty (about 3,200 years ago)
She was the chief wife of Pharaoh Seti II, and is one of the only women in
Egyptian history to take the title of Pharaoh herself
She was seen as a ‘goddess’ and had a very prominent role in Egypt and at
the Pharaoh's Court. She took part in the most important religious festivals
and ceremonies at court, and organised the upbringing of the royal children
We do not know very much about her. Her royal tomb was quite badly
damaged after her death, perhaps by the supporters of the next king
She was so rich that she could have whatever she wanted and she lived in
absolute luxury – but the damage to her tomb shows that life at the top could
be dangerous
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25
Iri
(Ee-ree)
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She was a rich woman who worked as a manager in the linen industry, in
charge of girls weaving cloth for bed-sheets and clothes
She lived at Lahun, a large town with about 5,000 inhabitants, at the entrance
to the Fayum - a very fertile, lush area of Egypt with a large lake
She lived in the 12th Dynasty (about 3,800 years ago)
She wrote a letter to her supervisor, complaining that he gave her girls who
were unable to weave – this letter survives, and that is how we know about
her
A woman like Iri would have been comfortably off, and could afford to buy
new clothes, wigs and jewellery
She was probably married, but may not have had any children
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meret
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(Me-ret)
Meret was a hairdresser from the New Kingdom. She worked during the long
reign of Rameses II about 3,200 years ago
She lived at Gurob, at the entrance to the Fayum - a very fertile, lush area of
Egypt with a large lake. In the time of Rameses II there was a big palace for
wives and daughters of the king, some of them from other countries
She prepared the wigs for wealthy men and women at the palace at Gurob
Meret was quite wealthy from this business
She had a large family to support on her own, as her husband had been killed
in battle
She owned a one-storey house in the town with a courtyard and rooms
around it
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Nezy
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(Ne-zee)
She was a young woman, who lived in the 5th Dynasty (about 4,500 years
ago)
She was a 'sealer'. This was usually a man's job: it involved sealing
documents, storerooms and containers with an official seal – the sealer tied a
string around the object and put a small piece of clay on the string, and
stamped it with the seal, leaving a picture on the clay.
She worked for a palace official called Wehemka, and was kept very busy
She worked in the city of Memphis, but for her work she had to travel around
the region. Like most travel in Egypt, this was by boat on the river Nile
She was well-educated and came from a wealthy family
There is a picture showing her in the tomb-chapel of Wehemka – that is how
we know about her.
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26
Meshy
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(Me-shee)
She was a servant-girl. Servants at the lowest level had to work for a rich man
or woman, and they could be given by their master or mistress to another
person. We know about Meshy because her name occurs on a papyrus in a
list of people given by a man to his brother
She lived at Lahun, a large town with about 5,000 inhabitants, at the entrance
to the Fayum - a very fertile, lush area of Egypt with a large lake
She lived in the 12th Dynasty (about 3,800 years ago)
She was not Egyptian by birth. Her name is Syrian or Palestinian, but she
was given an Egyptian name, Senen (Se-nen) – we do not know when or how
she came to Egypt. Some Syrians came freely to trade in Egypt, others were
brought as war captives
Meshy was probably employed to clean the house and to make bread and
other food for the family of the house
She had no income or possessions
She was very poor
She may have lived to the age of 40, which was a good age for a servant-girl
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27
Resource Sheet 6
Preparing a Tomb in ancient Egypt
Choose 10 objects
to go inside a wealthy
person’s tomb. You
can write them down
or even draw them in!
A dead person’s family would fill his or her
tomb with objects that would help him or
her live comfortably in the Afterlife. Things
such as clothes, food, toys games, pots,
make-up, jewellery, tools, weapons and
even a model house or boat (which they
believed would become life size in the
Afterlife) were all put in tombs.
Objects for
use in the
Afterlife
28
Meaningful Ways to Follow-up the visit
1. Reflecting
A great and simple way to follow up the visit is to have a class discussion back
in school in the next history lesson:
What was your favourite object in the Museum and why?
Were there any objects that surprised you? Why?
What have you learned about Egypt that you did not know before?
What kinds of materials did the ancient Egyptians use to make things?
What was good about the Petrie Museum?
What was bad about the Petrie Museum? What would you do to solve these
issues?
Has the visit made you think about the ancient Egyptians in a different way?
2. Measuring Learning
Ask pupils the same 4/5 key questions in the first lesson after the visit that you
asked them in the last lesson before the visit to see what has been learned/
how perceptions have changed, etc
Questions might include:
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Where in the world is Egypt?
What objects do you think survive today from ancient Egypt?
What do you think an archaeologist does?
How are we similar to the ancient Egyptians? (think of 2 ways)
How are we different to the ancient Egyptians? (think of 2 ways)
Would you have liked to live in ancient Egypt? (say why or why not)
Do you think it is right for museums to display human remains?
Do you think museums in Britain should return ancient Egyptian artefacts to Egypt?
3. Asking Questions
Often pupils come up with questions related to the Museum and the objects they
have seen sometime after the visit. They can email any outstanding questions to
the Petrie Museum at petrie.museum@ucl.ac.uk and we will do our best to
respond as quickly as we can.
4. Debating Issues
A visit to the Petrie Museum can really prepare pupils for a range of debates back
in school
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How much do we have in common with the ancient Egyptians?
Do you think it is right for museums to display human remains?
Do you think museums in Britain should return ancient Egyptian artefacts
to Egypt?
29
5.
Group presentations
Pupils can present their findings to the rest of the class from their museum-based
research (See Research Task: Every Day Life)
6.
Online Learning
Pupils can find out more about objects in the Petrie Museum by using the online
catalogue. Go to www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk and click ‘Search the Collection’. They could
even create their own online gallery and write their own object labels.
7.
Exhibiting their work
Pupils could display their own work from the visit and write some ‘labels’ explaining
where they went, what they did, etc.
They could also create their own mini-museum by
 bringing in modern everyday objects that they are familiar with and
 writing their own object labels in which they explain how these objects are
similar or different to objects used by the ancient Egyptians
 They could even download images from the Petrie online catalogue to
illustrate the similarities or differences
e.g.
Sandals and Flip Flops
The photograph shows a pair of Egyptian sandals found in AD340.
They are similar to today’s flip flops in their style. However, Egyptian
sandals are made from plant fibre whereas flip flops today are made from
rubber or plastic and can be all sorts of different colours.
30
8.
Balloon Debate
Use Resource Sheet 7 to get pupils thinking about some of the important
people in the Petrie Museum’s history. You could choose 8 pupils and get
them to work in pairs. Each pair could prepare a case as to why their
character should stay in the hot air balloon. They could present their reasons
to the rest of the class. The class can then ask each pair a few questions
before voting on which character should stay in.
This activity is great for getting the class to consider the crucial role played by
Egyptians in the excavation and interpretation of their history.
31
Resource Sheet 7
Four characters in the history of the Petrie Museum
Amelia Edwards
 she was born in 1837 in England to a rich enough family to live independently
 she became interested in Egypt after going there on holiday – by accident, to
escape the rain, in 1873
 when she came home she wrote a best-selling travel book A Thousand
Miles...
 she was horrified by the destruction of monuments, and wanted to help stop it
 she helped create a society to fund excavations in Egypt – this is still the main
British fund for helping archaeology there (Egypt Exploration Society)
 from 1883 she supported the work of Flinders Petrie because he was so
energetic
 he and others helped her build up a collection of antiquities for teaching
 she died in 1892 and left her money and her collection of books and
antiquities to create the first position of Professor in Egyptian Archaeology
and Language
 the money and collection for the Professor was offered first to University
College London – as the only place in England in 1892 where a woman could
receive a university degree
William Matthew Flinders Petrie (Pee-tree) – the
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He was born in 1853 in England to a rich enough family to live independently
His parents were interested in Egypt because it is important in the Bible and
because his father, a surveyor, was fascinated by the Great Pyramid
Petrie started to collect coins and small objects by the age of 13
Petrie went to Egypt at the age of 26 to survey the Great Pyramid (he was
going to go with his father, but in the end he went on his own)
Like Amelia Edwards, he was horrified by the destruction of sites, and spent
the rest of his life in archaeology to rescue as much information as possible
In five decades he conducted rescue excavations at fifty sites across Egypt.
Many of the objects he excavated remained in Egypt but he brought a number
of items back which he studied and made available for others to learn from
Petrie worked out the early history of Egypt – the story of how Egypt grew
from a series of separate farming communities (about 4000 BC) to the first
nation-state (about 3000 BC), able to construct the Great Pyramid (about
2600 BC)
Petrie supported the work of other archaeologists through a fund and after
1905, through the British School of Archaeology in Egypt
In 1913 he sold his collection to UCL, merging it with the collection of the
Department of Egyptology, and it opened to the public in 1915
After 1926 he excavated in Palestine at sites connected to Egyptian history:
He retired from UCL to Jerusalem in 1933, where he died in 1942
32
Ali es-Suefi – an Egyptian worker who helped Petrie excavate in Egypt
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He was one of the hundreds of Egyptian men, women and children who
worked with Petrie to do the actual excavating of ancient Egyptian sites
Ali came from Luxor. He was married to Fatima and had a young son.
Petrie described him as his “faithful, quiet and unselfish right hand”. Ali had a
reputation for being a skilful and reliable workman
Ali accompanied Petrie on 5 day camping trips along the desert edge, in
search of sites to be excavated. Some days he would have to walk 34 miles,
at full speed, mostly on sand. He brewed coffee for the archaeologists and
made lentil soup. He also had to sharpen their tools, build a base-camp or
sometimes even a house for them and he rigged up ovens in the middle of
nowhere for his wife to bake bread for the camp
Ali spoke little English and could not read or write but he became good at
spotting hidden cemeteries or a buried site that needed excavating such a
site of tombs at Haraga, near Lahun
He learned how to work out which period different bits of pottery and beads
came from and he often guarded sites under excavation to stop them being
looted
He communicated with locals and officials when Petrie’s Arabic came unstuck
and he looked after the archaeologist’s huts when Petrie was away from
Egypt
Ali would not have been well off and whatever money he did make from
excavating and supporting Petrie’s digs, he had to share with his whole
family, including his brother
Ahmed Kamal – an Egyptian Egyptologist
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He was born in Cairo in 1851
He attended Cairo’s top Primary School and Preparatory School where he
learned French. He later got a place at Cairo’s School of Egyptology where
he became passionate about Egypt’s ancient history
At age 30, Kamal became secretary-translator at the Bulaq Museum (the
early home of the Egyptian Museum Cairo)
From 1881-1885 he ran a small school of Egyptology where he taught
Egyptian, French and History. He also wrote a history of ancient Egypt and
later went on to teach a course at the new Egyptian University to share his
knowledge and passion
In 1910, he helped to open an Egyptology section in the Higher Teachers
College. Here he gave lectures and led students on tours of the Egyptian
Museum
Kamal wanted to be taken seriously as an Egyptologist and wanted to
encourage Egyptians to take an interest in their history. He wrote many books
in Arabic and worked very hard to get Egyptians interested and involved in
excavating, researching and writing about their own history
In 1922 Egypt was declared an independent kingdom. In the same year,
Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun
Kamal died in 1923
33
Other Learning Initiatives at the Petrie
Object Handling Sessions
We can run an object handling session for your class when they visit the Petrie
Museum. Please enquire about this when you book your visit. Alternatively the UCL
Museums and Collections Education Officer can visit your school prior to or after your
visit to the Museum and run a free Outreach Session with object handling for your
class.
What are the benefits of using real objects in learning?
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They provide a direct link with a topic or 'a period in the past' and can really
enhance young people's interest in and understanding of a subject
They encourage young people to use all their senses - especially touch, sight
and smell
They help to develop the important skill of drawing conclusions based on an
examination of evidence, together with an understanding of the limitations
and reliability of evidence
They are ideal for generating group and class discussion
They promote the value of museums and encourage young people to visit
museums and galleries with their families to further their learning
To find out more or to book an outreach session please contact
Saira Ahmed, Education and Access Officer,
UCL Museums and Collections,
c/o Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, Gower Street,
London, WC1E 6BT
Tel: 020 7679 2151
Fax: 020 7679 2886
Email: educationofficer@ucl.ac.uk
Community Outreach Work
The Petrie Museum is committed to making its collections more accessible to
Egyptian and African and African-Caribbean communities. We have 2 community
outreach workers who work with old and young people, supplementary schools and a
range of community groups. They organise visits to the Museum, run object-handling
sessions and can arrange tours and talks. To find out more or to discuss ways in
which they may be able to support your work please contact:
Kenneth John, Education and Outreach Officer for African and African-Caribbean
Supplementary Schools and Communities
Tel: 020 7679 4138
Email: k.john@ucl.ac.uk
Okasha El Daly, Education and Outreach Officer for Egyptian Supplementary
Schools and Communities
Tel: 020 7679 4137
Email:o.eldaly@ucl.ac.uk
34
Useful Resources
Recommended books
British Museum Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Ancient Egypt by Harris and
Pemberton (British Museum Press), 1999, ISBN 0714121282, £14.99
The Ancient Egyptians Activity Book by Manniche (British Museum Press),
1999, ISBN 0714121754, £2.99
Amazing Facts about Ancient Egypt by Putnam and Pemberton (Thames &
Hudson), 1994, ISBN 0500016291, £5.95
DK Eyewitness Guides: Pyramid by Putnam (Dorling Kindersley), 2002, ISBN
0751347442, £5.99
DK Eyewitness Guides: Mummy by Putnam (Dorling Kindersley), 2003, ISBN
0751364754, £5.99
DK Eyewitness Guides: Ancient Egypt by Hart (Dorling Kindersley), 2002,
ISBN 07511320749, £5.99
Ancient Gods & Goddesses by Hart (Taylor & Francis Books),1986, ISBN
0415059097, £12.99
The Ancient Egyptians by Shuter (Hodder Wayland), 2002, ISBN 0750242086, £4.99
Recommended Websites
www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk - There is an online catalogue here of images and information
about all 80,000 objects in the Petrie Museum. It is ideal for researching a topic,
downloading pictures or getting pupils to create their own online gallery
www.ancientegypt.co.uk - This is the British Museum’s website on ancient Egypt for
children. It’s got some great online activities including information about Egyptian life
and death and a comparison of the life of a rich and a poor Egyptian
www.members.aol.com/Donnclass/Egyptlife.html - This American children's site has
some good teaching ideas as well as excellent web links to sites with lesson plans,
online activities and stories about Egyptian daily life
www.animalmummies.com - This site from the Cairo Museum has some interesting
information about why and how animals were mummified
www.discoveringegypt.com - A colourful American website that provides information
about Egyptian kings and queens, pyramids and temples and hieroglyphs. Pupils can
also send ancient Egyptian e-cards
www.iwebquest.com/egypt/ancientegypt.htm - This site is great. It offers online
adventures called Missions where pupils can research particular topics and
35
demonstrate their learning. There are also links to other sites with word searches,
images and activities.
http://www.snaithprimary.eril.net/egindex.htm - This is a great site for pupils and
teachers with lots of fun on-line activities including ‘write your name in hieroglyphs’
and ‘match the artefacts to their uses’.
Other Museums in the UK with Egyptian collections on display
London: British Museum; Victoria & Albert Museum; Science Museum;
Horniman Museum and Gardens; Sir John Soane's Museum
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Manchester Museum
Liverpool: Liverpool Museum; Museum of Archaeology
Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery
Egypt Centre, University of Swansea
Royal Museum, Edinburgh
Many smaller museums also have objects from ancient Egypt. Local libraries can
provide information on these or you can check out the 24hour Museum by going to
www.24hourmuseum.org.uk and searching under ‘Egypt’.
36
Appendices
Plan of the Museum
Key
Gallery one:
Here you will find lots of pottery. Petrie was 'the father of pots' because he discovered so
many different sorts. The earliest pots start in pottery case 2 (PC) and date from 7,000 years
ago and they end in PC 37 with pottery about 1,500 years old. Also in this gallery you will find
linen tunics and a bead net dress. These all come from the Old Kingdom around the time of
the Great Pyramid. There are also painted mummy cases here made of wood.
Gallery two: (up the stairs)
On the right hand side you will find 19 Inscription cases (IC). These are full of stone reliefs
usually with writing and pictures carved on them. Like the pots they range in date and the
writing ranges from Hieroglyphs, through Greek and ending with Arabic.
Cases A - H: These contain the earliest objects found in Egypt from the Palaeolithic times and
they go through until the Middle Kingdom. You will find examples of flints, palettes, bowls and
stone vessels.
On the left of the gallery you will find Cases I - M and WEC cases 1 - 10: These contain a
range of objects from the Old Kingdom through to the Roman period in Egypt. You will find
weights and measures, small sculpture, tools and weapons and objects of daily use. There is
also a selection of Roman mummy portraits and a mummy case.
Through the green doors:
Here you will find cases containing figurines, soul houses and model boats
37
Reading Labels
There are not many information panels in the Museum. This actually works well for school
groups since it encourages pupils to look more closely at the exhibits and search for clues as
to the nature and purpose of the objects on display. Nevertheless it is useful if teachers are
familiar with the way information is displayed on an object label, in case pupils ask questions
about what an object is or where it was found.
This is the place it was found
in Egypt
This is the number of the
object in the Museum
This is the where the object was found at Hemamieh
Hemamieh
UC14858
Pot burial 59
skin and cloth from skeleton in pot
Brunton and Caton Thompson, Bad. Civ plLXIX, 3-5, p.89
? Protodynastic - Old Kingdom
Damaged by water, 1985
a book reference, so that people can
find out more about it
A description of the object
the age of the object
anything that has happened to the object since it came into the museum
38
Who was William Flinders Petrie?
The Museum is named after Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie, 1853-1942.
Petrie was an archaeologist. He excavated many sites in Egypt as well as in the
Sudan and Palestine. He became the first professor of Egyptology in England in
1892. He collected objects from his many excavations and eventually sold his
collection to UCL in 1913.
Most archaeologists before Petrie had only been interested in large monuments and
treasures from Egypt, but Petrie liked small objects because they showed how
ancient Egyptians lived.
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Petrie was born on 3rd June 1853 in Kent.
His parents did not think he was well enough to go to school and so they
taught him at home. Petrie often visited the British Museum in London
because he liked the coins and Egyptian collections.
Petrie’s father was a surveyor and encouraged Petrie to take measurements
of ancient sites.
Early in the 1880s Petrie travelled to Egypt to take measurements of the
Great Pyramid at Giza.
Over 50 years, he excavated more than thirty sites in Egypt.
Due to the generosity of the Egyptian government, each year Petrie was able
to bring home some of the things he had found. They were put on display at
UCL and some were shared out amongst the museums that had helped to
pay for the excavations. The most important objects stayed in Egypt.
In 1892, Petrie became the first professor of Egyptology in England, at
University College London.
In 1894, Petrie started a society called the Egyptian Research Account, to
pay for excavations and writings about Egypt.
During his lifetime Petrie collected a huge variety of artefacts. Some
interested him because they showed him how the ancient Egyptians lived.
Others baffled him and he hoped that by bringing them back to England, he
could study them thoroughly and improve his and other’s understanding of
ancient Egypt.
UCL bought these objects from Petrie in 1913 and they were used to form the
beginnings of a museum. Later the collection became larger with more finds
and donations being made.
By 1926 Petrie was excavating outside of Egypt in Palestine and his
excavations would continue until the late 1930s.
Petrie died in Jerusalem in 1942.
.
The Petrie Museum is one of many museums containing objects that Petrie
excavated. Others include the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Louvre in Paris
and the British Museum in London.
39