Year 7 History
Ancient Egypt
Starter Sheets
Readings
Year 7 Hist - Ancient Egypt 1
Numeracy Activity
Year 7 Hist - Ancient Egypt 2 Reading Activity The Nile
1. Write down the heading. ________________________________________________
2. Number the paragraphs.
3. Write down the words you don’t know the meaning of or find difficult to spell.
___________________________________________________________________
5. Highlight 5 nouns.
6. Highlight 5 verbs.
7. Write down 3 things you have learnt from reading this passage.
a. ___________________________________________________________________
b. ___________________________________________________________________
c. ___________________________________________________________________
8. Put in the Capitals! Remember at the start of sentences and the names of countries and people
need a capital letter!!
NILE RIVER
“egypt is a gift of the nile” wrote the ancient greek thinker herodotus in the 5th century b.c. he was right for
along the banks of this mighty river one of the worlds oldest, most civilized, wealthy and oldest civilizations sprang
forth.
it is now known that 2 mighty rivers the blue nile and the white nile meet at khartoum in the sudan. they join to form
the single nile river which flows through right through egypt on its journey to the mediterranean sea.
the nile starts in the centre of africa and at 6,741 kilometers is the worlds longest river. it really is egypt’s
lifeblood and now as in ancient times the egyptians rely on it flooding between july and october each year. the building
of the massive aswan dam by modern egypt has helped in the regulation of their water reserves. it is in the fertile
valleys beside the nile river, that nearly all of egypt’s food and crops are grown.
the nile river as well as providing egypt with a way of feeding itself was also its primary means of transportation
and trade. it united the people and towns of egypt and gave them common identity and easy access to communication.
the desert was both dangerous and feared. yes feared and respected because of the following reasons;
•
lack of water
•
heat and dehydration
•
sand storms that could literally blow you away
•
bandit gangs
•
the ancient egyptians believed that it was inhabited by evil spirits
for thousands of years debated the original source of the nile. it was to remain a mystery until the explorers
speke, burton and grant were able to link the nile river to lakes victoria and albert. speke and burton were to argue
violently over its source. it is now known that the actual source of the nile is even further south in the ruwenzori
highlands.
while most of egypt is a dry and sandy desert, the land around the nile is exceptionally fertile and
productive. farmers have learned to manage the river with dams and canals. these have meant that they can store water
for drought times. this has helped to get rid of the previous “boom or bust” nature of egyptian life in this land of 70
million people
Answer these questions:
8. Why was there so little room for grazing animals in ancient Egypt?
___________________________________________________________________
9. Which two foods were considered unclean? ___________________________________
10. How were the birds fattened?_____________________________________________
11. Which birds were used for their eggs?______________________________________
12. Which two kinds of food formed the main part of the poor people's diet?____________
13. Name four kinds of fruit grown in ancient Egypt. _____________________________
____________________________________________________________________
14. Name four kinds of fruit which were not found in ancient Egypt. ___________________
____________________________________________________________________
15. Give three ways in which the ancient Egyptians preserved food.
____________________
______________________________________________________________________
16. What were labna and gebna? _____________________________________________
17. How did the ancient Egyptians sweeten their food?_____________________________
Add information from the text to make the following SIMPLE sentences into COMPLEX
sentences.
18, Egypt had good soil. ___________________________________________________
Egyptians ate a variety of meat. ___________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
19. The Nile provided food. _________________________________________________
20. Egyptians made wine. __________________________________________________
21. The Egyptians cooked their food. __________________________________________
22. Egyptians ate raw vegetables ____________________________________________
23. Egyptians baked bread. _________________________________________________
24. Beer was made. _______________________________________________________
Food in Ancient Egypt
Most of the fertile land in the Nile valley had to be used for growing food crops, so
there was not much room for grazing animals. Only rich people ate meat regularly. Ordinary people did
not eat much meat from cattle, sheep or goats, but many workers kept pigs and ate fish, even though
they were told by the priests that pork and fish were unclean. Many birds were eaten. Some were
caught alive and then fattened up by being forced to eat bread soaked in oil and wine. Ducks, geese
and even pelicans were kept for their meat and their eggs. People also ate pigeons and quails at
banquets.
Poor people would have lived mainly on bread and vegetables, such as onions, radishes,
cucumber and garlic. Fruits such as melons, dates, figs and pomegranates were also grown, but
oranges, lemons, bananas, cherries, pears and peaches were unknown . The bread was rough and gritty,
as the corn was ground by hand using rough stones.
It was very difficult to keep food fresh in such a hot climate. Food was salted, dried in
the sun or pickled to preserve it. It is thought that spices and strong flavours were needed to hide
the fact that the meat was not fresh. Milk could not be kept for long, so it was often made into
yogurt or cheese. A creamy kind of cheese was called labna and there was a harder one called gebna.
The ancient Egyptians did not grow olives, so there was no olive oil. They made oil from
sesame seeds and linseed. They cooked using melted down animal fat. Salt was widely used for
seasoning and preserving food. There were no citrus fruits, such as lemons, so sour wine or vinegar
was used instead of lemon juice. Honey was used for sweetening food.
Year 7 Hist - Ancient Egypt 3 Reading Activity Food in Ancient Egypt
1. Write down the heading. ________________________________________________
2. Number the paragraphs.
3. Circle the metalanguage words : banquets, difficult, preserve, regularly,
4. Write down the words you don’t know the meaning of or find difficult to spell.
___________________________________________________________________
5. Highlight 5 nouns.
6. Highlight 5 verbs.
King, judge, beat,
years
scribes,
20,
tortured, death, land,
A supervisor beating a worker:
tomb of Menna, 6t" century BC
a. Is this a primary or secondary source? ____________________________________
b. What is the content of this source?_______________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
a. What does this source tell us about Egyptian society?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
a. What does this source tell us about Egyptian law and order?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Year 7 Hist – Ancient Egypt 4 Reading activity The Pharaoh
The kings of Egypt were considered to be more than just ordinary men. The people thought
of them as _______ and because of this the Pharaoh could do anything he liked and have
anything he wanted. When the Pharaoh died, he had to make a _________ from this life to
the afterlife. Special pointed buildings called ________ were constructed to allow the
Pharaoh to make this journey. Inside the tomb everything that the Pharaoh would need for
the journey was stacked around his ________. Before the Pharaoh could be buried his body
had to be _________, which was a careful and ______ process. First the body would be
opened up and all the
vital organs removed, like the ______, _______ and kidneys. These were stored in special
jars called ________ jars which had a different God’s head on each one. (The ______ were
pulled out through the ______ )
Then the body was filled with a substance called natron to _____ it out and after that the
body was wrapped in ________ and placed in a coffin. Often there would be a death
_______ placed over the face and several layers of coffins put around the original. They
would also have the Pharaoh’s picture or carved outline on the _______.
Law and Order
Upholding the law was important for Egyptians because it is a part of "maat", the good order
of the world they lived in. Egyptians believed that only the ____________ could give
Egypt maat, this is justice and good order.
Law breakers were tried by a _____________ and given severe punishments if they were
found guilty.
Law and order did sometimes break down. In Dynasty ____ the tombs of the kings and
queens were robbed. A gang of tomb raiders were caught. They were ________________
until they confessed and they were put to ____________ by having sharp spikes driven
through them.
Often court cases settled quarrels over _________________ ownership, where the judge
had to decide between two people claiming to own the same piece of land. This was not
difficult because Egyptian ______________ had written down laws that went back for
hundreds of _____________.
How the Pyramids were made. Underline the words that you think not everyone in the class will
know the meaning of. See if you get more than I do!!
1) The pharaoh decided that he wanted a pyramid built and commissioned an architect to draw a plan
of the pyramid. The architect drew the plan on papyrus writing notes and labels around the plan.
Pyramids took about 20 years to build so pharaohs
started building them early.
2) The plan was then showed to the pharaoh for his approval. The architect would have to change the
plan if the pharaoh didn't like it. If the pharaoh approved the plan, he gave permission for the
pyramid to be built.
3) The pharaoh then decided where he wanted the pyramid to be built. It was usually best to use a
large flat surface.
4) Four posts were driven into the ground facing north, south, east and west. They formed a square
and marked the base of the pyramid. Ropes were tied between the four posts.
5) Granite and limestone blocks were mined in the quarries (Aswan in Upper Egypt). Stone masons cut
the blocks into the right size and shape for the pyramid.
6) The stone blocks were transported by felucca boat along the Nile to the site of the pyramid. They
were also transported on wooden sledges which could be dragged across the ground.
7) The workers started to build the pyramid by making the base first. The workers were usually
farmers who worked on the pharaohs building projects during the Inundation period (July November).
8) Ropes and mud ramps were used to push the blocks in place. Each time a new layer was added to the
pyramid, the mud ramp was made higher. The ropes were like levers.
9) The burial chamber, false burial chamber, passageways, dead ends, air shafts and traps were made
inside the pyramid.
10) The outside of the pyramid was finished and it was coated with limestone blocks so that it would
glean and shine in the sunshine.
11) Artists decorated the walls of the burial chamber and passageways with hieroglyphics and wall
paintings.
12) The funeral procession took the dead pharaoh in his sarcophagus to his pyramid. The sarcophagus
was placed inside the burial chamber along with the pharaohs belongings like furniture, shabtis, food
and drink, ornaments, statues etc.
13) The entrance to the pyramid was sealed with a stone slab and covered in limestone from the
outside.
Year 7 Hist - Ancient Egypt 5 Reading Activity Pyramid summary
It was only during the time of the_____ _______ that the ancient Egyptians built pyramids
to hold the ____ _______of their kings. Pyramids were huge structures. Pyramids had
storage rooms, courtyards, secret____________, and all kinds of fancy traps designed to
catch robbers who tried to break into the pyramid to rob it.
Pyramids were full of_________. The average person created grave goods to take with them
to their_________. Imagine the treasures a pharaoh might feel were necessary to bring
along!
The first pyramid, the Step Pyramid, was built around 2700 BCE, nearly _______ years ago!
Pyramid construction was ________after the time of the Old Kingdom. It was simply too
______to find a pyramid. Grave robbers knew exactly where the pharaohs were buried, and
thus knew exactly where to find riches and wealth. If you were caught, the penalty for grave
robbing was________.
The ancient Egyptians did not simply build a pyramid, bury a pharaoh, and walk away. A whole
city grew up around a pyramid during its construction. These cities were called_________
_________.
Old Kingdom, royal tombs , passageways, Treasures, afterlife, afterlife, abandoned ,Easy,
death, pyramid cities
linen
dwellings
Earthen
white
Decorative
wooden
brightly
bricks
luxurious
lived
villas
sizeable
cool
dust
leaves
rooftop
toilets
1. How can we tell what ordinary houses were like in ancient Egypt?____________________
2. How were the houses constructed?__________________________________________
3. What shape were the houses? _____________________________________________
4. What type of roof did they have? __________________________________________
5. What was the roof terrace used for? _______________________________________
6. Why were the rooms dark inside?___________________________________________
7. Where were the cellars of these houses? ____________________________________
8. Why were the houses built close together? ___________________________________
9. What were the villages surrounded by? ______________________________________
10. What did the Egyptians call the home of the dead? ____________________________
Now answer these questions.
We can get some idea of what ordinary houses were like in ancient Egypt by looking at
model houses that have been found buried in tombs. We can also look at surviving Egyptian houses
built in the traditional way. Both were constructed of sun-dried mud, covered over with a thin layer of
plaster. Both were built to a simple, square design, with a flat roof, sometimes topped by a terrace
where the inhabitants could sit and enjoy the cool, fresh, evening air. Inside, the rooms were small
and dark, with narrow windows and low ceilings. Some houses had two storeys; others were all on one
level. Many had cellars for storage, dug into the rough ground underneath.
Most people lived in villages, clustered along the banks of the river Nile. Village houses
were built close together, for strength and security. The villages were surrounded by ditches and
fields. Nearby, was the bleak, endless desert, for the Egyptians this was the home of the dead.
Ancient Egyptian houses were made from mud b_ _ _ _ _.
•Houses had w_ _ _ _ _ roof beams covered with reeds and clay.
•Other building materials included grass, l_ _ _ _ _, tree trunks, stones and animal skins
•Houses were painted w_ _ _ _ to reflect the heat.
•Small high grille windows helped keep out d_ _ _ and kept houses as c_ _ _ as possible.
•Poor people l_ _ _ _ in small flat-roofed houses with one or two rooms with e_ _ _ _ _ _
floors. Cooking was done in a brick oven on the r_ _ _ _ _ _.
•Wealthy Egyptians lived in large v_ _ _ _ _ surrounded by beautiful gardens. Such d_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ often contained up to 70 rooms. There were kitchens, servants’ quarters, storerooms,
bathrooms, t_ _ _ _ _ _, a chapel and women’s quarters.
•Wealthy homes had b_ _ _ _ _ _ _ coloured walls, tiled floors and d_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
paintings. Furniture was very l_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ and was often carved in the shape of animals.
Cushions and l_ _ _ _ carpets were common.
•Outside, there was usually a s_ _ _ _ _ _ _ pool full of fish. Fig trees, date palms and
acacias were planted near the pool to provide shade.
Year 7 Hist - Ancient Egypt 6 Reading Activity Houses and Homes
1. Write down the heading. ________________________________________________
2. Number the paragraphs.
3. Write down the words you don’t know the meaning of or find difficult to spell.
___________________________________________________________________
4. Highlight 5 nouns.
5. Highlight 5 verbs.
The Rosetta Stone was/were the key to understanding the history, society, culture, religion,
etc of Ancient Egypt. A lot of resources was/were put into ‘cracking’ this written
language/code. It was/were, however, to be an enormous task and it took 20 years before
any significant progress was/were made. Two people, an Englishman Thomas Young and a
Frenchman Jean Francois Champollion was/were to argue over who made the major
breakthroughs in translation.
The discovery by Napoleon’s soldiers in 1799, of a tablet to become known as the Rosetta
stone wood/would finally solve the meaning of these words. This stone had the SAME
message wrote/written/write in three separate forms. These was/were:
Hieroglyphics
Ancient Greek
Cursive Script (Hieratics)
The meaning of these picture words wood/would torment both archaeologists and even grave
robbers throughout the ages. What did they mean? The meaning of these written words
was/were to remain a mystery for thousands of years…until!
The Egyptians needed the written word, so as to be able to write down the extent of
their/there/they’re possessions. These included cattle, geese, houses, slaves, etc.
Hieroglyphic writing can be found on obelisks, temples, tomb walls, pyramids, etc.
Hieroglyphic writing took a long time to learn and the job of a writer or scribe was both
valued and well paid. Apart from scribes, there/their/they’re was/were very few ancient
Egyptians who could write. Due to its massive alphabet of pictures, the Ancient Egyptians
develop/developed a system of ‘shorthand’ known as hieratics. Scripts was/were written on a
kind of paper made from papyrus reed, which grew in abundance along the Nile River.
Around 3 000 B.C. the Egyptians (though they was/were aware of cuneiform)
develop/developed their/there/they’re own brand of writing which we know as Hieroglyphics.
This system of writing used picture signs. Then pictures was/were used to represent the
sounds that made up a word. In this form of written language there/their/they’re are more
than 700 picture signs to learn.
The first writing (that historians are currently aware of) came/come from Mesopotamia in
about 3 200 B.C. This form of writing came/come in the form of clay tablets and signs. Not
long after the Sumerians develop/developed a more comprehensive form of writing known as
cuneiform.
Year 7 Hist - Ancient Egypt 7 Reading Activity Hieroglyphics Correct the tenses
1. Write down the heading. ________________________________________________
2. Number the paragraphs.
3. Circle the metalanguage words : abundance, archaeologists, hieratics, language,
Mesopotamia, obelisks, papyrus
4. Write down the words you don’t know the meaning of or find difficult to spell.
___________________________________________________________________
5. Highlight 5 nouns.
6. Highlight 5 verbs.
7. Write down 3 things you have learnt from reading this passage.
a. ___________________________________________________________________
b. ___________________________________________________________________
c. ___________________________________________________________________
8. Circle the correct tenses.
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Year 7 Hist - Ancient Egypt 8 Gods and Goddesses and Temples Reading Activity

The ancient Egyptians believed in many different gods and goddesses, each with their
own personality and appearance.

They believed the gods and goddesses controlled every aspect of their daily life as well
as the afterlife.

Each god had their own role to play in maintaining peace and harmony across the land.
Some gods and goddesses took part in creation, some brought the flood every year,
some offered protection, and some took care of people after they died. Others were
either local gods who represented towns, or minor gods who represented plants or
animals.

The ancient Egyptians believed that it was important to recognise and worship these
gods and goddesses so that life continued smoothly.

A god or goddess was associated with a particular bird or animal and when they were
drawn or carved they were depicted with the head of their particular animal or bird.

They believed the gods appeared in real life in their animal form.

Animals could also be used to represent the pharaoh – the sphinx with the face of a
pharaoh and body a lion.
Temples

Ancient Egyptians worshiped their gods in various temples along the Nile

The largest temple was Karnak

Each temple was decorated with huge stone statues of the god of the temple and the
pharaoh They would pray for whatever they needed If their prayer was not answered
they would ‘whack’ the statue to show their displeasure

Temples were very sacred as Egyptians believed their gods lived in temples They were
the heart of the community

Kids went to school there and he women came everyday to give food as offering to gods

Temples acted as hotels for visitors

Grain was also stored in temples

Usually only priests were allowed inside, however, ordinary people were allowed in on
special occasions e.g. The birth of a baby

At dawn, a priest would burn incense in the temple to purify the air. The priests would
then purify themselves in the temple’s sacred lake before greeting the gods. The high
priest would then place an offering of fresh water to the god of the temple
Write a list of nouns and adjectives and a list of adverbs and verbs you could use in a
___________________________
____________________________
description of the temple
How well did you read? Mummification Questions
1. Why did the Ancient Egyptians want to preserve the body of a dead person? __________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. Who was god of the dead? _______________________________________________
3. How long did it take altogether to make a mummy?______________________________
4. What was the per nefer? ________________________________________________
5. What were the embalmer's assistants called?__________________________________
6. Why were stones thrown at the man who made the first cut in the body?_____________
7. How was the brain of the dead person removed? _______________________________
8. Why was the brain not preserved? _________________________________________
9. What other organs were removed and why? ___________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
10. What happened to the heart and why? ______________________________________
11.What did the embalmers do with the internal organs? ___________________________
12. What did the body look like after being in natron for 40 days? ____________________
_____________________________________________________________________
13. What did they put inside the body so that it had the proper shape? ________________
_____________________________________________________________________
14. What was the body wrapped in? ___________________________________________
15. Why did they put amulets inside the bandages? _______________________________
16. How long did the bandaging part take? ______________________________________
Why did the body need a mask? _____________________________________________
It took 70 days to make a mummy. Several people were involved. The place where the
mummy was made was called the per nefer. The chief embalmer wore a jackal mask to look like
Anubis, the god of mummification. His assistants were called wetyw. When the body arrived one of
the assistants made a cut on the left side of the abdomen so that the internal organs could be
removed. It was thought to be bad to "hurt" a body like this, so the other assistants would throw
stones at the one who made the cut. This was not supposed to hurt him, it was just part of the
ceremony. The brain was removed from the body through the nose. The Egyptians did not think that
the brain was important enough to be preserved.
After the organs had been removed the body was washed with wine and rubbed with
spices. This killed the bacteria which cause decay. The body was then covered with natron for 40 days
and left to dry out. At the end of this time, it was shrunken, wrinkled and leathery. It was cleaned
again and rubbed with oils to soften the skin. When the body was fully dried and cleaned it was
decorated with jewellery. It was packed inside with linen coated in scented oil so that it had the
proper shape. The body was then bandaged in lots of layers of linen. Small charms, or amulets were
put into the bandages to protect the spirit on its journey. Each layer was coated with resin, which
made a waterproof seal. This part of the process could take as long as a week. After wrapping, the
head was covered with a painted mask so that the spirit would recognise it. The mummy was then put
into several gilded coffins, and finally into a sarcophagus
.
Year 7 Hist - Ancient Egypt 9 Making a Mummy
1. Write down the heading. ________________________________________________
2. Number the paragraphs.
3. Circle the metalanguage words : amulets, embalmer, linen, natron, per nefer, preserved,
resin, sarcophagus, wetyw.
4. Write down the words you don’t know the meaning of or find difficult to spell.
___________________________________________________________________
5. Highlight 5 nouns.
6. Highlight 5 verbs.
7. Write down 3 things you have learnt from reading this passage.
a. ___________________________________________________________________
b. ___________________________________________________________________
c. ___________________________________________________________________
Year 7 Hist - Ancient Egypt 10 Important Events
Put these dates on the Timeline below. Use only the words in bold to label it.
5500 BC– People first came to settle in Egypt on the banks of the Nile and around the river’s delta
3500 – 3100 BC People begin to plant crops and dig canals. Two separate kingdoms emerge: Upper Egypt in the south, and Lower
Egypt in the north.
3300 BC Ancient Egyptians begin using hieroglyphics
3000 BC Upper and Lower Egypt are united
2650 – 2150 BC The Old Kingdom: the era of pyramid building
2600 BC The Great Pyramid of Giza is built for Pharaoh Khufu
2050 – 1650 BC The Middle Kingdom
1550 – 1050 BC The New Kingdom: the era of pharaoh’s burials in rocky mountain tombs. Valley of the Kings is built
1490s BC Rule of Hatshepsut, female pharaoh
1330s BC Rule of Tutankhamen
525 BC Ancient Egypt is conquered by Persia
332 BC Alexander the Great conquers ancient Egypt
323 BC Alexandria is found and becomes the new capital of ancient Egypt
51-30 BC Rule of Cleopatra
30 BC Ancient Egypt becomes part of the Roman Empire
5500 BC
4000BC
3000BC
2000BC
1000BC
0