Visit Egypt Symbols KS2b
Visit Egypt Symbols KS2b
Visit Egypt Symbols KS2b
Contents
Before your visit
Background information Resources Gallery information Preliminary activities
Background information
The ancient Egyptians used writing to communicate information about a person shown on a sculpture or relief. They called their writing divine word because they believed that Thoth, god of wisdom, had taught them how to write. Our word hieroglyphs derives from a phrase meaning sacred carvings used by the ancient Greek visitors to Egypt to describe the symbols that they saw on tomb and temple walls.
The number of hieroglyphic signs gradually grew to over 7000 in total, though not all of them were used on a regular basis. The hieroglyphs were chosen from a wide variety of observed images, for example, people, birds, trees, or buildings. Some represent the sounds of the ancient Egyptian language, but consonants only. No vowels were written out. Also, it was not an alphabetic system, since one sign could represent a combination of two or more consonants like the gaming-board hieroglyph which stands for the consonants mn. Egyptologists make the sounds pronounceable by putting an e between the consonants, so mn is read as men. Many other hieroglyphic signs were not pronounced at all but served to clarify meanings, such as a boat following the sound sign dpt which was the word for boat.
First developed in about 3250 BC, hieroglyphs were still used in the early centuries AD but gradually became less and less understood except by temple priests. By the time Egypt officially became a Christian country in the fourth century AD, hieroglyphs had fallen out of use. The Egyptian language continued to be spoken, but was now written in an alphabetic script called Coptic. When the Arabs conquered Egypt in the seventh century AD, they introduced the Arabic form of spoken and written language, which is still used by Egyptians today.
Alongside the hieroglyphic text, the ancient Egyptians made use of a variety of symbols to convey information. These symbols could be in the form of a 3D object or carved as a sign into the surface of a statue or relief.
Table of Symbols
Ankh The ankh is a symbol of life. It was often carried in the hand.
Nemes The nemes head dress is a piece of cloth pulled tight across the forehead and tied at the back, with two flaps hanging down the sides. It is worn by the pharaoh. Scarab Scarab beetles lay their eggs on a ball of dung, which is then rolled along the ground and dropped into a hole. The ancient Egyptians associated this with the sun moving across the sky each day. In addition, the beetle grubs hatching from the ball of dung were a sign of rebirth. Uraeus The uraeus is a rearing cobra with a flared hood. A symbol of protection, it guarded the gates of the underworld, warded off the enemies of the royal family and guided the dead pharaohs on their journey through the underworld. The uraeus was worn on the forehead. Cartouche A cartouche is an oval shape placed around the names of royal people in hieroglyphic inscriptions. It symbolized the pharaoh as a ruler of all that the sun encircled. Lotus flower Like the sun that rises in the morning and sets in the evening, the lotus flower blooms in the day and closes each night. The lotus was a symbol of rebirth, the renewal of life and the promise of everlasting life.
Resources
British Museum websites
Explore
Explore is an online database of over 5000 objects from the Museum s collection. To investigate objects from ancient Egypt use the Explore option on the homepage of the British Museum website: www.britishmuseum.org
Books
For adults
M, Collier, Manley, B., and Parkinson, R., How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs: a step-by step guide to teach yourself, British Museum Press 1998 Davies, W.V., Reading the Past: Egyptian Hieroglyphs, British Museum Press, 1987
For children
Mare, Marcel, British Museum Pocket Dictionary of Pharaohs and Queens, British Museum Press, 2005 Parkinson, Richard, British Museum Pocket Guide to Hieroglyphs, British Museum Press, 2003
Gallery information
Room 4 is the Egyptian sculpture gallery. It contains examples of monumental sculpture from temples and tombs. The gallery contains a number of statues of pharaohs and ancient Egyptian deities (gods and goddesses) together with monumental pieces of stone architecture such as columns and carved wall reliefs. At the north end of the gallery are a range of massive stone sarcophagi (bases and lids).
The present arrangement of sculptures runs chronologically from the south to the north end of the gallery. The Rosetta Stone is situated, out of chronological order, at the centre of the gallery.
Case Numbers
Please note that case numbers are usually small, white and high up on the glass.
Preliminary activities
General introductory activities
Locate the area covered by ancient Egypt in an atlas and look at the modern countries which currently exist in this region of the world. Discuss the role of the pharaoh in ancient Egypt. Revise the names and dates of some famous pharaohs. Compare their role to that of other kings and queens which the students are familiar with from the past or the present. Look at the Pharaoh section of the ancient Egypt learning site (www.ancientegypt.co.uk) to find out about the role of these ancient rulers. Look at objects from ancient Egypt on Explore. Search in particular for examples of statues.
Each activity is designed to support the students in looking at, and thinking about, objects on display in the gallery. Individual activity sheets may be undertaken by single students, in pairs or as a small group. Where space is provided for recording this may be undertaken by the student or an adult helper as is most appropriate for the students involved.
Familiarise the students and accompanying adults with the chosen activity sheets at school before the day of the visit. Make sure students and adults know what they are to do and are familiar with the vocabulary used on the sheets or which they may encounter in the gallery.
Gallery activity
Room 4
Symbol detective
The Ancient Egyptians used symbols on their statues and carvings. Look carefully at the objects on display and see if you can spot any of these symbols carved on them. Each time you spot a symbol record it on this tally chart.
ankh
nemes
scarab
cartouche
ureaus
lotus flower
Now decide which symbols were easiest to find, which one you found most often and whether you think you saw any other symbols.
Gallery activity
Room 4
Sculpture study
These 3 sculptures are all in Room 4. Each time you find one, look at it carefully and then answer the questions by circling the right answer. What does the sculpture show? a human a god or goddess How is it posed? standing What size is it? larger than life-size sitting life size
Which symbols can you see on it? ankh scarab nemes cartouche
What does the sculpture show? a human a god or goddess How is it posed? standing What size is it? larger than life-size sitting life size
Which symbols can you see on it? ankh scarab nemes cartouche
What does the sculpture show? a human a god or goddess How is it posed? standing What size is it? larger than life-size sitting life size
Which symbols can you see on it? ankh scarab nemes cartouche
Now describe a statue you would like to order to be carved what will it show, how will it be posed, what size will it be and what symbols would you put on it?
Gallery activity
Room 4
Mighty Ramesses
The statue below is Ramesses II. He ruled for 67 years from 1279 BC. It is one of the largest pieces of Egyptian sculpture in the Museum and weighs over 7 tons. Find the statue in the gallery and then match each of these royal symbols by drawing an arrow from the word to its position on the picture below. nemes
beard
remains of a uraeus
Only the top part of the statue is on display so we dont know what the whole statue looked like.
Decide what you think the original pose of the whole sculpture was and draw it in this box.
Imagine you are one of Ramesses subjects. How would you have felt looking at this statue? (proud? humble? scared? protected?)