An introduction to Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptian civilisation began 5,000 years ago when people started building villages next to the River Nile in north-east Africa. It lasted for around 3,000 years.

The river was an important source of water in a hot and dry desert landscape.

The ancient Egyptians were able to grow lots of crops like wheat, barley, fruit and vegetables. They also grew flax to make clothes and papyrus to make paper.

The ancient Egyptians were experts at farming and construction because they were very inventive.

They invented a solar calendar (a calendar based on the sun) and a writing system called hieroglyphs.

The ancient Egyptians were ruled by kings and queens were called pharaohs. Religion was an important part of their civilisation. They worshipped over 2,000 gods and goddesses!

The ancient Egyptians also believed in a never-ending afterlife. They thought it was more important than their life on Earth, so they spent a lot of time planning for their death.

The ancient Egyptians preserved the bodies of important people through mummification. They built special tombs to be buried in, which they filled with all their favourite things. Some pharaohs built their tombs in the shape of giant pyramids.

The pyramids are giant tombs. Each side is triangular, and they meet in a point at the top. The most famous is the Great Pyramid of Giza at 480 feet high made from 2.3 million large blocks.

The Great Pyramid of Giza is around 4,600 years old. It was the tallest human-made structure in the world for 3,800 years.

After it was finished, it was covered in white limestone. There were three chambers and two entrances. However, the inside was looted (robbed) and nothing remains except for some large sarcophagi (coffins) of the early pharaohs.

The Great Pyramid was part of a group of pyramids outside Giza, which also included the Great Sphinx.

Make your own pyramid treasure tomb