Term |
Description |
Amulet |
A charm worn by the living or placed on a mummy to ward off evil
spirits or bring good luck. |
Ankh |
A hieroglyphic sign symbolising life; it has been likened to a
sandal strap. |
Anthropoid |
Coffins in the shape of a human. |
Ba |
Believed by ancient Egyptians to be the spirit or soul. It is
often depicted as a bird with a human head. |
Benben Stone |
A scared stone at Heliopolis that was believed to be connected with the primeval mound that emerged from
the waters of chaos and where the Sun's first rays fell. The concept of the
obelisks evolved from this stone as perhaps did the pyramids. |
Blue Crown
(khepresh) |
Beginning in the 18th Dynasty, pharaohs sometimes wore a crown
with the appearance of a flanged helmet of cloth covered with golden discs. |
Book of the Dead |
A collection of spells that were sometimes provided for the
deceased in the form of a papyrus roll from the New Kingdom onward. The
spells were supposed to assist the deceased to safely reach the netherworld. |
Canopic Jars |
A set of jars, which contained some of the internal organs,
removed from the deceased during mummification. Some examples include sets of
four jars with different stoppers which protected specific organs - human
headed Imsety (the liver), baboon-headed Hapy (lungs), jackal-headed Duamutef (stomach), and falcon-headed Qebehsenuef (intestines). |
Cartonnage |
A material used for making mummy masks and coffins. It was built
up from layers of linen or papyrus stiffened with gesso (plaster) and then painted
or gilded. |
Cartouche |
An oval which was drawn to contain the hieroglyphs that spelt
out a king's or queen's name. |
Cenotaph |
A tomb built for ceremonial purposes but not used for the actual
burial. |
Coptic |
Refers to Egyptian Christians and their language. |
Delta |
The area of northern Egypt where the Nile River flows into the
Mediterranean Sea. It is a triangular area of very fertile land. |
Demotic |
A form of ancient Egyptian writing which was developed in the
7th century BC and used for everyday writing in the Late and Greco-Roman
periods. |
Double Crown
(pschent) |
Once Upper and Lower Egypt were unified, the King wore the Double Crown that combined the
elements of the White and Red crowns. |
Dynasty |
A succession of kings who were usually related. Egyptologists
usually divide ancient Egypt's history into 31 dynasties up to the arrival of Alexander the Great. The system was
initially devised by the priest Manetho in the third century BC. |
Ennead |
A group of nine gods, such as the ones in the Great Ennead of Heliopolis. |
Faience |
A glazed earthenware that was often used for amulets and some
vessels. |
Hieratic |
A cursive form of ancient Egyptian writing which lost the
pictorial aspect of hieroglyphs. |
Hieroglyphs |
The ancient Egyptian writing, which used symbols, based on
animals, humans/gods and implements. |
Inundation |
The annual flooding of the Nile River. |
Ka |
Created as a "double" of a living person at birth. It
left the body upon the death of the person and received offerings ensuring
the deceased's survival in the afterlife. |
Lower Egypt |
The northern part of Egypt around the Nile Delta. |
Mastaba |
An Arabic word for bench, it has been applied to early tombs
where the building above the ground was a rectangular structure with a flat
roof, thereby resembling a bench. |
Natron |
A salt (sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate) that was used
in the mummification process to dry out the body of the deceased in order to
assist in its preservation. |
Necropolis |
Egyptian burial grounds. From the Greek word for "city of
the dead" or cemetery. |
Nemes |
A striped headcloth worn by the pharaoh. |
Nilometer |
A staircase found in some temples next to the Nile where the
level of the river would be read during the inundation. |
Nome |
A province of ancient Egypt - there were 42 nomes. |
Obelisk |
A tapering, four-sided pillar of stone which was usually
inscribed with hieroglyphs to honour a pharaoh. Most were made of granite.
The biggest Egyptian obelisk now stands in Rome and is nearly 31 metres tall.
The biggest still in Egypt is 29.5 metres high and is estimated to weigh over
300 tonnes. |
Ostracon |
A limestone flake or potsherd (fragment of pottery) used for
practising writing or drawing. Also used for record keeping and
correspondence. |
Papyrus |
A water reed once abundant in Egypt. It was processed into a
form of paper used for important records. |
Pharaoh |
The Egyptian king, the word meant "The Great House"
which was the royal palace. Its first use in reference to the king can be
traced to the New Kingdom. |
Pylon |
Greek for "gate", these were huge towers on each side
of the entrance to a temple. They were often decorated with reliefs of
pharaohs or gods. |
Red Crown
(deshret) |
The crown worn by the pharaoh and representing Lower Egypt. It
is in the shape of a chair with a coil protruding from the front. |
Sarcophagus
(plural: sarcophagi) |
A stone container that usually housed the coffin and mummy. The
surface was often inscribed with texts to assist the deceased in the journey
through the underworld. One often finds the word sarcophagi being applied to
the coffin within. |
Shabti |
A model servant figure which was supposed to do the hard work
for the deceased in the afterlife. Also known as a ushabti. |
Sistrum |
A musical rattle with discs threaded onto bars across a fork.
They were often used by women involved with temples, particularly in
association with the goddess Hathor. |
Sphinx |
A statue in the shape of a lion with the head of a human or ram.
A sphinx was a symbol of royal power. |
Stela |
An inscribed stone or wooden slab with an inscription dedicated
to someone, an event or a decree. |
Upper Egypt |
The area of Egypt south of the Nile Delta. |
Uraeus |
A cobra emblem worn by the pharaoh as part of his headdress. The
cobra was meant to protect the pharaoh by spitting fire at his enemies. |
Vizier |
The chief minister of Egypt answerable only to the pharaoh. He
was responsible for the day-to-day running of the country. In the New Kingdom
there were two viziers - one for Upper Egypt and one for Lower Egypt. The
position became less important in the Late Period. |
Egyptian Beauty Secrets |
During one
Pharonic period it is thought Ladies of the Court wore a ‘cone’ under their
wigs, made of solidified fat, mixed when liquid, with the perfume of
choice. It melted from the heat of
the body releasing the aroma of choice. |
Egyptian cuisine |
Bread, Beer and
Onions was the pay, Archaeologists suggest, for workers at Giza on the Great
Pyramids. The bread was coarse and chewy as seen by dental analysis of
mummies. Even today bread and onions
are family staples. |
Egyptian Perfume |
Egyptians
were fastidious and considered perfume an essential part of their
toilette. Tastes were exotic and they
imported galbanum from Persia and coveted frankincense .The essence was
stored in beautiful containers reflecting their value and importance to
everyday life |
White Crown
(hedjet) |
The crown worn by the pharaoh and representing Upper Egypt. It
is in the shape of a tall conical headpiece with a small bulb on the top. |
 |
|
