Sources - Both
What were 'funerary texts' for?
In order for the deceased to pass safely into the next life, they needed magical spells and prayers. During the Old Kingdom, Pyramid Texts were inscribed on the walls of royal burial chambers. By the New Kingdom there were many funerary texts and some were even available to ordinary people, such as papyrus copies of the Book of the Dead.
Name two things that were required to get into the afterlife.
A preserved body (or life-like statue) to house the ka (spirit).
Funerary goods (food, furniture, servants, etc.) to use in the afterlife.
The person's name recorded so it could be spoken by the gods.
Spells and prayers.
What can you tell me about Imhotep?
He was the high priest of Heliopolis and the king's vizier.
As high priest, he had the secret knowledge of mathematics and astronomy (measuring time and space).
He also had a knowledge of medicine and was later worshipped by the Greeks as a god of healing.
Where about in the pyramid was the king buried?
28 metres underground, under the centre of the pyramid, in a granite sarcophagus.
What did people believe about the king in the third dynasty?
He was a god and different to everyone else in Egypt.
Give an example of an archaeological source relevant to Ancient Egypt.
Mortuary temples (for the dead king) and cult temples (for the gods) which contain inscriptions, reliefs (inscribed pictures), statues and religious objects.
Pyramids, mastabas and rock-cut tombs that contain inscribed biographies, religious texts, symbolism, statues, funerary items and paintings of everyday life.
Town remains that contain ostraca and domestic items.
Explain why it was important for all Egyptians to ensure the successful afterlife of the pharaoh.
The king was the only one to have an afterlife with the gods. He was also thought to be able to protect Egypt after death so if the dead king was safely preserved and cared for, all would be well with Egypt. His son became the new Horus on Earth and the welfare of the people depended on the well-being of both the dead and living pharaohs. Thus it was a form of self-preservation for all Egyptians to ensure a safe burial for the pharaoh.
Explain the building material used and what this tells us about Egyptian technology at the time.
Previous royal tombs had made with mud-brick. Imhotep experimented with stone building for the first time. Because they had no experience with quarrying stone on a large scale, he used small brick-sized blocks.
Name one other feature of the Step Pyramid complex besides the pyramid itself.
Storerooms
Courtyard
Mortuary temple
Enclosure wall
North altar
Give two examples of things the king was responsible for.
Natural disasters.
Maintaining order in Egypt through public building works, judging disputes and military exploits.
He was the maker of all laws, the only person able to order the death penalty.
Protecting Egypt - he was frequently shown smiting Asiatics (from the East), Libyans and Nubians, and hunting wild animals.
Explain what a 'monumental inscription' looks like and what it recorded.
Hieroglyphic records carved onto the walls of temples and inscribed on stelae (stone slabs).
They recorded military victories, treaties, decrees, building dedications, successful trading expeditions and offerings to the gods.
The inscriptions glorified the king by commemorating his deeds and were displayed in public places. They linked the king’s achievements to the gods and reflected the Egyptian belief in the king as a god, protector, war leader and intermediary between the gods and the people. These inscriptions were a form of propaganda.
Explain the difference between mummification in the 3rd and 4th dynasties. What was the big development?
They started removing organs in the 4th dynasty to prevent decomposition.
3rd dynasty mummies were simply wrapped in linen-soaked bandages.
Account for the transformation from a mastaba to a step pyramid.
It could also be due to the increasing wealth and status of the king enjoyed in a unified Egypt.
How was the tomb originally built?
It was originally a mastaba (8m tall and 26.5m long), the same as previous royal tombs.
What did the step pyramid represent (religiously)?
Staircase to heaven (pyramid text 304).
Also closer to the shape of the pyramid which was a symbol of the sun-god.
Explain what a 'king's list' is and give one of the three examples.
Literally a list of kings.
The Palermo Stone- A fragment of diorite inscribed with certain events from the reigns of the earliest kings from the 1st to 5th dynasties.
The ‘King’s List’ inscribed on the temple of Seti I (19th dynasty) at Abydos - This shows Seti I making offerings to 76 of his royal ancestors.
The Turin Canon of Kings- A fragmented papyrus document written in hieratic (a simplified form of hieroglyphics) containing a list of kings from the 1st to 19th dynasties.
Explain the PURPOSE of mummification.
To continue an existence in the afterlife, it was necessary to preserve the body or to use a stone or wooden statue where the spirit or ka could live through magic if the body was destroyed.
Name an element of the site that shows religious symbolism.
The pyramid itself = a staircase to heaven.
Decorations of lotus and papyrus plants representing Upper and Lower Egypt.
Other carved decorations represented the plants of the primeval marshes - bundles of rushes, papyrus stalks, etc.The burial chamber and southern tomb were both decorated with blue tiles representing the reed mats of houses.
The ka statue in the serdab (cellar) of the mortuary temple represented the king.
How was the mastaba tomb developed into a pyramid.
Smaller mastabas were stacked on top - originally to create 4 steps and then later expanded to create 6 steps.
Why were the priests of Heliopolis needed to build the Step Pyramid?
They secretly guarded knowledge of mathematics and measurement so the king relied on them to design the pyramid with equal sides and a consistent angle. Imhotep, a priest of Heliopolis, was the pyramid's architect.
Give two problems with written evidence from Ancient Egypt.
Explain an afterlife belief related to the king shown through the pyramid texts.
The king would join Re in the sky (text 217, 263).
The king would climb stairs to the sky (304).
The king would become a star in the sky (245, 442).
The king would act as a judge in the afterlife (407).
Identify one of the 'dummy' buildings in the complex and explain its possible purpose.
13 dummy buildings around the Sed Court represented the shrines of the districts of Upper and Lower Egypt.
The southern tomb was possibly a dummy tomb for use during the Sed Festival. (Other explanations are that it was for the king's ka or that two tombs were built for Upper and Lower Egypt).
The 'Houses of the North and South' may have represented shrines of Upper and Lower Egypt.
13 of the 14 entrances in the enclosure wall were false.
Explain the purpose of the mortuary temple.
This was where the mortuary priests prayed for the deceased and made daily offerings of food and drink.
In the entrance was a small room called the serdab which contained a life-like statue of Djoser, which was believed to contain the king's ka or spirit.
Explain why Djoser's Step Pyramid reflects the functioning of the centralised state.
Without one person controlling the vast resources (physical and human) of the country, such a massive and time-consuming structure could not have been built.
The country worked to build the tomb for one person because it would benefit all.