Ancient Egypt and the Nile River

• The text is about Egypt, "the great civilization of the pharaohs".

The Nile

• Originates in Uganda's Mitmba Mountains and stretches 6,550 km
• Its volume increases due to the Atbara and Blue Nile tributaries, fed by abundant spring rains in Ethiopia
• The Nile is Earth's longest river and Africa's largest
• The Nile's significance translates to "LIFE" in Egypt
• The arable land was called KEMET, which translates to ‘black lands’, due to dark sediments left by the Nile after the inundation

Egyptian Seasons

• Akhet (July to November): the inundation/flooding season
  • Farmers irrigated the fields, stored the previous harvest, constructed buildings, and held many religious festivals like the Opet festival
• Peret (November to March): the sowing season
  • Water receded, which allowed cultivation in the black silt left by the Nile
  • Egyptians celebrated the festival of Min (god of fertility) by taking his statue to the fields to bless the harvest
• Shemu (March to July): the harvest season
  • Farmers dedicated themselves to collecting crops
  • The Festival of the Valley was celebrated

Nile God - Hapi

• Associated with the Nile's capability to generate wealth and fertile lands
• Ancient Egyptians, unable to explain the Nile’s annual irregular floods, attributed it to a deity
• Hapi, the deity of the Nile, was associated with fertility
  • Hapi was worshipped as the Father of the Gods and the Vivifier, as well as the creator of the universe
  • Associated with Osiris and Nun
• Hapi dwelled near the Nile cataracts
• Accompanied with a great retinue of frog goddesses, representative of fertility
• Portrayed as a man with a beard, potbelly, blue-greenish skin, and woman's breasts
• In depictions, he wears a lotus plant on his head and holds two vases symbolizing the two Nile rivers
• Sometimes represented with two opposed duck heads, and in company with the frog goddess Heqet
• Hapi is found in the myth of Osiris and drags Osiris' body in a coffer in the Nile

Nile's Impact on Egyptian Life

• Divided ancient Egypt into two halves: iabet (east) and imenet (west)
• Daily path of the sun across horizon held significant funerary connotations for Egyptians
• Sunset symbolized death in the west
• Sunrise symbolized life and resurrection in the east
• The cities and villages were on the eastern bank of Nile
• Necropolises, funerary temples were on the west

Ancient Egypt Divided

• Egypt was divided into 42 provinces named nomos
  • 22 nomos in Upper Egypt
  • 20 nomos in Lower Egypt
• Maps with the 42 nomos show the images indicating their representation in hieroglyphs and administrative form
• The images of nomos always appear in ceremonies of death

Narmer-Menes

• The first unifier and pharaoh of Egypt was Narmer-Menes in 3100 BC.
• Narmer, or Menes, was the first pharaoh and founder of the 1st Dynasty
• Ruled for 62 years
• As king of Upper Egypt, conquered Lower Egypt.
• Established the capital city at Memphis

Early Funerary Structures

• The first funerary structures were Mastabas
• Mastabas were tombs for high-ranking officials and the privileged elite
• The evolution of funerary structures included: Mastabas in Saqqara -> Step pyramids -> Pyramids with necropolises in Gizah and Menfis -> Tombs in the Valley of the Kings and Queens in Luxor (New Kingdom)
• The Mastaba of Ti belonged to a high official from the fifth dynasty
• Mastabas were followed by step pyramids in Saqqara
• Zoser's pyramid with first capital in Menfis was built during the third dynasty

Djoser's Step Pyramid

• Dates back to 2650 BC
• Djoser's Step Pyramide is the first pyramid
• The structure was opened to visitors in 2020, has been sealed for 4700 years
• Djoser's Step Pyramid is a massive funerary complex

Snefru's Pyramid Project

• Pharaoh Snefru of the 4th Dynasty made three attempts to construct a smooth-sided pyramid:
  • Meidum Pyramid: located 100 km north of Cairo (Delta), stands 92m high
  • Rhomboidal/Bent Pyramid: at Dahshur, rises to 100m high
  • Red Pyramid: located 40km from Cairo, has a height of 100m

Meidum Pyramid

• Located in El Fayum (North) and was the first pyramid built by Snefru of the Fourth Dynasty

Rhomboidal Pyramid

• Built by Snefru of the Fourth Dynasty

Red pyramid

• Is the third pyramid of Snefru
• The pyramidion is a the stone piece atop pyramids, symbolized the sun god Ra or Amon-Ra.
• Pyramidions were coated with gold, bronze or other metals

Great Pyramid of Giza

• In the Old Kingdom period, from 3100-2050 BC, the capital was in Menfis
• The necropolis was found in Menfis
• Seneferu ruled in Menfis in the fourth dynasty
• Keops, Kefren, Micerinos are necropolis in Giza
• Keops reign ran from from 2589 to 2566 B.C.E, and he had the Great Pyramid constructed
  • The Great Pyramid has an estimated 2.3 million stone blocks, with each block averaging 2.5 tons and some weighing up to 60 tons.
  • It was covered with 27,000 polished white limestone blocks, each weighing several tons
  • Earthquake detached part of its limestone coating in the 14th century, with Ottoman Turks using the material to construct buildings in Cairo
  • Its original height was 146.50m with a current height of 136.86m

Theories of Pyramid Construction

• Blocks were dragged by manpower or animals on prepared and oiled grades
• Ramps were used to elevate and position the blocks
• Construction workers were paid and fed regularly, they were not slaves
• Stone separation and transport happened in three stages
  • A land phase
  • A river phase
  • final land phase
• The transportation of the blocks had the following stages: the quarry, the Nile River, and the construction site
• Inner structure consisted of layers with the pyramid, each decreasing in size until the exterior surface consisted of smooth limestone

Keops Solar ship

• in 1950 two pits with pieces were discoverd under the pyramid
• the ship mesure 23m long, and 6m wide
• the components where in 1.224 pieces
• propeled by 5 pairs of ores and two rudders

3D recreation

• A 3D recreation of the pyramids of Giza exists

Explore characteristics of the Nile River, the world's longest river and Africa's largest. Discover the importance of the Nile in ancient Egypt, including the meaning of 'KEMET' as the fertile 'black lands'. Examine the three Egyptian seasons: Akhet, Peret, and Shemu, and their significance in agriculture and religious festivals.