15 Things You May Not Know About Ancient Egypt ??

What do you know about ancient egypt? It’s not likely that your knowledge of this awesome civilization is very extensive — after all, it has been thousands of years since they left the world. If you are a student or loved one studying ancient Egypt, there’s plenty of material for you to digest in order to grow your skill set and become more knowledgeable. But what if you are just a normal person like me who wants to learn more? You can always find out some interesting facts from credible sources on the internet that may spark your interest in this topic.

Here is a list of 15 things you may not know about ancient Egypt that will surely change the way you look at the world.

1. It takes 2000 soldiers to guard the pyramids

This may seem like a ridiculous number, but in addition to the thousands of soldiers needed to build and maintain the pyramids, it takes an additional 2000 guards to patrol around them twenty-four hours a day.

2. The Pyramids were made out of limestone

The original construction was done out of limestone.

3. Khafre’s pyramid has an unfinished side

While you may think that all Egyptian pyramids are carved from limestone, you probably have not heard of the unfinished side of Khafre’s pyramid? This is because the builders got drunk and forgot to finish it.

4. The Egyptian pyramids have a secret chamber

The secret chamber is in the center pyramid of the Great Pyramid of Giza. This chamber is about 150 feet long, and it contains an underground shaft leading to another tomb.

5. The pyramids, the pride of Egypt, were not made by the slaves.

6. What did ancient Egyptians write on?

Depending upon the occasion, ancient Egyptians were known to write on pottery sherds, wooden writing boards, limestone flakes and papyri scrolls made from papyrus plants.

7. The doctors at that time were specialised in various fields.

8. Can you really learn to read Egyptian hieroglyphics?

You can learn to read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics but it takes a lot of time and patience. Ancient Egyptian writing was learned by copying what was written down on papyrus rolls which would be transcribed by scribes. The whole process took years to master.

9. The Egyptian empire was conquered by the Persian emperor Darius I in 525 B.C.E.

10. Another existing thing about ancient Egypt was that they were very fond of board games.

11. Apart from other places, Egyptian women had many rights and a lot of freedom.

12. When did ancient Egyptians start writing?

The first example of written language in ancient Egypt is from around 3100 BC when ibises were carved on stones which would later be used as palette knives in painting during the Old Kingdom period.

13. What is a hieroglyph?

A hieroglyph is an ideograph which represents an idea rather than a sound. The word comes from the Greek for holy inscriptions.

14. In Egypt, both men and women wore makeup at that moment.

15. Egyptians used to keep their loved one’s near them. They used to store bodies of them with themselves.