Sekhmet’s Ancient Egyptian Quest!

Notes for TeachersThese teacher’s notes give you extra information about each of the objects featured in our ancient Egyptian trail. We have also suggested follow-up activities for pupils back in class.

Practical points:

• ThistrailisforpupilsinPrimary3–5(age7–9)whohavesomepriorknowledgeoftheancient Egyptians.

• Thetrailwilltakeapproximately50minutes.

• Thetrailwillinvolvemovingbetweenlevels0,1,3and5.Youcanaccessalltheseareasusing the lifts and stairs. Each group should take a map with them to help them find the galleries and directions can be found on the trail sheet.

• Thetrailcontains8challengesforpupilstodo.

• StartthetrailwithyourwholeclasstogetheratthemummyinDiscoveriesonLevel1.Afterthis,youcansplitupintosmallergroupstocompletethechallenges.

• Enjoylookingatalltheobjectsupclose,butpleaseremindpupilsnottotouchthem. Ifobjectshavenumbersnexttothem,lookatthenumberedtextnearbytotellyoumore about the object.

• Thistrailisavailableinblackandwhiteorcolour.

Introduction to Sekhmet – the narrator of the trail

• ThegoddessSekhmetwasbelievedtohavebeenthedaughterofthesungodRaandis often seen with a sun disc on top of her head.

• Sekhmetwasworshippedasawarriorgoddess.Shehelpedthepharaohwinbattlesagainsthisenemies,butifangered,shecouldbringwaranddiseaseuponEgypt.Worshipping her and bringing offerings to her statues in the temples could help prevent this.

• Sheisoftendepictedasawomanwiththeheadofalioness;thefiercesthunterknownto the Egyptians.

• Therearemanystoriesaboutherincludingthatherfierybreathformedthedeserts.

Challenge 1:

• Thecoffinherehasbeenwellpreserved.Sometimescoffinsweremassproducedandextra hieroglyphs were painted later to indicate who was buried inside. If you look closely you can see the darker black paint on the top of the coffin where the person’s name has been added.

• Thesymbolsrepresenttheafterlifeandrebirthandofferedprotectiontothebodyontheir journey to the afterlife.

• ThefalcondepictsHorus,thegodoftheskyandsonofOsiris,thegodoftheafterlife.

• ThecowrepresentsHathor,thegoddessofmotherhoodandjoy,andisshownwithasun-disconherhead,surroundedbypapyrusplants,comingoutofthesideofamountain.

• YoushouldalsobeabletoseethegodOsirisonthecoffin.Heisoftenshownwithgreenorblackskin–thiswassymbolicofnewlifeandregenerationlikethecolourofgrowing crops and fertile soil/earth.

• Therearesomeotherinterestingsymbolsonthiscoffin:

o The scarab beetle was thought to roll the sun across the sky during the day

o The sun travelling in a boat through the underworld during the night

o Geb the earth god lying on the ground with the air god Shu holding up the sky goddess Nut.

Activity: back at school use the museum website to discover more about hieroglyphs using our game ‘A stela of a tale’. www.nms.ac.uk/hieroglyphs

Challenge 2:

Answer to questions: The top part belonged to the woman and the man’s job was a priest. The coffin is 180cm long.

• ThecoffinwasbroughttoScotlandinthelate1800sbySirColinScott-Moncrieff,anengineer stationed in Egypt.

• Thecoffinisalmost3000yearsoldandinsideliesthebodyofamancalledIufenamunwhodiedwhenhewasaround40yearsold.

o Iufenamun was an Egyptian priest at the Temple of Karnak.

o Around961BCthemummiesofthepharaohsweresecretlymovedfromtheValleyoftheKingsandreburiedinsmallanonymoustombs–tokeepthemsafefromgrave robbers. Iufenamun was one of the priests entrusted with this task.

o AreconstructionofIufenamun’sfacemadefromCTscanscanbefoundnexttothe information label.

• Thelidofthiscoffinbelongstoadifferentperson,Tjentwerethequa,whoisbelievedtobe the grandmother of Iufenamun.

o We don’t know why a different lid was brought back to Scotland. It could be that the lidandbasewerereusedforanotherburialinancienttimes,ortheoriginallidwasdamagedordidnotlookasstrikingasthisonewhenSirColinbroughtthemback.

Activity: back at school write a story about what led to two different sections of the coffin coming to Scotland as one.

Challenge 3:

• Bothmenandwomenwouldhavewornmake-upandperfumeasasymbolofwealthand rank.

• Themake-uppalettesarecarvedfromslateandtheperfumebottlesfromcalcitestone.

• Theseobjectsprobablycamefromgraves/burialsandsomeareprobablybiggerthanthey would have been for everyday use.

Activity: back at school gather together some examples of the different materials

that Egyptians would have used in their tombs, such as slate, food or make-up, and predict what would happen to these over thousands of years.

Challenge 4:

• Thetop4figures;2oftheleftand2ontherightrepresentthe4sonsofHorus:Hapy(baboon),Imsety(human),Duamutef(jackal)andQebehsenuef(falcon).Youmaybemore familiar with them as the heads of the 4 canopic jars containing the organs of the mummy.

• Stelaaregravemarkersandthesymbolsonthemwouldhavetoldastoryabout theperson,similartogravestonestoday.

• Thiscoffinismadefromlimestone.

• Thiscoffinisalmost1000yearsyoungerthanthewoodencoffinwelookedatinChallenge1.

Activity: back at school find out more about how coffins changed over time. www.nms.ac.uk/egyptiancoffins

Challenge 5:

Answer: Toga

• Thisstatuedatesfromaroundthesametimeasthestonecoffinlid.

• ThisstatueisofacitizenofacitycalledOxyrhynchus.AftertheconquestofEgyptbyAlexandertheGreat,Greeks,andlaterRomans,startedlivinginthecityandbroughtthis style of clothing with them.

• Thetogashowsthatthismanwaseducatedandhadapowerfuljob.Egyptianpeople,beforethearrivaloftheGreeks,wouldn’thaveworntheseclothes.

Activity: back at school learn more about what ancient Egyptians might have worn. www.nms.ac.uk/egyptiandress

Challenge 6:

From left to right on the activity sheet, the answers should be:

• Stela (gravestone)–Ontheleft,showsRa-Horakhty,thecombinedgodofHorusandRa.Ontherightisawomancarryingalotusflower(asymbolofregeneration)andincense.

• Pyramidion–showspeopleworshippingthesun.Itwouldhavebeenthetopblockofaverysmallpyramidabovethetombofawealthyperson,probablyfromthecityofThebes. The man who invented pyramids was so highly thought of that after his death he was made the god of wisdom and medicine.

• Apis bull footboard–comesfromthebottomofthecoffin.ThebullwasasacredanimalinancientEgypt,associatedwiththekingandthesungod,andwasapowerfulprotector of the body.

• Gold earrings–Egypthadmanygoldminesandtradedthiswithneighbouringlands.OnekingofAssyriawasthoughttohaveaskedformore,stating’goldisinyourlandlike dust’. When many of the gold mines in Egypt had been exhausted and Egypt had lostcontrolofthegoldminesinSudan,somepeopleturnedtograverobbing.

• Cat–abronzestatueofBast(orBastet),thecatgoddessofprotection.Sheisalsoassociatedwithfertility,andisthepeacefulsideofSekhmet.InlaterEgyptianhistory,cats were often mummified and offered to the gods in temples. Sometimes when cat mummiesarex-rayedorCT-scannedtoday,theyarediscoveredtoactuallybemadeofsticks and mud.

Activity: back at school discover more about what objects would be found inside a tomb. www.nms.ac.uk/tombadventure www.nms.ac.uk/threepyramids

Challenge 7:

Answer: Crocodile

• Manygodsandgoddessesweredepictedashavingtheheadorbodyofananimalassociated with their power.

• Sobekwasthecrocodile-headedgodoftheRiverNileandprotectedagainstthedangersoftheriver.HealsorepresentedfertilityastheNilewouldfloodeveryyearand fertilise the land for crop-growing.

Activity: back at school create your own god or goddess with the head of an animal. What are their powers and what do they protect people from? Or, why not write your own animal riddles?

Challenge 8:

Answer: Sekhmet’s sun-disc headdress and body are missing

• ThisstatuewasoriginallymadeforthefunerarytempleofAmenhotepIII.ThetemplewasbuiltbyKingAmenhotepIII,thegrandfatherofTutankhamen.AlaterpharaohmovedmanySekhmetstatuestothetempleofKarnak.Over700statuesofSekhmethave been excavated at Karnak.

• ThepharaohmayhavededicatedthestatuestoSekhmetbecausehewassickandhewanted her to heal him. The huge number of statues may have been created so there would be one for every day and night of the year.

Activity: back at school try making your own Sekhmet statues, using different materials, and creating your own temple.

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