symbols

ANKH Ankh is the modern reading of the Ancient Egyptian hieroglyph which represents a part of a sandal: the rounded top of the symbol is the loop that goes around the leg, the two "arms" of the symbol go to the sides of the feet and the longer "body" of the symbol goes from the leg to between the twoes.

For some reasons, the Egyptians called that part of the sandal 'nkh (exact pronunciation unknown). Because this word was composed of the same consonants as the word "life", the sign to represent that particular part of the sandal, was also used to write the word "life". The Ankh-sign used to write "life" is a phonogram, a sign used for its phonetic value. It then became so associated with the concept "life", that one might have the impression that it was exclusively used to write the word "life".
The hieroglyphic sign Ankh also became the symbol representing the concept of life. Often, one will encounter a picture of a god holding a long sceptre in one hand -for male gods this is called the "Was"-sceptre and it represents "authority"- and the Ankh sign in the other.
Other representations show a god or goddess holding the Ankh in front of the king's nose. Life was breathed in through the nose. A common plea from Egypt's defeated foes to the king was "do not take away the breath of life from our noses". This makes the gods and the king the ultimate dispensers of life in Ancient Egypt.

Slaves

Contrary to popular beliefs, there were no slaves in Ancient Egypt such as we know them in the histories of Greece or Rome or in pre-20th century America. The entire concept of owning and selling people, like cattle, was unknown to the Ancient Egyptians. There are no records and no documents even hinting at the possibility that people, whatever their origins, were sold.
There were servants, but they were free people and not the property of some wealthy person. They were rewarded for their services, they could have families without fearing that the person they worked for would sell their children. Their children could enjoy education and break free of the life or servitude.
The prisoners brought to Egypt during its conquests in Nubia and Asia were put to work in several royal ateliers and workshops, but they could obtain their own freedom or the freedom of their children. It has even happened that descendants of such prisoners attained high ranking positions in the Egyptian government or in the military.

The Egyptian government could call upon the inhabitants of the Nile Valley to do certain tasks. Thutmosis I and Thutmosis III both published a decree that ordered the locals of a certain part of Egypt to keep the Nile clear of rocks and rubble, allowing the safe passage of boats.
In the same way, the people of Egypt may have been called upon to help with the transportation of the stone blocks used to build the pyramids. This, however, was not slavery and could be compared more easily with the military service of our modern times.

The Ka, represented by two raised arms, is one of the many spiritual components of gods and humans.
The word "Ka" has regularly been translated as "life-force" for lack of a better translation. In ancient times it may have referred to the "male potency", but it soon must have come to mean intellectual and spiritual power.
There is a difference between the Ka of the gods and the kings on one hand, and the Ka of the common people on the other. Where the Ka of the gods and the kings represent some kind of individuality, the Ka of the common people relates the individual to his or her family. The Kas of common people are there ancestors which are passed on from generation to generation.
From the Old Kingdom on, the Ka is represented as a "double" of the human it is part of, which may be yet another example of the Egyptian dualism. In many reliefs, for instance in the temple of Luxor, the Ka of the king is represented as a small figure wearing the Ka-symbol and the Horus-name of the king on its head. Except for its size and the emblem it is wearing on its head, it can not be distinguished from the king.
Another representation of the Ka of the king is as a personified standard, composed of the Ka-arms and the Horus-name of the king on a pole. There seems to be a connection between the Ka of a king and his Horus-name. As with the Ka of the common-people, the Ka of the kings seems to be closely linked to the notion of "inheritance" and "succession".
The Ka of the kings was created at the same time as his or her body: in the scenes representing the divine birth of Hatshepsut in her temple at Deir el-Bahari, the god Khnum can be seen fashioning the body and the Ka of the Queen on a potter's wheel.
This, however, does not mean that the Ka and the body are inseparable. When the body died, the Ka left the body and joined its divine creator. The phrase "going to one's Ka" is a euphemism for "dying". The continued existence of the Ka after the death of its body was to be ensured by offerings made by the deceased's descendants and by the magic of the offering-scenes in the tombs. The Ka travels between his own magical world and the world of the living through so-called "false doors", funerary stelae shaped like portico's and provided with magical formulae that list the countless offerings the Ka receives every day.

Canopic jars

Four jars used in the funerary rituals to preserve the viscera of the deceased after embalming. These vessels were normally made of wood, pottery, faience, cartonnage or stone.
Each jar was dedicated to a specific deity, a son of Horus, and contained the embalmed remains of specific organs: the jar containing the liver was under the protection of Imsety, the jar containing the lungs had Hapi as a patron, the jar for the deceased's stomach was protected by Duamutef and the intestines by Qebehsenuf.
The names of the protective deities were often written on the jars. Sometimes, the stoppers of the jars would be shaped as their heads: Imsety's head was that of a human, Hapi's that of a baboon, Duamutef's
that of a dog and Qebehsenuf's that of a falcon.

The jars were normally placed together but kept separate from the mummified body. In the tomb of Tutankhamun, they were found in an elaborate shrine guarded by a statue of Anubis, in the so-called "treasury", next to the burial chamber.

Hieroglyphs

Hieroglyphic writing owes its name to the fact that when the Greeks arrived in Egypt, this writing was mainly used for ‘sacred (Greek hieros) inscriptions (Greek glypho)’ on temple walls or on public monuments. Hieroglyphic writing uses clearly distinguishable pictures to express both sounds and ideas and was used from the end of the Prehistory until 396 AD, when the last hieroglyphic text was written on the walls of the temple of Isis on the island of Philae.
It was used in monumental inscriptions on walls of temples and tombs, but also on furniture, sarcophagi and coffins, and even on papyrus. It could either be inscribed or drawn and often the signs would be painted in many colours. The quality of the writing would vary from highly detailed signs to mere outlines.

Mummies

At the very first mention of mummies, we think of Ancient Egypt. A mummy is really a preserved body and is the name also applied to the preservation of bodies in other cultures. Scientists have found mummies frozen in glaciers and selaed in marches. But the most famous mummies came from Ancient Egypt.
People have always been fascinated by the Ancient Egyptians preoccupation with death. It seemed they spent their entire lives
preparing for it, and no event in life was more important than death.
They went to so much expense, as they believed that the survival of the body was essential for the soul to become immortal. These bodies were buried with their favourite possessions, a supply of food and even model labourers to do their work for them.
In Early Egypt, naked bodies were simply buried in a shallow grave in the desert. Hot, dry sand quickly absorbed moisture from the body and prevented decay.
As times passed these peoples beliefs led to a more dignified burial and an increasing amount of provisions for the after life. The tomb replaced the simple desert grave, and from the early sand burials they came to realize that the best way for the body to be preserved was to dehydrate it. In Egypt there was an abundant supply of natural sodium salts called natron. Wealthy people preserved the dead person's body, by a process known as embalming .
Internal organs were removed through an incision in the stomach and the cavity filled with spice and wine, the brain was removed through the nostrils. These internal organs were sealed in Canopic jars ,and the heart was the only organ left in the body.

The body was soaked with natron for 70 days (although I have read 40 days from other sources) and then taken out and stuffed with fine linen, spices and sawdust of scented wood. This gave the body its form again. It was then coated in a molten resin to toughen it and make it more waterproof. Protective amulets were positioned in the mummy wrappings in set positions, the heart scarab being placed on the mummies chest. This was inscribed with a religious text instructing the persons heart not to make trouble for them when weighed in the judgement before Osiris.
The elaborate funeral generally started at the dead persons home. The body, in its sealed mummy case and carried by bearers , led the procession, next followed the internal orgarns in canopic jars. Then followed the family and friends.
At the tombs entrance the priest perfomed a ritual. The mummy was propped up in the sand and special prayers were said that bought back the bodys sense and enabled it to eat and drink in the afterlife. Following this, the mummy was purified with Natron, and the foreleg of a calf was offered. This was supposedly cut from the calf while it was still alive, and was believed to bring the dead back to life, as the leg continued to twitch for sometime after it was severed.
All that remained now in this process, was to place the mummy in its nest of coffins, and surround it with the goods and foood offerings . And put into place the protective aids. The final process was to seal the tomb.

Scarabs

Amulets are ornaments believed to endow the wearer with the properties they represent. They were first produced in Egypt as
early as 4000 BC and were essential adornments for both the living and the dead.
The scarab is perhaps the best known of all the ancient Egyptian amulets. Because of the characteristic behaviour of the dung beetle - which the scarab represents - it became the symbol of spontaneous generation, new life, and resurrection. It was often worn as a type of good luck charm. Painting from the tomb of Ramses.