We usually think that we are completely different from ancient people. Weird traditions, unknown languages, and so on. But archaeology shows that we’re quite wrong.

Here is a list of interesting facts about the life of ancient Egyptians. You’ll probably learn something new.

1. They extracted iron from meteorites.

Archaeologists found metal beads in an ancient tomb. These beads were unique because the Egyptians started to smelt iron only 2,000 years later. So how did they get metal beads? The answer is hidden in one hieroglyph that means iron and can be translated as “metal from the sky.” The beads were probably made of meteorite material.

2. They invented toothpaste.

There are several proofs that the Egyptians have been producing toothpaste since 5000 BC. They used to produce powder consisting of various ingredients available to them (burned eggshells and pumice). But nowadays we don’t know the exact way to use such paste. We can only guess.

3. They used antibiotics in treatment.

Though antibiotics were officially invented in the 20th century, the doctors of ancient Egypt used moldy flatbread to cure festering wounds. And such medication worked well.

4. They formed the world’s first police.

The world’s first police force was formed during the Middle Kingdom period (years 2050-1800 BC). It included the most loyal warriors and foreign mercenaries. The Egyptian police were accompanied by dogs and monkeys. Officers protected temples and city squares, upper-class representatives, and caravans from criminals. They were just like modern policemen (but with monkeys).

5. They were the first to produce beer 

Most of us know that the workers who built the pyramids were paid with 4-5 liters of beer a day. So we can conclude that brewing was at a really good level. The Egyptians were one of the first to produce this drink.

6. Surgeons performed very difficult operations.

The ancient Egyptians possessed accurate and unique medicinal knowledge that could be compared to modern practices. Scientists who examined mummies found traces of some challenging operations: heart bypass surgeries, organ transplantation, and even plastic surgeries. Unfortunately, their knowledge has been lost, and we can’t say what ancient doctors would be able to do now.

7. They used door locks.

Door locks were created in Egypt and China, probably because such devices were needed. The more people who lived nearby, the more reasons neighbors found to lock their door. Egyptian wooden locks had a simple mechanism.

8. They bowled.

In one ancient settlement near Cairo, a playroom going back to 3200 BC with carved lanes and balls of various sizes with holes for fingers was found. The rules differed, but the game was still recognizable.

9. They treated eyes.

Eye infection was a common disease among the Egyptians. They used various (and sometimes strange) methods of treatment: sometimes they used bactericidal paint and remedies made of…human brains.

Here’s how one of the recipes looked: “Divide a human brain into 2 parts. Mix the first half with honey, and apply on the eye in the evening. Dry the second half, and apply in the morning.” Did it help? We don’t know.

source: brightside.me

Can you fill in the gaps in the sentences about the Egyptians?

1. They brew …… .

2. They extracted …… from meteorites.

3. The Egyptians have been producing …… since 5000 BC.

4. The …… protected temples and city squares.

5. They treated eye infection with a remedy made of …… .

6. They could …… with balls.

7. They cured festering wounds with …… .

8. Egyptian wooden …… had a simple mechanism.

9. Organ transplantation, and even plastic surgeries were performed by …… .

Key

1. beer 2. iron 3. toothpaste 4. police 5. human brains 6. bowl 7. antibiotics/moldy flatbread 8. locks 9. surgeons

DNA tests have proved that the pharaoh Akhenaten was the father of Tutankhamun, but the identity of his mother has long been a mystery. On Sunday, Egyptian officials and French archaeologist Alain Zivie unveiled Maia’s tomb to journalists ahead of its opening to the public next month. The tomb was discovered by Dr Zivie in 1996 in Saqqara, a necropolis about 20 kilometres south of Cairo.

Maia was the wet nurse of Tutankhamun, whose mummy was found in 1922 by renowned British Egyptologist Howard Carter in the Valley of Kings in Luxor along with a treasure trove of thousands of objects.

“Maia is none other than princess Meritaten, the sister or half-sister of Tutankhamun and the daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti,” Dr Zivie said. He said his conclusion was based on the carvings of Tutankhamun and Maia on the walls of Maia’s tomb. “The extraordinary thing is that they are very similar. They have the same chin, the eyes, the family traits,” he said. “The carvings show Maia sitting on the royal throne and he is sitting on her lap,” said Dr Zivie, director of the French Archaeological Mission of Bubasteion.

Similar carvings were in Akhenaten’s tomb at the Tel el-Amarna archaeological site in modern-day Minya province where the pharaoh had his capital city, he said.

A DNA analysis in 2010 revealed that Tutankhamun was the son of Akhenaten, who temporarily converted ancient Egypt to monotheism by imposing the cult of sun god Aton.

The tomb of Akhenaten has carvings showing the death of princess Maketaten, the second daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, Dr Zivie said. “In these scenes there is a woman who is breastfeeding a baby, and this woman shown as a wet nurse is princess Meritaten, the eldest daughter of Akhenaten,” he said.

The mummy of Meritaten has not been found, but Antiquities Minister Mamduh al-Damati said on Sunday it could be in a secret chamber in Tutankhamun’s tomb. Archaeologists are currently scanning Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of Kings after British archaeologist Nicholas Reeves claimed that it has a secret chamber. Dr Reeves says the chamber could be the burial site of Nefertiti, whose mummy also has not been found. “All these possibilities exist. Step by step we will be able to better understand the time of king Tutankhamun,” Mr Damati said.

Tutankhamun died more than 3,000 years ago aged 19 in 1324 BC after reigning for nine years.

source: AFP News Agency, www.abc.net.au

Listen to the article and then decide if the statements are TRUE or FALSE.

1)      An Egyptian statue started moving on its own after 80 years.                                      T/F
2)      The curse of Neb-Senu caused the death of more than 20 people.                               T/F
3)      The mysterious statue slowly rotates in circles all day and night long.                         T/F
4)      Scientists have no explanation yet for this strange phenomenon.                                 T/F
5)      Some believe the statue moves due to the vibrations caused by visitors’ footsteps.       T/F

Answers: 1) T, 2) F, 3) F, 4) F, 5) T

Is this ancient Egyptian statue a sign that there really is a curse of the Pharaohs?

Relic of the god of death found inside mummy’s tomb and kept in museum for 80 years starts spinning on its own. The curse of Tutankhamen is said to have claimed more than 20 lives. By contrast, the curse of Neb-Senu amounts to little more than an occasional inconvenience for museum curators. Over several days, the ten-inch Egyptian statuette gradually rotates to face the rear of the locked glass cabinet in which it is displayed, and has to be turned around again by hand. Those who like tales of haunted pyramids and walking mummies may regard the mystery of the 4,000-year-old relic – an offering to Osiris, god of the dead – as the strangest thing to hit Egyptology in decades. Others, including TV physicist Professor Brian Cox, have a more down-to-earth explanation for its movement. Whatever the solution, the puzzle certainly won’t dent visitor numbers at its present home, Manchester Museum. The statuette’s slow about-turn has been captured on film by a time-lapse camera, and curator Campbell Price, 29, says he believes there may be a spiritual explanation. ‘I noticed one day that it had turned around,’ he said. ‘I thought it was strange because it is in a case and I am the only one who has a key. ‘I put it back, but then the next day it had moved again.  ‘In Ancient Egypt they believed that if the mummy is destroyed then the statuette can act as an alternative vessel for the spirit. Maybe that is what is causing the movement.’ The statue, made by one Neb-Senu in about 1800BC, was donated to the museum in 1933, and had been reassuringly immobile for most of that time. However Mr Price and his colleagues are now used to finding it facing the rear of its case – perhaps significantly, displaying a prayer on the back requesting ‘bread, beer, oxen and fowl’. Their video has recorded it rotating to its left over the course of three days until facing backwards. Even more mysteriously, it appears to spin only during daylight hours, and does not turn beyond 180 degrees. Some, including Professor Cox, have suggested that vibrations caused by the footsteps of passing visitors makes the statuette turn on its glass shelf. Mr Price said: ‘Brian thinks it’s “differential friction” where two surfaces, the stone of the statuette and glass shelf it is on, cause a subtle vibration which is making the statuette turn. But it has been on those surfaces since we have had it and it has never moved before. ‘And why would it go around in a perfect circle? It would be great if someone could solve the mystery.’

source: dailymail.co.uk

curse– átok
relic – ereklye
mummy – múmia
tomb – sír
to spin – pörögni, megfordulni
to claim – (itt) követelni
to amount to – (itt) jelenteni valamit
occasional – időnkénti
inconvenience – kellemetlenség
rear – hátsó
to display – kiállítani, (be)mutatni
haunted – kísértet járta
to regard – tekinteni/ tartani valamit valaminek
to dent – csorbát ejteni valamin
to notice – észrevenni
case – búra, tok, tartó
to destroy – elpusztítani, tönkretenni
vessel – hordozó, edény
spirit – szellem, lélek
to cause – okozni
to donate – adományozni
reassuringly – megnyugtatóan
immobile – mozdulatlan
to face – szembenézni
significantly – jelentősen
prayer – ima
to request – kérni
oxen – ökör
fowl – baromfi
mysteriously – rejtélyesen, titokzatosan
to appear – tűnni
differential friction – differenciális súrlódás
subtle – finom, visszafogott
to solve – megoldani, megfejteni