Ancient Egypt Detectives

Key Stage: 2

National Curriculum Length of session: Subject Area/s: 1 hour and 30 minutes History, geography, potential for cross-curricular work Max group size: 30 pupils plus 3 supporting adults

Session outline Learning Outcomes

In this interactive session pupils use • Appreciation that Ancient Egyptians evidence in the Egypt Galleries to were real people discover more about life and beliefs in Ancient Egypt . • Knowledge and understanding of how archaeologists use clues left Activity 1:What can we learn from behind by ancient people to discover archaeological evidence? more about their lives and beliefs • How did the early Ancient Egyptians including the afterlife. live? What did they eat? What would they have needed in their daily • Reflection on similarities and life? Pupils search for clues in the differences between life in Ancient gallery, to discover how the Ancient Egypt and today in England. Egyptians looked, lived and worked.

Activity 2: Three Powerful Egyptians. • Awareness of the skills developed • Pupils take on the role of detectives by craftspeople in Ancient Egypt to explore Ancient Egyptian sculpture, buildings and objects to • Improved observation, speaking find out more about these people’s and reasoning skills life and beliefs. • Pupils will handle original artefacts to discover more about life in Ancient Egypt.

Activity 3: Who’s Who? Detective Game • Pupils will use evidence boxes to figure out which powerful Egyptian’s belongings they have in their box.

Activity 4: Draw and review. What new discoveries have we made today about life in Ancient Egypt? What skills have we used to help us find out more?

For more information and to book: Education Department Ashmolean Museum Beaumont Street Oxford OX1 2PH T. 01865 278015 E. [email protected] Pre visit activities Post visit activities Resources

• Make your name in a cartouche • Write and present a mini The following resources are available to written in hieroglyphs. You could documentary about the similarities download on our website: wear it as a name badge when you / differences between us and the www.ashmolean.org/learning- visit. Ancient Egyptians. resources • Make a jigsaw showing Egypt in • Create a glossy magazine showing Africa. the latest trends in clothes, hairstyles • Various images from the Ashmolean Ancient Egyptian collections • Design and make Egyptian gods and and jewellery for the fashion goddesses ‘Top Trumps’ cards. conscious Ancient Egyptian person. • A selection of trails and activity sheets • Create a mind map of ‘Everything • Find out more about Egyptian you know about Ancient Egypt’ games, music and dancing. You • Information sheet: Taharqa ancient Egyptian pharoah in 690 - 664BC • Choose 5 objects you would like could create your own Egyptian an archaeologist to discover in a performance. thousand years’ time. If this were the • Read and discuss the story of Other useful websites: only evidence they had about you, Taharqa, an Ancient Egyptian • Pitt Rivers Museum: www.prm.ox.ac. what might they think? pharaoh. uk/AnimalMummification • Draw like an Egyptian. Research • British Museum: www.ancientegypt. Egyptian artistic styles and create a co.uk tomb painting to show an aspect of life in Ancient Egypt. • Egypt Centre: www.swan.ac.uk/ egypt/ • Research, design (and cook!) an Egyptian menu.

The mummy of Djeddjehutyiewefankh, an Egyptian priest, who was buried at Deir el-Bahri in around 700BC. He was buried in a set of three nested coffins which are on display in Gallery 24 ‘Life and death in Ancient Egypt.’ Here he lies in his inner coffin.