One thing typifies ideas of Ancient Egypt – if not always in reality, then certainly in the public’s consciousness: the monumental scale. This civilisation of the North African sands is renowned for its pyramids, obelisks, and tombs, all hewn from local sandstone. It’s hard to step beyond their imposing shadows.
Yet these stone monuments, however magnificently arranged, don’t always illuminate the fleeting aspects of civilisation – it’s daily culture and living language. Five thousand years later, the ‘true’ Ancient Egyptians can be difficult to envision.
Golden Paint
Much of our stereotypical image of what Egyptians wore comes from entertainment. Antony and Cleopatra (1972) depicted the pharaoh in silks and trinkets. Even Antony, decked in a chestplate, glowed in teal and gold. This set future projects alight. The Cleopatra in the casino slot of the same name dons a headdress of emerald and amethyst; it’s included among around eight Cleopatra slot games at Paddy’s, all of which show the riches of the now-fallen kingdom. Of course, the golden paint of Anck-Su-Namun in The Mummy (1999) was both a luxury and a trap for the wife of Seti I, revealing her treachery when it was smeared.
Had the Ancient Egyptians discovered some inexhaustible well of molten gold? The reality is that Egypt was likely quite different from Hollywood’s most extravagant imaginings. While pharaohs certainly commanded the finest treasures (especially in death), the materials of everyday life were far more mundane.
Life in the Worker’s Village
King Tut’s death mask contains a stone that Forbes says may have come from outer space. In contrast, most Egyptians were more likely to encounter items made of linen, woven from flax – a plant better known today from producing linseed oil used in paint, rather than for its delicate light blue flowers.
Houses were constructed from mud brick, with appliances built directly into the structure. An Egyptian wanting to preserve vegetables would simply dig a cooling hole in the ground.
Few visitors to North Africa seek out the mud-brick ruins of these forgotten communities, though it’s entirely possible. Deir el-Medina, known as the ‘Worker’s Village’ or ‘Valley of the Artisans,’ housed the craftsmen who built the famous Valley of the Kings. The ExploreLuxor website claims these builders had an unusual job: to ensure the secrecy of the Valley in the wake of tomb robberies at other sites.
Deir el-Medina
Deir El Medina may lack the grandeur of a pyramid, but for students of Ancient Egyptian architecture, it represents a crucial destination. This planned city of seventy houses – a rarity in its time – was commissioned by Pharaoh Amenhotep I and includes numerous tombs. The site underwent several excavations between 1905 and 1940, coincidentally during the same period when British archaeologist Howard Carter was awakening King Tut from his millennia-long slumber.
This reveals a fundamental contradiction in Ancient Egyptian society that resonates today: from mud-brick dwellings to monolithic palaces, from humble quarters to towering monuments, human hierarchy has always made archaeology endlessly fascinating.
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