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What other things can you find from Ancient Egypt in the drawers
Ancient Egypt - Teacher notes
and cabinets in the Treasures Gallery?
In the ‘Powerful’ section of Treasures, there is a case with a dragon plate. Open the
drawer underneath this case and you will find three authentic shabtis. Shabtis were
small models that would come to life to become a servant once the mummy reached In order for the children to get the most out of the trail, it is suggested that the trail group
the afterlife. Each shabti is inscribed with a spell written in hieroglyphs, which are further split into smaller groups (as many as the number of adults you have brought
enabled the shabti to answer when the deceased was called to work in the fields in will allow). This means that each smaller group will start and end at a different point in the
the afterlife. The shabti would undertake the hard ploughing and sowing in place of trail to ensure that viewing the cases does not get overcrowded.
the deceased. The name ‘shabti’ means ‘answerer’. The more shabtis the deceased had
with them in their coffin, the higher their status. The sections of the trail that are in different galleries are labelled and numbered on the
trail and the trail map. Where sections of the trail relate to cases in the gallery these are
Personal - Amulets labelled on the map with the case name.
Can you find the amulets? This trail is intended for teachers and adult group leaders. It includes all the questions and
tasks that appear on the children’s trail, along with answers and extra notes for further
They are number 6 in the case with the teddy bear.
information and discussion. You may find that at the end of the trail, or once back in
What do you think an amulet is? school, a plenary session bringing the whole class together to talk briefly about what they
have found out is useful.
Amulets were lucky charms that were put in coffins because the Ancient Egyptians
believed they would protect the owner from bad spells. Different amulets could
provide the protection of different gods. This trail focuses on objects and artworks in History Lab, What on Earth! and Treasures.
Can you find the Eye of Horus amulet?
This amulet is the green amulet with an eye. 1. History Lab
When mummifying a body, embalmers would make a cut in the deceased’s body in
order to extract organs. The Eye of Horus charm was put over the cut in the side of History Lab timeline
the mummy’s body so that evil spirits could not harm the body. Horus was a god; the
eye represents the moon. What year was the height of Egyptian Civilisation?
Draw the Eye of Horus here. 3000BC 1000BC 2000BC
There is an object in here that helped protect the heart of the
mummy as it journeyed to the afterlife. Can you find it?
It is number 5 in the timeline case. This is the winged heart scarab. It was placed over
Which shaped amulet do you think represents the heart? the heart of the mummy to protect it in its journey to the afterlife. The heart was very
Draw it here. important as it was weighed against a feather when the mummy was called before the
god Osiris. Only those with a heart that wasn’t weighed down by bad deeds and so was
lighter than the feather could pass through to the afterlife and the Field of Reeds.
Carefully draw this object.
Look out for other Ancient Egyptian things in other parts of the
museum.
2. What on Earth!
Look for these objects. Match each one with the reason why the
Ancient Egyptians put them in their tombs.
Power of Nature
shabti to make sure the spirit didn’t
The Scarab Beetle is also know as the Dung Beetle. In the ’Power of get hungry
Nature’ pod you can see if you are as strong as a Dung Beetle. Have
a go at ‘pushing the poo!’ statuette to be a servant
Draw a Dung Beetle here.
bread jar & bread to protect your body and
spirit in the afterlife
Scarab dung beetles lay eggs in their dung. As they push their dung around, the eggs Rich people buried their dead with lots of objects that they thought they would need
hatch and baby beetles jump out. This led the Ancient Egyptians to believe that the to live a successful and happy life in the afterlife and to protect them on the journey
dung beetle was capable of spontaneous reproduction. The Ancient Egyptians thought there. There is a replica of a shabti that children can touch in this area of the display.
that the action of the beetle rolling the dung was like the sun rising and setting in the
sky. The Ancient Egyptians believed in a sun god, Khepri, who pushed the sun across the Personal - Egyptian Mummies
sky. He was represented as a scarab or dung beetle, or as a man with a beetle head.
The cartonage is the wooden case that the mummy lies inside.
Look carefully at the outside of the case. Can you find the
3. Treasures following pictures?
Personal - Treasures of the Tomb snake bird person dog
The Mummies inside the Cartonages at Weston Park Museum are
What can you find in here that would help an Egyptian look their called Nesitanebetasheru and Djedma’atiuesankh. For short, they
best in the afterlife? are called Nesita. and Djedma’at.
1. Comb (in the forth lift up panel) 2. Necklace (number 4 in the case) Nesita (standing) dates from 720-663 BC and is the daughter of Shepi and Nesi Amon.
3. Kohl (eye make up) (number 3 in the case) She was middle-aged when she died and probably had children. Her skeleton shows
signs of arthritis but her skin was virtually intact and her teeth were in excellent
What would you take to the afterlife to help you look good? condition when she died. The cause of her death is not known. Her painted tomb is
made of layers of linen soaked in gum and coarse plaster. On her outer coffin is an
_____________________________________________________ image of the Weighing of the Heart ceremony.
Dead people were expected to continue living a normal life and so the Ancient Djedma’at dates from around the same time, 720-650 BC and is believed to have been
Egyptians sent them on their way with many things from the living world that they a priestess. She is wrapped in many metres of linen bandages and encased in a
thought would be useful. Some people were buried with furniture so that they would wooden coffin decorated with painted figures and hieroglyphs representing scenes of
be comfortable and their mummified pets so they wouldn’t be lonely. Often clothes, mummification, prayers and funeral offerings. Some of the hieroglyphs tell us that her
musical instruments, beds and board games were buried with them. father’s name was Peres. Body scans of her show that she was about 14 when she died.
People also wanted their dead to be able to look good in the afterlife, in the same way Nesita. is lying down and Djedma’at. is standing up, now choose
that they did in the living world. The comb, necklace and kohl, would have all been
used by people before they died and were thought to be important for them to have in
part of one case to draw carefully.
the next life.
