Abydos to Batley: Tracing Ancient Egypt
About the workshop
- Where?: Bagshaw Museum
- Who?: KS2
- National curriculum area: KS2 History: "students should study the achievements of the earliest civilizations".
- Cost: £260 (full day visit from 10am - 2:30pm). Half day £155 (2 hours)
From Abydos to Batley: The West Yorkshire link
Ancient Egypt
Around 6000 BC, people began to settle around the area now known as Egypt. The River Nile provided arable soil for farming due to regular flooding, as well as food such as fish and resources due to good transport links.
The first Pharaoh (king) ruled Egypt around 3100 BC, beginning a civilisation which would last over 3000 years. This can be broken up into different periods:
- Early Dynastic Period (3100 to 2575 BC) - First use of hieroglyphics.
- Old Kingdom (2575 to 2150 BC) - Known as the Age of the Pyramids.
- First Intermediate Period (2130 to 1938 BC).
- Middle Kingdom (1938 to 1630 BC) - A cultural transformation of art and entertainment.
- Second Intermediate Period (1630 to 1540 BC).
- New Kingdom (1540 to 1075 BC) - Tutankhamun reigned for 10 years during this period.
- Third Intermediate Period (1075 to 656 BC) - A time of drought and famine.
- Late Period (656 to 332 BC) - Invaders took control of Egypt, under King Darius I.
- Macedonian and Ptolemaic Egypt (332 - 30 BC) - Alexander the Great conquered Egypt, before the Romans took over in BC 30.
Local links
Amelia Oldroyd was the daughter of a Batley mill-owning family, and member of the Egypt Exploration Fund. Many of the objects in the collection were originally collected during excavations by the Egypt Exploration Fund, and went to Ripon and Dewsbury Museums first, before finding their home at Bagshaw Museum. Many of the objects came from Abydos in Egypt, a site linked to the cult of Osiris.
The Cult of Osiris
Osiris was a god who was made King of Egypt by Ra, the Sun God. Isis was his wife. He was popular with the Egyptian people and taught them many things including how to farm. He made laws for the country and encouraged his people to worship the gods.
Osiris had a brother, Seth, who was jealous of him. He plotted to kill him at an elaborate banquet, planning to trick Osiris by trapping him in a wooden chest, before murdering him. It worked, and Seth declared himself king. This angered Osiris' wife, who vowed to find the chest and Osiris' body. To prevent this, Seth found the body and tore into many pieces. It took her many years to find all the pieces, but eventually Isis wrapped them together and used her power to revive Osiris. His son, Horus, came to rule and eventually avenged his fathers murder.
What to expect on the day:
- Archaeological excavation: Students will investigate evidence from the other archaeological excavation to uncover details about the daily life of Ancient Egyptians, considering the roles and occupations of the time.
- Object handling: Students will handle original Egyptian artefacts.
- Explore the Kingdom of Osiris gallery: Students will explore the Kingdom of Osiris gallery, completing an activity looking at the importance of the Nile, beliefs about death and the daily life of Ancient Egyptians.
- Activity room: Students can dress and write like an Egyptian, producing their own papyrus cartouche bookmark by spelling out their name in hieroglyphs.
- Mummification workshop: Pupils will learn about the many stages of mummification.
Learning outcomes
This full day workshop will develop students' substantive knowledge of the period. Students will compare different roles and occupations in Ancient Egypt, understand more about Egyptian beliefs on life and death and consider the importance of mummification in Ancient Egyptian society.
This will be achieved through disciplinary skills, as students become archaeologists, formulating their own interpretations through the fragments of artefacts that remain.
