GLOSSARY

acacia A small, thorny tree. Some types of acacia grow particularly well in dry, desert regions.

alabaster A whitish stone that is quite soft and easily carved. The Egyptians used it to make many beautiful objects.

amulet A lucky charm, worn to protect a person from evil.

carnelian A reddish stone used by the Egyptians to make jewellery.

clerestory window A window set high in a wall to let in some light. Only big houses had windows – most people’s houses were very dark inside to keep them cool.

deben A measurement of what things were worth. There was no money in ancient Egypt – people bought things with grain or just swapped one item for another. But they estimated how much things were worth in deben, usually of copper. Gold was much more valuable.

Djeba (You say ‘Jay-ba’) This is one of the ancient names for the site of the cult temple of Horus, south of Waset. Today it is called Edfu. (See the section on Egypt’s temples.)

doum palm A kind of palm tree that grows along the River Nile. Its fruits are much bigger than dates (which grow on a different kind of palm), and many have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs. (Sometimes written dom or doom palm.)

emmer wheat The type of wheat that was grown in ancient Egypt. Barley was the other main food crop.

frankincense A kind of tree resin that was used to make incense and perfumes.

hieratic A shorthand version of hieroglyphics, which simplified the hieroglyphs to make them quicker to write.

hieroglyphics The system of ancient Egyptian picture writing. Each individual picture is called a hieroglyph.

Imhotep A very famous architect, doctor and engineer who lived in the Old Kingdom, about 1,400 years before the time of Isis and Hopi. He was so clever that later Egyptians worshipped him as a god. No wonder Tutmose thought it was a good name to choose!

lapis lazuli A deep blue semi-precious stone that the Egyptians valued highly. It wasn’t found in Egypt, but had to be imported from modern-day Afghanistan.

limestone Along with sandstone, this was a rock commonly found in Egypt and used to build the many temples (but not houses, which were made of mud brick).

lotus Lotus flowers were actually blue water lilies that grew along the Nile. Their flowers open in the morning and close at night, so they were seen as a symbol of the rising and setting sun, and the cycle of creation. They were used in perfume, and were believed to have healing powers, too.

ma’at The ancient Egyptian principle of divine justice and order. The principle was represented by a goddess of the same name.

mercenary Someone who hires himself out as a soldier. Unlike most soldiers, who fight for their country or government, mercenaries fight for whoever is paying them.

myrrh A kind of tree sap or resin that has a powerful smell. The ancient Egyptians used it to make incense and to perfume their oils.

Next World The place ancient Egyptians believed they would go after death. It would be better than this world, of course, but quite similar – which was why they needed to take their bodies and many possessions with them.

obelisk A tall, narrow granite spike that was often erected in temples.

ostracon (pl. ostraca) A small piece of pottery or a flake of limestone used as ‘scrap paper’ for writing on.

papyrus A kind of reed that used to grow in the marshes alongside the Nile, especially in the Delta region to the north. It was made into many things – mats, baskets, sandals and even boats – but it is most famous for the flat sheets of ‘paper’ made from it, which are named after the reed.

pharaoh The ancient Egyptian term for their king. It was only used by the Egyptians themselves in the later stages of their history, but we now use it to refer to any ancient Egyptian king.

prow The front of a boat.

scarab A kind of dung beetle that was worshipped by the Egyptians. Scarab amulets were thought to give great protection. The scarab was the creature of the god Khepri (see the Gods and Goddesses section).

stern The back of a boat.

temple Temples were a very important focus for the ancient Egyptian religion. There were cult temples for the worship of a particular god, and mortuary temples for the worship of a king after his death. (See the section on Egypt’s Temples.)

turquoise A green-blue semi-precious stone that was mined by the Egyptians in Sinai. They used it to make beautiful objects, inlays and jewellery.