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How did the ancient Egyptian civilisation start?

Two people in an Ancient Egyptian tomb.

The ancient Egyptian civilisation began 5,000 years ago when people started building villages next to the River Nile in north-east Africa. It lasted for around 3,000 years.

Two people in an Ancient Egyptian tomb.
A hand writing hieroglyphs on papyrus.

The river was an important source of water in a hot and dry desert landscape.

The ancient Egyptians were able to grow lots of crops like wheat, barley, fruit and vegetables. They also grew flax to make clothes and papyrus to make paper.

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Watch: Introducing the ancient Egyptians

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What鈥檚 known about the ancient Egyptians?

The ancient Egyptians were experts at farming and construction because they were very inventive.

They invented a solar calendar (a calendar based on the sun) and a writing system called hieroglyphs.

The ancient Egyptians were ruled by kings and queens were called pharaohs. Religion was an important part of their civilisation. They worshipped over 2,000 gods and goddesses!

The ancient Egyptians also believed in a never-ending afterlife. They thought it was more important than their life on Earth, so they spent a lot of time planning for their death.

The ancient Egyptians preserved the bodies of important people through mummification. They built special tombs to be buried in, which they filled with all their favourite things. Some pharaohs built their tombs in the shape of giant pyramids.

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What were the pyramids?

The pyramids are giant tombs. Each side is triangular, and they meet in a point at the top. The most famous is the Great Pyramid of Giza at 480 feet high made from 2.3 million large blocks.

The Great Pyramid of Giza is around 4,600 years old. It was the tallest human-made structure in the world for 3,800 years.

After it was finished, it was covered in white limestone. There were three chambers and two entrances. However, the inside was looted (robbed) and nothing remains except for some large sarcophagi (coffins) of the early pharaohs.

The Great Pyramid was part of a group of pyramids outside Giza, which also included the Great Sphinx.

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What was happening in Britain?

Illustration showing that during Ancient Egypt (3100BC - 332BC) the Late Stone Age to Mid Iron Age was taking place in Britain.
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Activities

Activity 1: Explore ancient Egyptian artefacts

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 8, A photo of five mummified cats, wrapped up in intricate patterns, Mummified cats Ancient Egyptians thought cats were very special. They wanted to take their cats with them into the afterlife so they often mummified them and put them in their tombs.
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Activity 2: Quiz 鈥 Introduction to Ancient Egypt

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Activity 3: Make your own pyramid treasure tomb

Make your own pyramid treasure tomb

Download our pyramid treasure tomb template. Follow our step-by-step guide to make your own pyramid. What secrets will you bury inside?

Make your own pyramid treasure tomb
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Activity 4: History Explorer game

Play this game to test your knowledge and learn even more facts about Ancient Egypt.

History Explorer: Secrets through time

History Explorer: Secrets through time: KS2 History

History Explorer: Secrets through time
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Teaching resources

There are more teaching resources available on 成人快手 Teach. These short animated videos explore Ancient Egypt. There are five films devoted to key themes - such as the River Nile and Gods and goddesses.

成人快手 Teach has thousands of free, curriculum-linked resources to help deliver lessons - all arranged by subject and age group.

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Bitesize Primary games. game

Play fun and educational primary games in science, maths, English, history, geography, art, computing and modern languages.

Bitesize Primary games
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