ANCIENT EGYPTIAN TOMBS AND THE STRANGE THINGS FOUND INSIDE THEM.

• Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a collection of mummified cats that are thought to be 4000 years old. Cats had a special significance in Egyptian culture, they believed cats were magical creatures, capable of bringing good luck to the people who housed them. The Egyptian word for cats is Mau.                                                                                                                                                    

                                   

• Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the Pharaoh-est of them all? Some ancient Egyptians put makeup kits in their tombs; used by both men and women, rich and poor. The most famous cosmetic was the eyeliner which was a popular fashion at the time. The ancient Egyptians regarded beauty as a sign of holiness.

• In 1922 Tutankhamun's tomb was opened, also known as King Tut for short. It was the first tomb to be found almost intact, it contained 5398 artifacts including 2 thrones, 6 chariots, a solid gold burial mask, a makeup bag, a wig, a perfume box, and a coffin holding his mummy. King Tut must have been pretty hungry for a dead guy too, there were also 100 baskets filled with barley, figs, grapes, melons, and more tasty treats. He also loved a glass of wine, as evidenced by the many jars of it in his tomb. There was a rumor that when the tomb was opened it released an ancient curse. 

• Think King Tut was extravagant? Well, Pharaoh Khufu was buried with a boat. When his grave was uncovered near the Great Pyramid at Giza, archaeologists uncovered more than 1200 pieces of a giant boat nearby. Today, they have reassembled the pieces into a 144 feet long ship, which is now on display in Egypt. 

• We have all played the game of monopoly that felt like it lasted a lifetime... Well, in ancient Egypt they liked to play board games in the afterlife too. Many uncovered tombs showed how those who recently passed were stocked up with board games. One really popular game was called Senet, translated to "passing". 

• To live on in their afterlife, the deceased had to have their body parts buried with them, but their organs were removed during mummification, so priests stuck four organs,(liver, stomach, lungs, and intestines) in jars like these...

       There was no jar for the heart; the Egyptians believed it to be the seat of the soul, so it was left inside the body. Each organ was placed in a special jar with a top representing an animal or human head.

1) Imsety had a human head that protected the liver.

2) Qebehsenuf had the head of a Falcon that guarded the intestines.

3) Hapy had a Baboon head that secured the lungs.

4) Duamatef had the head of a Jackal and safeguarded the stomach.

• Every good Pharaoh needed servants in the afterlife, but instead of burying a real-life servant in the tomb with them, they would bury small model figurines called Ushabti. It was thought that Ushabti would come alive to serve their kings in the afterlife.