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 Life
in ancient Egypt was focused around the Nile River, which runs
from south to north, finally flowing into the Mediterranean Sea.
A prosperous life continued here for centuries due to the yearly
floods that deposited rich silt on the valley floor, fertilizing
the fields of the farmers.
The Greek historian, Herodotus, called this fertile land, "the
gift of the Nile," for it was the Nile that gave it life.
At its widest point, the narrow valley measured 20 miles across.
Egypt's confinement to this valley and its need to control the
seasonal flow of the river determined its technical and cultural
development.
Prior to 3000 B.C., there is evidence that other cultures lived
along the Nile River, however they did not know about metals;
only small pottery fragments were found. Gradually, over time,
these small isolated communities came together to form larger
cities, and the foundation for a complex and efficient new society
had formed.
Improvements to what was already becoming part of society continued
to be developed: the creation of bricks made of stone, the ability
to navigate on water, the invention of the wheel for land travel,
the harnessing of animals for heavy work, and the training of
donkeys to carry man.
In ancient times, Egypt was called Ta-Meri or Kemet,
"the black land." The name "Egypt" was never used by Egyptians,
it was derived from Aigyptos, the Greek word for Hut-ka-Ptah,
the ancient name for the city of Memphis, the capital city of
the first Dynasty.
Egypt has one of the world's longest and best-preserved histories
for a variety of reasons: climate, the belief in an "afterlife,"
and historical intrigue. It is because of these that through historical
interpretation, we can better understand the ancient tradition
of art and architecture that lasted over 3,000 years.
The dry climate of Egypt allowed even the most fragile of cloth
and wood to be preserved. The ancient form of writing called hieroglyphics
allowed information to be recorded.
Due to the belief in an afterlife, every aspect of a person's
daily life was reproduced and sealed within the burial chambers
to greet the deceased again in their second life. This custom
has served as a valuable window to seeing Egyptian life as it
was.
And finally, a continuous fascination with Egyptian culture by
historians and explorers has put together a picture of the life
of this time period.
The Lithographs of France sparked interest in the ancient
culture of Egypt. Under the direction of Napoleon Bonaparte,
the French army occupied Egypt in 1798-1799 A.D. Teams of scientists
were sent to study every aspect of the country. Since photography
had not yet been invented, pictorial information was recorded
first by drawings, then sent back to France to be copied for lithographs.
Lithographs are prints made by drawing with a grease pencil
on a stone slab and inking the slab so the ink adheres to the
grease, finally pressing paper on the slab through a press to
print the image. These prints were published in a four-volume
book in 1809 - Description of Egypt - and circulated
throughout France and Europe. Much of the future exploration of
Egypt was inspired by these visual records.
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 The
translating of a symbolic language made it possible to
understand the culture.
In 1799 A.D., a stone slab containing Greek, hieroglyphs, and
a form of writing called Demotic (evolved from hieroglyphs),
was found by Captain Bouchard in a town called Rosetta in Upper
Egypt - The Rosetta Stone. Thirty-two years later, the
stone was deciphered by Jean Francois Champollion. It was discovered
that some hieroglyphs are read as pictures of the objects they
represent, and others are syllables used to construct words.
With this discovery, ancient writing could now be deciphered.
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