Year 7 - Literacy and Life: Ancient Egypt

Find out how the Nile River and its resources sustained daily life, enhanced the Pharaoh's power, led to the development of writing and provided a vital transport and communications link which unified the nation for thousands of years.

Topics covered include: geography; time-line; archaeology; mummification; pyramids and tombs; the after-life; the Pharaoh; marriage and family; personal appearance; the home; furnishings; food and social life; peasants & agriculture; craft; scribes; transport; religious life.

Egyptians conducted trade with people in Africa, the Mediterranean and across the Red Sea. But there were also conflicts with neighbours. Two key military campaigns - the Battle of Megiddo and the Battle of Kadesh - led by Thutmose III and Ramesses II are vividly explored in this program.

From the building of the pyramids and temples to their vast trading system, these early people did much to advance civilisation. Their intricate system of writing symbols and letters - hieroglyphics - mystified archaeologists until the discovery and translation of the Rosetta Stone. Children will learn about the importance of the Nile in daily life, the lives of kings, craftsmen and farmers, and the legacy of Egyptian art and architecture that still inspires people today.