Ancient Facts: Egypt

When it comes to an intriguing past, ancient Egypt is known for many interesting facts regarding the history and culture of the people who buried their dead in elaborate tombs and built the Great Pyramids. In this article, you will learn fascinating trivia regarding the ancient civilization of Egypt, who is known for worshipping various gods, such as Ra, who was associated with the sun.

Ancient Egyptians were known to sleep on pillows made up of stone.

About 300 yeas ago, most Egyptians did not live past their 30th birthday.

A golden razor that originated in King Tut’s tomb was actually still sharp enough for use.

The clothing of the ancient Egyptians was on the whole , quite practical and uncomplicated. The main style of dress utilized folded linen. Over a time frame of 3,000 years, their choice in clothing changed very little. A variety of linen thicknesses were used to fashion the clothing, while the finest threads relied on linen that resembled “semi-transparent gossamer.” The robe was a favorite for Egyptian men, while they typically wore white linen wrap-over kilts (or skirts) that ended between the thigh and ankle.

Upon uncovering the length of bandages on some discovered mummies, archeologists were surprised to find that some measured 1.5 miles long.

Did you know that Cleopatra was married to two of her brothers?

In 2000 BCE, the first known contraceptive was created by the Egyptians and comprised of crocodile dung.

A tadpole represents the Egyptian hieroglyph for 100,000.

The Egyptian city of Alexandria was discovered by none other than Alexander the Great in 331 BCE.

Jewelry was a popular form of expression for the ancient Egyptians, which included an assortment of neck collars fashioned from gold, glass, clay beads, and semi-precious stones. It was also common to see ancient Egyptians displaying amulets.

At the time of the pharaoh, Ramses II death in 1225 BCE, he was father to 111 sons and 67 daughters.

It was tough being a surgeon during ancient Egyptian times, as in the event that a patients was lost in the middle of an operation, his hands were chopped off.

Sometimes, it took the Egyptians up to 70 days when they prepared the body of a mummy. In the case of Egyptian noblewomen, they were not prepared for burial until a couple of day after their death.

In reading the text of the Greek historian named Herodotus, it was believed that Egyptian men never lost all of their hair. The reason was stated that a process that took place during childhood was the cause. Egyptian males had their heads shaved, where their scalps were constantly in contact with the rays of the sun, which were thought to contain healthy elements. Around 1500 BCE, Egypt viewed a shaved head as the highest of all feminine qualities. At the time, women made it a practice to remove every hair from their head with the use of specialized tweezers made of gold. Afterwards, they would polish their scalps and produced a high sheen with a buffing cloth.