Glossary
AD: Abbreviation for anno Domini {Latin: in the year of the Lord}. Indicating years numbered from the supposed year of the birth of Christ.
afterlife: The time of life after death, part of the ancient Egyptians' spiritual beliefs.
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amulet: A charm or piece of jewellery worn as protection against evil
ankh: A symbol that meant life; a cross with a loop at the top. It was carried by gods and pharaohs. Later, the ankh was adopted as a Christian symbol.
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Ba: An Egyptian word for a person's spirit, rather like the word soul.
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B.C.: Abbreviation for Before Christ. Indicating years numbered back from the supposed year of the birth of Christ.
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B.C.E: Abbreviation for Before Common Era, used especially by non-Christians in numbering years B.C.
Black Land: The fertile soil in the River Nile valley and delta. The Egyptians called this land kemet.
Book of the Dead: In ancient Egypt, a collection of magic spells that was painted inside coffins or on a roll of papyrus left in a tomb. These spells were intended to help the dead person on their perilous journey to the next world, the underworld.
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branding: making a permanent mark on the skin with a piece of hot iron.
c.: Abbreviation for century or centuries.
ca.: Abbreviation for circa. {Latin: about}
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canopic jars: Small jars for storing the organs of a dead person when the body was mummified. Also known as visceral jars.
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cartonnage: A material similar to papier mâché, made from scraps of linen or papyrus, gummed together with plaster or resin. In ancient Egypt, cartonnage was sometimes used to make mummy cases and mummy masks.
cartouche: An oval shape surrounding the pair of hieroglyphs depicting the name of a pharaoh.
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cataract: Stretch of rapids interrupting the flow of the Nile, caused by areas of granite interspersed in the Nubian sandstone belt. There are six numbered and several minor cataracts between Aswan and Khartum. All are hazards to navigation. The second Cataract, the most formidable, was impassable except during the annual inundation. Cataracts 1-4 and the Dal Cataract were political frontiers at different times.
See a map showing cataracts in Egypt
catacomb: An underground cemetery, often in the form of a series of tunnels with recesses used as tombs.
civilisation: An organised society that has developed social customs, government, technology and the arts.
crook: a stick with a curved top carried by a god or pharaoh to symbolise kingship.
delta: A triangular piece of land where a river begins branching off from its mouth.
demotic script: A form of writing that developed from hieratic script from 700 BC onwards. It was used for administration and business.
dynasty: A ruling family. Thirty-one dynasties ruled ancient Egypt during its long history.
Egyptologist: A special kind of archaeologist who finds out about how people lived in ancient Egypt by studying the things they left behind.
embalm: To preserve a dead body by treating it with scented oils and spices.
embalmer: A person who treats a dead body with spices and oils to stop it decaying.
ennead: A group of 9 deities that are associated with a major cult center. The best known is the great ennead of Heliopolis, It consists of Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys.
faience: A form of decorated and glazed pottery.
flail: A tool carried by a god or pharaoh to symbolise kingship and the fertility of the land.
flax: A plant from which thread can be made and woven into linen.
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gold leaf: A very thin sheet of beaten gold.
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harem: Several females associated with one male; can include wives and servants.
hieratic script: A faster form of writing than hieroglyphs. It is always written from right to left, unlike European languages, which are written from left to right.
hieroglyphs: The symbols and pictures of ancient Egyptian writing.
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ibu: The tent of purification. This is the place where mummification was preformed.
Ka: An Egyptian word for a person's life force created at birth and released by death
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malachite: A copper ore. When crushed, it was used as green eye paint and symbolises fertility.
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mastaba: The Arabic word meaning; "bench". Used to describe tombs of the Early Dynastic Period and Old Kingdom. The basic form resembled a bench.
mummification: The process of drying and embalming that preserves the dead body of a person or an animal.
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natron: A natural salt from the desert that absorbs moisture. The ancient Egyptians used it for mummification. Natron is a material produced by combining sodium carbonate and bicarbonate and naturally found in deposits of sesquicarbonate of soda. This was an important element in mummification as a drying and antiseptic agent.
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nilometer: A series of steps used to measure the height of the Nile flood.
nomarch: An official in charge of a province or region called a nome. There were 42 nomes in ancient Egypt.
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nome: Administrative province of Egypt.
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obelisk: Monolithic tapering shaft, mostly of pink granite. Obelisks are solar symbols, probably similar in meaning to pyramids and associated with an ancient stone called benben in Heliopolis ("sun city" in Greek). They were set up in pairs outside the entrances to some Old Kingdom tombs and outside temples; a single obelisk in east Karnak was the object of a cult.
ostracon (singular), ostraca (plural): A fragment of pottery or large flake of stone used by students to practise their writing.
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papyrus: A reed that the ancient Egyptians made into paper and other objects.
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pharaoh: The ruler of ancient Egypt. The name comes from the ancient Egyptian word per-ao, meaning the great house. It referred to the place where the pharaoh lived.
Punt: A country to the southeast of ancient Egypt, probably in the region of modern Eritrea.
relief: A shallow carving on a stone surface.
resin: It is an organic substance like glue, obtained especially from fir or pine trees.
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sarcophagus: (singular), sarcophagi (plural): A large stone box that enclosed a mummy's coffin. The surfaces were usually carved in relief.
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seven: The numeral seven (7) was regarded as a magical number in Egypt.
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shabti: A model figure that acted as the servant of the deceased and carried out all the work required in the afterlife.
shrine: A cupboard like container in which the image of god is kept.
sistrum:
A musical rattle used in the worship of Isis in ancient Egypt.
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solar eclipse: This occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth.
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tributary: A stream of water that flows into a larger stream of water. The Egyptian Nile's main tributaries were the Blue Nile and the White Nile.
Valley of the Kings: A secluded valley across the Nile from the town of Thebes, where many Egyptian pharaohs were buried in hidden tombs.
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visceral jars: also known as canopic vases or jars.
vizier: Chief adviser to the pharaoh and second only to him in importance. At times there were two viziers.