Art/history: Tomb treasures

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By Jane Bower _a specialist in art, drama and dance. Jane also works for ‘History Off The Page’ which brings hands-on history days, including the Egyptians, to your school for up to 90 children. For more information email Jane at jbower@fish.co.uk

Build a stunning display of Egyptian wonders with this creative art project

The art of Ancient Egypt is instantly recognisable in style, revered for its skill and design, and admired the world over for its breathtaking beauty. Thanks to the intense heat and dryness of the tombs, thousands of examples remain for us to see today. The topic is one that fascinates children – helped, I’m sure, by some of the more macabre aspects such as mummies, tombs and embalming. I know that I was hooked on Egypt for life after reading the wonderful children’s novel The Golden Goblet by EJ McGraw (Puffin Books). If you want a truly gripping and authentic story to read aloud to a KS2 class during your Ancient Egyptian studies, I certainly recommend that you try to track down a copy. The following activities are all inspired by information in the book.

ACTIVITIES Ages 7-11

1. Door seals

The doors to Egyptian tombs would be sealed with lumps of clay. These would be placed where a door joined the frame, and would be marked with a personal seal or carved design. They were believed to be a form of protection.

You will need: plain bars of inexpensive soap, one per child; newspaper; plastic or wooden clay tools; pencils or barbecue skewers; clay; pictures of scarab beetle jewellery; examples of hieroglyphics; greaseproof or tracing paper.