What was it like living in ancient Egypt? Did people like Indiana Jones really exist?
Sara Orel, associate professor of Art at Truman State University, spoke at Passport to Egypt programs "Kings and Commoners: Everyday Life in Ancient Egypt" Oct. 6 in Pegasus Theater at 11 a.m. At 2 p.m. the same day, UCO's legal counsel, Dr Brad Morelli talked on the subject of illicit traffic in antiquities.
Orel, art historian and anthropologist, outlined the basic geography of Egypt tracing the development of the ancient civilization.
"Egypt wouldn't last a day without the Nile," she said. "But it was essentially a very stable civilization. Even the Roman emperors are shown wearing the same costume as ancient Egyptians."
In ancient Egypt, the dead were buried in pits in the dessert, surrounded with grave goods. These earliest mummies are the best-preserved bodies, said Orel.
"A lot of the Egyptian paintings are focused on alleviating death," said Orel. "Egyptians couldn't predict death but they did not consider it as a definite border. They had an incredibly complicated belief about life after death and sought to preserve the soul too."
"One coffin had fragments of pottery, one had flowers and one had pillows. Nobody knows why. All we do know is that they are from the period of the reign of King Tutankhamun," added Orel.
Tombs have scenes of daily life painted on the walls, said Orel, these served to fulfill physical needs in the afterlife. The king's duty in the afterlife was believed to be to ensure the flooding of the Nile, rising and setting of the sun, and guarding Egypt from its enemies. Orel also speculated on King Tutankhamun's death, "He probably died of a chariot accident when his leg was broken. The wound became septic and he died. He was buried in a hurry in his brother's coffin."
Dr Brad Morelli spoke on "The Rape of the Nile," introducing Brian M Fagan's book of the same name and Peter Watson's "The Medici Conspiracy."
Morelli introduced the tomb robbers. "The first of whom were the Egyptians," he said. "There was a lot of gold in the ground so people went and dug it up. But tomb robbing wasn't always as good a gig, as some governments had very strict laws to ensure its prevention."
"Tombs were robbed for gold and firewood," he said. Egypt being a dry country with not many trees, the mummy cases served as firewood. By 1500 B.C., Europe knew some about Egypt through Greek tourists who had traveled the land and written poetry. However, Giovanni Battista Belzoni, Italian explorer of Egyptian antiquities, was among the first to go find a tomb, said Morelli.
"Belzoni excavated in the Valley of the Kings and in the period of a month discovered four new tombs," added Morelli. "He had studied hydraulics. Instead of using dynamites, he figured a way to open the entrances with that knowledge."
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