1. Bell Ringer
HAVE YOU ENCOUNTERED ANY MYSTERY (WHETHER IN
HISTORY, IN THE PRESENT DAY, OR IN YOUR PERSONAL
LIFE) THAT YOU WISH YOU KNEW THE ANSWER TO? WHAT
WAS IT?
3. How Were the Pyramids Built?
The ancient Egyptians likely built their structures in
a pyramid shape to symbolize the sun’s rays.
People have theorized how the Egyptians built the
pyramids, with ideas as wild as that the Egyptians
had advanced technology that was lost over time, all
the way to that the Egyptians built the pyramids with
the help of aliens!
Estimates suggest that between 20,000 and 30,000
laborers were needed to build the Great Pyramid at
Giza in less than 23 years. Compare this to the Notre
Dame Cathedral, which was built thousands of years
later but took 200 years to complete!
4. How Were the Pyramids Built?
The pyramids, when they were made, actually had an
outer layer of white limestone, so that their sides
were completely smooth.
But how were people able to transport the stones
that made up the pyramids without modern day
technology?
Very recently, researchers have come up with a
solution.
By wetting the sand in front of a sledge pulling the
blocks, much less force is needed.
5. Is the Treasure of Khufu Still Inside the Great
Pyramid?
The pharaoh Khufu was buried inside the Great
Pyramid of Giza.
By the time that Europeans explored the Great
Pyramid, the treasure of Khufu was thought to be
lost to tomb robbers some time in the thousands of
years after Khufu was buried.
However, archaeologists have discovered some
mysterious shafts within the pyramid which suggest
the treasure may still be hidden after all.
6. The Curse of the Pharaohs
Though curses written onto the walls of the tombs of
the pharaohs are rare, ancient curses did exist.
The tomb of Khentika Ikhekhi (9–10th dynasty)
contains an inscription: "As for all men who shall
enter this my tomb... impure... there will be
judgment... an end shall be made for him... I shall
seize his neck like a bird... I shall cast the fear of
myself into him.”
"Cursed be those who disturb the rest of a Pharaoh.
They that shall break the seal of this tomb shall meet
death by a disease that no doctor can diagnose.”
7. The Curse of the Pharaohs
In 1699, Louis Penicher wrote an account in which he
recorded how a Polish traveler bought two mummies in
Alexandria and embarked on a sea journey with the
mummies in the cargo hold. The traveler was alarmed by
recurring visions of two specters, and the stormy seas
that did not abate until the mummies were thrown
overboard.
Another young archaeologist was involved in the removal
of two child mummies from Bahariya Oasis to a museum
and reported he was haunted by the children in his
dreams. The phenomena did not stop until the mummy
of the father was reunited with the children in the
museum.
8. The Curse of King Tut
Of course, the most famous curse is that of King Tut.
King Tut’s tomb was discovered in 1922 after being
left undisturbed for 3,000 years.
As soon as the tomb was opened and his treasures
began to be removed, however, rumors began about
an awful curse that haunted his tomb.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xv8dCIWi6w
9. Directions
On your tablets, go to:
http://www.smithsonianjourneys.org/blog/the-curse-of-
king-tuts-tomb-180950898/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/05/0
506_050506_mummycurse.html
Read both pages, then answer the following questions:
What are three reasons why people believe the curse
exists?
What are three reasons why people believe the curse
is fake?
Which do you believe, and why?
