Daily life in Ancient Egypt

What was it like to live in Ancient Egypt?

An artwork from an Ancient Egyptian tomb showing food. — Image caption,
An artwork of Ancient Egyptian food from the wall of a tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

Life in Ancient Egypt was different depending on whether you were rich or poor.

People had many different jobs like bakers, doctors and merchants.

Children had jobs too.

People grew food along the River Nile and caught fish from it.

Some foods we have today, like tomatoes and bananas, did not exist then.

Important words

Important words on what daily life was like in Ancient Egypt

Keyword	Definition
Apprenticeship	Learning a trade, skill or job by working with someone experienced.
Granaries	A building where grain was stored.
Merchants	A person who bought and sold goods.
Mudbricks	A brick made from mud and straw, that is dried in the sun.
Scribe	A person who could read and write.

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What jobs did people have?

A reconstruction on papyrus of an ophthalmologist from the wall of the tomb of Ipi. — Image caption,
A reconstruction on papyrus of an ophthalmologist (an eye doctor) from the wall of the tomb of Ipi, a high official.

There were many jobs in Ancient Egypt.

The job you did depended on who your family was and how much money you had.

Some of the jobs were:

Bakers
Craftspeople
Doctors
Merchants (a person who bought and sold goods)
Priests
Scribes (a person who could read and write)

Many children had jobs or learned an apprenticeship (learning a trade, skill or job by working with someone experienced).

What were ancient Egyptian houses like?

An illustration from 1838 showing an Ancient Egyptian house. — Image caption,
An illustration from 1838 showing what an Ancient Egyptian house may have looked like.

In Ancient Egypt houses were built of mudbricks (a brick made from mud and straw, that is dried in the sun).

Straw was mixed with mud from the River Nile to make the bricks stronger.

The bricks helped keep the house cool on hot days.

Most houses had small windows and a flat roof. The roof didn't just protect things from the weather, people would also eat and rest up there.

Poor people had a one room house, while wealthy people had several rooms and servants.

Seats and ovens were built into the house. Imagine if you couldn't move the chairs in your house!

Food was cooked in clay stone ovens, using a fire.

Egyptians kept food in big jars and baskets, storing them in cool places below ground level.

They stored grain in special buildings called granaries.

Slideshow: What did Ancient Egyptians have in their homes?

Click through the slideshow to see the kinds of things Ancient Egyptians had in their homes.

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Image caption,
Querns
The ancient Egyptians used stone slab or disc called a quern to grind wheat into flour. This stone figure shows a person using a quern.
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Pots
Clay pots were used for storing things like water, beer and food.
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Combs
Just like a modern comb, these were used for brushing hair. Combs could be made of different materials. Some combs were made of hippopotamus ivory!
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Cosmetics
Pots like these were used to store make-up and cosmetics. Ancient Egyptians decorated their eyes with black kohl eyeliner. Both men and women painted their eyes.
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Music
The ancient Egyptians loved to play music with instruments like this harp. Harp players would accompany a singer to perform songs.
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Headrests
There were no pillows in Ancient Egypt, to get comfortable wooden headrests like this were used.
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Lamps
Lamps in Ancient Egypt burnt oil made from plant sources such as castor, sesame or linseed. Wicks were made from plant fibres or linen cloth.

What food did the Ancient Egyptians eat?

A photo from the Met Collection of food found in a tomb in 1492–1473 B.C. — Image caption,
A basket of dates, fruit and bread found preserved in the tomb of Hatnefer (1492–1473BC), an Ancient Egyptian noblewoman.

Lots of different foods could be grown along the banks of the River Nile.

Bread was an important food for all Ancient Egyptians, both rich and poor.

Rich people ate meat, eggs, figs and grapes.

Poor people ate bread, onions and fish from the River Nile.

Everyone loved garlic.

There were no tomatoes, bananas or potatoes, they didn't grow in Egypt at the time.

Think like a historian

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Have a look at the thinking points below and think about your answer to the questions. You could even write it down on a piece of paper or discuss it with somebody else if you want to.