Pit Graves

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  • Created by: Alex
  • Created on: 10-05-13 14:17
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  • PIT GRAVES
    • formation
      • Circular/oval pit in ground
      • Naqada II  - became more rectangular and lined with mud brick
      • Early in Old Kingdom they became deeper, and then developed rows of mud brick
      • Pre-Dynastic graves often lined with reeds/skins/mats
    • Used from the Pre-Dynastic Period onwards
      • later on used only for the poor
    • Example
      • Gebelein Man; kept in the British Museum, from the Pre-Dynastic Period c.3500 BC in Upper Egypt
    • Good preservation
      • Hair and fingernails are kept on the body
      • Grave goods survive - mostly pottery for food
      • the sand and heat preserved the bodies, absorbed water in them
      • believed that idea for mummification was gained from this
    • Religious reasoning
      • Faced the west: Ra (the sun) 'dies' in the west
      • Underground:Ra sinks below the ground and gives life to the dead

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