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Egypt 18th Dynasty

This is a game of Mage (based on White Wolf Mage roleplaying game). While the game will be based in 18 Dynasty Egypt, the storyteller reserves the right to amend any historical or mythical events to accommodate the game. Additionally, since White Wolf never put out a Mage game based in Egypt, aspects of the Mage game (including traditions and spheres), have been tweeked to make the characters more playable in an Ancient Egyptian setting. The above map depicts the cities that will be referred to in this game. Thebes is considered the Capitol of Egypt at this time. During my studies of ancient Egypt, it became apparent that the aspects of the gods changed widely throughout the Dynasties. Therefore, there will be a list of gods and what aspects they are considered to have during this time period. While you will not be required to submit a character sheet, characters will require approval

Terenuthis-Renenutet temple
Iunu-Ptah (Sons of Ether) and Thoth temple (Order of Hermes)
Leontopolis-Mahes temple
Bubastis-Bast temple (Cult of Estacy)
Fayum-Sobek temple
Giza-Isis and Osiris worshiped (Euthanatos)
Avaris-Ma’at (Celestial Chorus) and Nun (Orphans) worshiped
Coptos-Min temple
Karnak-Amun and Montu temple
Dendera-Geb worshiped (Verbena)
Thebes-Capital and Amun and Khonsu temple
Valley of the Kings-Mertseger (protector and guardian of Necropolis)
El Kab-Nekhbet Cult
Edfu-Shesmu worshiped and Horus temple (Brotherhood of the Shemsu-Heru)
Aswan-Mandulis and Anubis temple (Dreamspeaker)
Saqqara-Animal Necropolis and Imhotep resided
Kush-Dedwen Temple

Calander
The Egyptians followed a calendar system of 360 days, with three seasons, each made up of 4 months, with thirty days in each month. The seasons of the Egyptians corresponded with the cycles of the Nile, and were known as Inundation (pronounced akhet which lasted from June 21st to October 21st), Emergence (pronounced proyet which lasted from October 21st to February 21st), and Summer (pronounced shomu which lasted from February 21st to June 21st).

Animals of Ancient Egypt

Birds
Ibis-sacred bird of Thoth
Falcon-sacred to Horus
Vulture-sacred to Nekhbet
MutKite, geese, crane, heron, plover, pigeon, and owl.
Chickens were introduced from Kush.
Heron-thought to be the Ba of Ra and Osiris

Fish
Carp
Perch
Catfish
Chromis and the Abdju fish were thought to act as pilots for Ra on his solar barque as it traveled, warning of the approach of the enemy of Ra, the water snake Apep as they traveled through the underworld
Pharoah and Priests did not eat fish due to their association with Set
Nile carp, and the Phagrus fish were associated with Set because they were thought to have eaten the phallus of Osiris, after Set chopped him to pieces

Cattle
Cow-sacred to Hathor
Bulls-sacred to Ra
Cattle were branded with red-hot irons by the great estates belonging to the pharaohs, the rich owners and the different temples
Cattle meat was used for religious cermonies and offerings
Pork was eaten regularly but not used for religion
Goat meat was eaten by all. Their skin was used to contain water
Horses-introduced by the Hyksos
Donkeys-used as pack animals
Goats and sheep supplied milk, wool, meat, eggs, leather, skins, horns, fat, and manual labor

Pets
Cats-sacred to Bast. Also common household cats that hunted rats and mice which protected their grain. Killing a cat became punishable by death and if a house caught fire, the first priory of the householder was to rescue the cat. When a household cat died its owners went into deep mourning and shaved their eyebrows as a mark of respect
Dogs-never used as pets. Used for hunting and watch dogs. They were given individual names and buried with their masters. These dogs were related to the basenji, the saluki, the greyhound and maybe even the mastiff and dachshunds.
Dog and Jackel-sacred to Anubis. Jackel was considered a protector of royal tombs from robbers and helped in the afterlife journey.
Geese-sacred animal of Geb. Often had the run of the house and the garden in spite of its vile temper

Wildlife
Cheetahs
Wolves
Antelope
Fox
Wild bulls
Hyenas
Jackals
Snakes
Mongoose
and Desert Hares
Nile was filled with Locusts, flies, centipedes and scorpions were some of the insects that lived in ancient times
Bee keeping was mostly in lower Egypt
The cobra-sacred to Wadjet, was mostly found in lower Egypt
Crocodile-sacred to Ammut
Frog-sacred to Heqet
Hippopotamus-sacred to Set (male) Tauret (Female) were considered benifical. Their teeth were used as Ivory
Lions-sacred to Shu and Tefnut
Ram-sacred to Khnum
Scarab beetle-sacred to Khepri. The Egyptians believed that the scarab beetle represented their sun god, Ra. They believed that scarab beetles rolled the sun across the sky the same way they would a ball of dung. The scarab beetle was a sign of rebirth after the death. When the Egyptians mummified somebody they would remove their heart and put a a stone carved like the beetle in its place
Scorpion-sacred to Serqet
Monkeys

Mythical Creatures:
Griffins- New Kingdom-a new winged type of griffin with a slender canine body and a vulture's or eagle's beak
Serpopard- had a feline body, a very long neck and the head of a leopard. When depicted on magic wands, this animal frequently has a serpent in its mouth, and rarely also wears a collar

Medicine of Ancient Egypt
They were masters of human anatomy and healing mostly due to the extensive mummification ceremonies. This involved removing most of the internal organs including the brain, lungs, pancreas, liver, spleen, heart and intestine. The Egyptians had (and this is an understatement) a basic knowledge of organ functions within the human body (save for the brain and heart which they thought had opposite functions). The practices of Egyptian medical practitioners ranged from embalming to faith healing to surgery and autopsy. The use of autopsy came through the extensive embalming practices of the Egyptians, as it was not unlikely for an embalmer to examine the body for a cause of the illness which caused death. The use of surgery also evolved from a knowledge of the basic anatomy and embalming practices of the Egyptians. From such careful observations made by the early medical practitioners of Egypt, healing practices began to center upon both the religious rituals and the lives of the ancient Egyptians
The prescription for a healthy life, (which was almost always given by a member of the priestly cast meant that an individual undertook the stringent and regular purification rituals (which included much bathing, and often times shaving one's head and body hair), and maintained their dietary restrictions against raw fish and other animals considered unclean to eat. Also, and in addition to a purified lifestyle, it was not uncommon for the Egyptians to undergo dream analysis to find a cure or cause for illness, as well as to ask for a priest to aid them with magic. This obviously portrays that religious magical rites and purificatory rites were intertwined in the healing process as well as in creating a proper lifestyle
Egyptian healers engaged in surgery, prescriptive, and many other healing practices still found today. Among the curatives used by the Egyptians were all types of plant (herbs and other plants), animal (all parts nearly) and mineral compounds. The use of these compounds led to an extensive compendium of curative recipes, some still available today. For example, yeast was recognized for its healing qualities and was applied to leg ulcers and swellings. Yeast's were also taken internally for digestive disorders and were an effective cure for ulcers.
Though the Egyptians were effective healers, they did not have a clear knowledge of cellular biology or of germ theory, so it would be inappropriate to attribute the use of Yeast's as an antibiotic
Midwives at this time did not have formal training to learn their trade. Instead they learned by apprenticeships where the knowledge was passed down from family member to family member or from friend to friend. The work of the midwife included providing emotional support, encouragement, medical care, and religious help and protection to women during their lives. The areas that midwives focused on were pregnancy, labor, fertility, and contraception. Most ancient Egyptian women labored and delivered their babies on the “cool roof of the house or in an arbor or confinement pavilion, which was a structure of papyrus-stalk columns decorated with vines” In Ptolemaic times, women from the noble class gave birth in birth houses that were attached to temples. The positions that these women took when they delivered their babies were standing, kneeling, squatting, or sitting on their heels on birthing bricks, or sitting on a birthing chair. The midwife would then be positioned in front of the mother to help the delivery and catch the baby. Two other women or midwives would be placed on either side of the mother to hold her hands and arms while she was pushing and to give encouragement. Sometimes the midwife would place a dish of hot water under the birthing chair so that steam could help ease delivery. The birthing bricks that ancient Egyptian women used were 14 by 7 inches long and decorated with colorful painted scenes and figures of the birth process. Birthing chairs were made of brick and had a hole in the center. They were decorated with hieroglyphic inscriptions of the owner and painted scenes of the mother, baby, and goddesses.

Birth Control
-Silphium, honey, and natron used for their contraceptive properties
-Soak cotton in a paste of dates and acacia bark and insert into vagina
-Acacia, carob, dates, all to be ground with honey and placed in the vagina

Fertility Treatment
-A woman should squat over a hot mixture of frankincense, oil, dates, and beer and allow the vapors to enter

Pregnancy Tests:
-Emmer and barley seeds, the lady should moisten with her urine every day, like dates, and like sand in two bags. If they all grow, she will bear a child. If the barley grows it will be a male, if the emmer grows it will be a female, if neither grow she will not bear a child
-Examine the blood vessels over the breasts. Smear the breasts, arms, and shoulders with new oil. Early in the morning if her blood vessels look fresh and good, bearing children will occur. If the vessels are green and dark, she will bear children late
-Give a women milk from one who had already borne a male child mixed with melon puree. If it made the women sick she was pregnant

Induce Delivery:
-Place on the woman's abdomen a plaster of sea salt, emmer wheat, and rushes from the Nile River.

Contracting the Uterus
-Mix the kheper-wer plant, honey, water of carob, and milk. Strain and place in the vagina


Spells to Assist the Birth Process
“Come down, placenta, come down! I am Horus who conjures in order that she who is giving birth becomes better than she was, as if she was already delivered...Look, Hathor will lay her hand on her with an amulet of health! I am Horus who saves her!” Repeat four times over a Bes-amulet, placed on the brow of the woman in labor. “Make the heart of the deliverer strong, and keep alive the one that is coming.”

Life in Ancient Egypt
The people of ancient Egypt highly valued family life. They treasured children and regarded them as a great blessing. In the lower class families, the mother raised the children.

Women
Were expected to obey their fathers and husbands, they were equal to men in many ways. They had the legal right to participate in business deals, own land, and were expected to represent themselves in court cases. Women even faced the same penalties as men. Sometimes wives and mothers of pharaohs were the "real" ruling power in government. Although women were expected to raise the children and take care of the household duties, there were some jobs available to them. Women ran farms and businesses in the absence of their husbands or sons. Women were employed in courts and temples as acrobats, dancers, singers and musicians. Wealthy families hired maids or nannies to help with household chores and the raising of the children. Noblewomen could become a priestess. Women also worked as professional mourners and perfume makers

Boys
Learned a trade or craft from their fathers or an artisan. Young girls worked and received their training at home with their mothers. Those who could afford it sent their sons, from about the age 7, to school to study religion, reading, writing, and arithmetic. Even though there is no evidence of schools for girls, some were home taught to read and write and some even became doctors.

Children
Were expected to look after their elderly parents. Upon their parents death, the sons inherited the land, while daughters inherited the household goods such as furniture and jewelry. If there were no sons in the family, there was nothing preventing the daughters from inheriting the land. There is evidence of some women inheriting entire nomes

Peasant girls
Usually married around the age 12, the boys were a few years older than the girls. Girls of more affluent families married a few years older. The marriages were arranged by parents of the children although some young people chose their own spouse. While the ordinary man normally had one wife, the kings always had several. Before the marriage ceremony, an agreement was signed by the couple. The pre-nuptial agreement stated that the wife was to receive an allowance from her husband. The contract also stated that any material good the wife brought into the marriage was hers to keep if the marriage ended for any reason. Both could own land separate from each other but the wife usually let her husband administer her land along with his

Divorce
Was an option, although it was not common. If a husband treated his wife badly, she would go to her family for help. The wife's family would try to persuade her spouse to change his behavior. If his behavior did not improve the divorce took place. The divorce was a simple procedure consisting of making a simple statement to annul the marriage in front of witnesses. The wife was given custody of the children and was free to remarry

Cooking
Was done in clay ovens as well as over open fires. Wood was used for fuel, even though it was scarce. Food was baked, boiled, stewed, fried, grilled, or roasted. What is known about kitchen utensils and equipment is from the items that have been found in the tombs. Storage jars, bowls, pots, pans, ladles, sieves, and whisks were all used in the preparation of food. Most of the commoners used dishes that were made of clay, while the wealthy used dishes made of bronze, silver, and gold

Beer
Was the most popular beverage, and bread was the staple food in the Egyptian diet. The beer was made with barley. The barley was left to dry, and then baked into loaves of bread. The baked barley loaves were then broken into pieces and mixed with the dried grain in a large jug of water and left to ferment. Wine was a drink that was produced by the Egyptians, however, it was usually found only at the tables of the wealthy. To make the bread, women ground wheat into flour. The flour was then pounded by men to make a fine grain. Sesame seeds, honey, fruit, butter, and herbs were often added to the dough to help flavor the bread

Cleansing rituals
Were very important to the Egyptians. Most people bathed daily in the river or out of a water basin at home. The wealthy had a separate room in their home to bath. Servants would pour jugs of water over their master (the equivalent of a modern day shower). The runoff water drained away through a pipe that led to the garden. Instead of washing with soap, a cleansing cream was used. This cream was made from oil, lime, and perfume. People rubbed themselves daily with perfumed oil. Perfume was made from flowers and scented wood mixed with oil or fat, and was left in a pot until the oil had absorbed the scent. The perfumed oil was used to prevent the skin from drying out in the harsh climate. At parties, servants put cones of perfumed grease on the heads of the guests. As the grease melted, it ran down their face with a pleasing cooling effect

Makeup
Men, women and children of all ages and classes wore makeup. Mirrors of highly polished silver or copper were used to aid with the application of makeup. Eye paint was made from green malachite, and galena -- a gray lead ore. They were ground into a powder and mixed with oil to make eye color called Kohl. The Kohl was kept in jars and applied to the eyes with a small stick. The upper and lower eyelids were painted with the black cosmetic that extended in a line out to the sides of the face. It was believed the makeup had magical and even healing powers. Some even believed that wearing it would restore poor eyesight. It was also used to fight eye infections and reduce the glare of the sun. Other cosmetics used included colors for the lips, cheeks and nails. A type of clay called red ochre was ground and mixed with water, and applied to the lips and cheeks. Henna was used to dye the fingernails yellow and orange. Makeup was stored in special jars and the jars were stored in special makeup boxes. Women would carry their makeup boxes with them to parties and keep them under their chairs.

Hair styles
Were very similar to that of todays. The common folk wore their hair short. Young girls usually kept their hair in pigtails while boys had shaved heads, except for one braided lock worn to one side. Wigs were worn by both men and women. The wigs were made of sheep's wool or human hair for decoration and for protection from the heat. Wigs were usually worn at parties and official functions. Hair pieces were also added to real hair to enhance it. When not in use, wigs were stored in special boxes on a stand inside the home

Jewelry
Everyone in Egypt wore some type of jewelry. Rings and amulets were especially worn to ward off the evil spirits and injury. Both men and women wore pierced earrings, armlets, bracelets, and anklets. The rich wore jeweled or beaded collars, called a wesekh, necklaces, and pendants. For the rich, jewelry was made of gold, silver, or electrum (gold mixed with silver) and inlaid with semi-precious stones of turquoise, lapis lazuli (a deep blue stone), and carnelian (a copper or reddish orange stone). The poorer people wore jewelry that was made of copper or faience (made by heating powdered quartz)

Houses of the Ancient Egyptians
Were built out of bricks made from mud. The mud was collected in leather buckets and taken to the building site. Here workers added straw and pebbles to the mud to strengthen the bricks. This mixture was then poured into wooden brick frames or molds. The bricks were left out in the sun to dry and to cure. These dwellings deteriorated after time, and new ones were built right on top of the crumbled material, creating hills called tells. Only buildings that were meant to last forever were made of stone. After the house was built it was covered with plaster, very similar to the technique used in adobe housing in the American Southwest. Inside of the house, the plaster was often painted with either geometric patterns or scenes from nature. The interior of the houses were cool as the small windows let in only a little light. Egyptian houses were typically built in along the Nile. They had to be built high in order to avoid annual flooding from the Nile. The living areas were often on the top floors and many activities were done on the roof of the houses. High sand dunes were erected as barriers from flood water.

There were two types of homes typical in Egypt, the home of the workers and the town house The average dimension of the workers house was approximately 4m by 20m. A typical workers home ranged from two to four rooms on the ground level, an enclosed yard, a kitchen at the back of the house and two underground cellars for storage. Niches in the walls held religious objects. The roof was also used as living space and storage. There was little furniture save beds and small chests for keeping clothes. There was no running water and sometimes a single well served an entire town. Egyptian villagers spent most of their time out of doors. They often slept, cooked, and ate atop their houses' flat roofs
Entering from the street, there were steps into the entrance hall. The entrance hall had a cupboard bed, the use of it is uncertain. The next room had a distinctive wooden pillar in the middle supporting the roof. This was the main room of the house, and it was used as a shrine or a reception area. The master of the house had his masters chair sitting atop a raised platform. There were several stools and one or two tables for the guests, and the room was lit by a high small window located above the roof of the first room. This room was decorated with holy images along the walls, and a table with offerings in front of a false door. Underneath the masters raised platform (dais), a trap door leads down a flight of stairs into the cellar, where valuables could be kept
Behind the central room was a hall with a door on the side leading to a bedroom. The bedroom and the roof were used interchangeably as resting areas. At the end of the hall was the kitchen with an open roof. In the kitchen was a door leading to another cellar that served as a pantry. Different heights in the roofs allowed for more private windows in the house

The homes of the wealthy and noble classes were large. The typical house of ancient Egypt had many features similar to the workers houses. Town houses were typically two to three stories high. They were typically more spacious and more comfortable than the workers houses. They made high walls that supported multiple-story buildings by reinforcing them with beams. In multi-story homes, stones were often used in the first floor for greater strength at the base. The first level of the house was usually the working area where business was conducted, and servants would remain. The second and third floors are more adorned and were the living areas of the house with similar features to the workers home
The food was prepared on the roof and brought down to the rooms by the servants. Cooking was done outside because it was considered dangerous to do it in an enclosed area inside the house. Cooling was also a factor to keeping cooking outside. Egyptians always tried to keep their houses cool from the prevalent warm temperatures. Windows were constructed close to the ceilings in order to maintain cool temperatures indoors. Also mats were often spread on the floors for cooling. Proper sanitation was a luxury that only the wealthier townspeople could have. They would have toilets carved of limestone, and the sewage would be disposed of into pits in the streets. They were usually two to three stories high. The ground floor was often reserved for businesses, while the upper floors provided living space for the family. Many people slept on the flat roof during the summer to keep cool. Cooking was also often done on the roof. The ancient Egyptians, even the wealthy ones, had a very limited assortment of furniture. A low, square stool, the corners of which flared upwards and on top was placed a leather seat or cushion, was the most common type of furnishing. Chairs were rare and they only belonged to the very wealthy. Small tables were made of wood or wicker and had three to four legs. Beds were made of a woven mat placed on wooden framework standing on animal-shaped legs. At one end was a footboard and at the other was a headrest made a curved neckpiece set on top of a short pillar on an oblong base. Lamp stands held lamps of simple bowls of pottery containing oil and a wick. Chests were used to store domestic possessions such as linens, clothing, jewelry, and make-up
The garden had a formal pool and rows of trees and shrubs. The well was conveniently located near the garden and the cattle yard. It consisted of a wide hole in which a flight of steps lead down to a platform from which water was drawn up using a rope and bucket. Foundations were generally non existent. Virgin soil above groundwater level was baked rock hard by the sun and needed just some leveling. In order to build on top of collapsed dwellings, the clay rubble was well watered and let to set and harden. Wealthy Egyptian people had spacious estates with comfortable houses. The houses had high ceilings with pillars, barred windows, tiled floors, painted walls, and stair cases leading up to the flat roofs where one could overlook the estate. There would be pools and gardens, servant's quarters, wells, granaries, stables, and a small shrine for worship. The wealthy lived in the countryside or on the outskirts of a town

Egyptian Agriculture

In June the Nile flooded
Egyptians grew crops such as wheat, barley, vegetables, figs, melons, pomegranates and vines. . They also grew flax which was made into linen. The most important crop was grain, mostly wheat and barley. The ancient Egyptians used grain to make bread, porridge and beer. Once this was harvested, they grew vegetables - mainly onions, corn, leeks, cabbages, beans, cucumbers and lettuce. Farmers planted fruit trees and vines along the paths, to give shade as well as fruit.

Farming tools
Such as winnowing scoops, hoes, rakes, flint-bladed sickles and ploughs. They had both hand ploughs and ones pulled by oxen.
Once the floods receded and the fields dried, the plants would wither and die. The mud that the Nile left behind needed lots of watering. The ancient Egyptians tried to trap as much flood water as possible, so they did not have to constantly get water from the river. They built mud-brick reservoirs to trap and hold the water. They also had a network of irrigation canals that filled with water during the flood and were refilled from the reservoirs. To lift the water from the canal they used a shaduf, which is a large pole balanced on a crossbeam, a rope and bucket on one end and a heavy counter weight at the other. By pulling the rope it lowered the bucket into the canal. The farmer then raised the bucket of water by pulling down on the weight. He then swung the pole around and emptied the bucket onto the field. Sugar was unknown - honey was used as a sweetener by the rich, and poor people used dates and fruit juices Beer was made from barely, and was the main drink for common people
Wine was produced in extensive cellars. Accurate records were kept of the vintages and quality of wines, jars were clearly labeled. Wine was a luxury and the main consumption took place as:
1) Offerings to the gods and dead
2) Pharaoh, nobles and the priests in temple ceremonies and party banquets In party scenes on the tomb walls, there are a number of images depicting the guests throwing up or being carried home because of their drunken state, drunkenness was seen as an amusement. Hathor was the goddess of wine and beer, temples associated with the goddesses had their own vineyards to make sure that the celebrants had enough wine for the rituals

River fishing
Simple reed boats and woven nets. Metal hooks with barbs were used. Nile perch, catfish and eels were among the most important fish. Anchovies, sardines, squid and tuna were among the most important seafood
In a barter economy the simplest way to exact taxes is by seizing part of the produce, merchandise, or property. The agricultural sector of such an economy is easiest to tax. A farmer cannot deny possession of a field without losing his rights. The field can be measured, the yield assessed, and the produce is difficult to hide because of its large bulk. It is no wonder that peasants were the highest and most consistently taxed part of the population until modern times
The task of calculating the amount of produce due was the duty of scribal tax-collectors. They kept written records of title deeds, field sizes and were capable of calculating areas. To assess the farmers' wealth there were also cattle counts. Next to nothing is known about how they were conducted. Their frequency seems to have been variable. They were probably annual or bi-annual events, often mentioned in inscriptions and they are vital, if somewhat unreliable, to ancient Egyptian chronology
The collection of taxes was often performed by coercion. Farmers owing taxes were either forced to hand over arrears on the spot or brought before courts who dispensed summary justice. Oil was taxed as were livestock, beer and much other farm produce, though the most important tax was the tax on grain Personal taxes were referred to as beku and were collected by the chief treasurer. Local officials were taxed on the income they received through their office. This tax called apu (jpw) was paid to the vizier of either Upper or Lower Egypt. To protect the tax-payer from illegal exploitative tax collecting the writing of tax receipts became common
The products of Kush added greatly to the wealth of Egypt, particularly by providing gold, ivory, ebony, cattle, gums and semi-precious stones

Mining
Pharaonic Egypt's history stretches long, and in that period much was done in the technologies of mining and the working of metals found there naturally and imported from abroad. The earliest metals found and used were quite probably what is termed free or native metals; nuggets found in the metallic state. Such nuggets of native iron or copper, for instance, were rare and the Egyptians had to learn to mine metal-bearing ores and the smelting processes used to extract workable metal. Copper was the first metal to see extensive use in Egypt. Soft, malleable, and with a relatively low melting point of 1,083 degrees Celsius, copper tools, weapons, and ornaments are found beginning approximately 4000 BCE. Conditions for miners were described as “wretched,” and for most of the years of Egyptian history, the work seems to have been done by teams of slaves. Mining was also seasonal in many cases, and since the majority of mining sites were in the desert east of the Nile and on the mountainous and dry Sinai Peninsula, it's easy to understand why. Provisioning remote locations in the eastern desert was especially difficult, as well, as caravans' risked attack by raiding desert-dwellers. Generally, mines of all types were placed as near as possible to rivers to facilitate travel and provisioning. Deposits of copper ore mined were almost always on the surface, and extraction was usually of the distinctive green malachite ore (which was also used as a pigment), but also of chrysocolla, and the somewhat rare bluish azurite
Smelting to extract metal from the ore was almost always done on-site, no matter what was being mined. Copper ore was extracted and broken into small pieces and mixed with charcoal fuel in a fire on the ground or in a shallow pit. This method produced temperatures of between 700 and 800 degrees Celsius, enough to separate the metal from the rock, but not hot enough to reduce it to a truly molten state. After sufficient time had passed, the fuel was removed and the resulting bits of freed copper were gathered up. Later, smelting operations utilized furnaces and bellows, causing the copper to become truly molten and allowing casting of the copper into ingots for easier transportation and measurement
Estimates made from slag heaps found at these copper mining operations indicate that an average of five tons of copper were produced annually in Egypt during the Bronze Age, which was not enough to supply the kingdom with its metal needs, necessitating importation of copper as well as tin for Egypt's bronze production. This harder, easier to cast metal eclipsed copper as the major material for tools in Egypt after its introduction from western Asia. Egypt's gold was typically obtained by two different methods. Placer gold, found in river deposits of silt, was simply extracted by washing the lighter silt away with water, picking out any particles of gold, and setting aside whatever was found for later melting into ingots. This is possibly the way the metal for Egypt's earliest golden artifacts was obtained. Gold-bearing veins of quartzite were also exploited in the eastern desert and in Nubia. Quartzite is a harder stone than the stone bearing copper ores (malachite could be mined with flint tools, which it was during early periods), so greater effort had to be used to extract it. A Greek account from the 2nd century BCE describes the Egyptian miners lighting fires over deposits of gold-bearing quartzite to make the stone more brittle and smashing the stone with hammers and picks. The broken rock was then reduced to dust by a series of mortar and pestles and hand mills. Gold was separated by hand from the resulting powder. Trenches along the surface were what characterized the typical Egyptian gold mining operation, though particularly promising veins were followed underground vertically or horizontally into mountainsides for as long as was practical, with one especially deep shaft recorded as extending 120 cubits straight down
Gold is typically found in native form, but it usually contains some sort of metallic impurity, in Egypt this impurity was usually one of iron, copper, or silver. Ironically, the chief impurity of the gold found by the miners of Egypt was silver, which was considered much more valuable than gold due to its comparative rarity. Varying amounts of silver impurity is encountered in Egyptian gold. Gold that was diluted with a high enough impurity of silver was called electrum, and was highly prized for its durability and sheen. Refinement of gold for greater purity did not occur until sometime around the age of Persian hegemony over Egypt, though it was graded by purity by the twelfth dynasty. Gold was refined by the Egyptians using salt to extract the silver, which was lost during the process
Iron production in Egypt lagged behind the rest of the Middle East, not being produced internally until around 1000 BCE. The 18th Dynasty saw a gradual increase of the amount of iron products and by the 26th Dynasty bronze was falling into disfavor as a metal for tools. By the time of the Ptolmaic Dynasty, iron had replaced bronze as the metal used in tools. The Egyptian word for iron was biat or bia n pet, which literally means ore of the heavens. The small amounts of Egyptian iron artifacts found before the widespread use of the metal are either imported from other areas of the Middle East or, in the case of older ceremonial and decorative items, betray the tell-tale nickel impurity that is characteristic of meteorites. This lateness in the production of iron cannot be traced to a lack of materials. Iron-bearing minerals, such as hematite, ochre, sienna, and umbers were fairly common and used for decorative and cosmetic purposes from a very early time period. Iron's properties differed significantly from the metals that Egyptians were experienced in working. The temperatures needed to work it were high: 1100 degrees Celsius to reduce the metal from the ore, and the temperature needed to melt iron to a liquid state for casting, 1530 degrees Celsius, was beyond the means of anyone for hundreds of years. Iron must also be worked while hot, something not needed for the other metals that the Egyptians and other Bronze-Age cultures were familiar with The mining of iron, like a great deal of other Egypt's metal production, took place mostly in the eastern desert and the Sinai Peninsula, though deposits of hematite existed near Aswan and umbers, ochre, and sienna were extracted from a wide variety of locations, including oases in the western desert as well as the formerly mentioned sites

Astronomy
The Ancient Egyptians had a limited knowledge of astronomy. Part of the reason for this is that their geometry was limited, and did not allow for complicated mathematical computations. Evidence of Ancient Egyptian disinterest in astronomy is also evident in the number of constellations recognized by Ancient Egyptians. At 1100 BC, Amenhope created a catalogue of the universe in which only five constellations are recognized. They also listed 36 groups of stars called decans. These decans allowed them to tell time at night because the decans will rise 40 minutes later each night. Theoretically, there were 18 decans, however, due to dusk and twilight only twelve were taken into account when reckoning time at night. Since winter is longer than summer the first and last decans were assigned longer hours. Tables to help make these computations have been found on the inside of coffin lids. The columns in the tables cover a year at ten day intervals. The decans are placed in the order in which they arise and in the next column, the second decan becomes the first and so on. Astronomy was also used in positioning the pyramids. They are aligned very accurately, the eastern and western sides run almost due north and the southern and northern sides run almost due west. The pyramids were probably originally aligned by finding north or south, and then using the midpoint as east or west. This is because it is possible to find north and south by watching stars rise and set. However, the possible processes are all long and complicated. So after north and south were found, the Egyptians could look for a star that rose either due East or due West and then use that as a starting point rather than the North South starting point. This would result in the pyramids being more accurately aligned with the East and West, which they are, and all of the errors in alignment would run clockwise, which they do. This is because of precession of the poles which is very difficult to view, and the Ancient Egyptians did not know about. This theory is further substantiated by the fact that the star B Scorpii’s rising-directions match with the alignment of the pyramids on the dates at which they were built
Ancient Egyptians also used astronomy in their calendars. There life revolved the annual flooding of the Nile. This resulted in three seasons, the flooding, the subsistence of the river, and harvesting. These seasons were divided into four lunar months. However, lunar months are not long enough to allow twelve to make a full year. This made the addition of a fifth month necessary. This was done by requiring the Sirius rise in the twelfth month because Sirius reappears around the time when the waters of the Nile flood. Whenever Sirius arose late in the twelfth month a thirteenth month was added. This calendar was fine for religious festivities, but when Egypt developed into a highly organized society, the calendar needed to be more precise. Someone realized that there are about 365 days in a year and proposed a calendar of twelve months with 30 days each, with five days added to the end of it. However, since a year is a few hours more than 365 days this new administrative calendar soon did not match the seasonal calendar.