Cuneiform Craft

 

Cuneiform was one of the earliest types of writing.   It started in Mesopotamia, and was used by various cultures including the Assyrians and Babylonians and early Persians.  

Writing your name or a message in cuneiform can be a fun way for kids to explore ancient Mesopotamian history.   But to write cuneiform you need a certain type of stick with an edge to it.  This will be your cuneiform stylus. 

STYLUSES

We made our own cuneiform styluses by cutting a stick so it has a flat end,  and then carving the end in the shape of a triangle.   It's really quite easy...if you can use a knife to whittle off the bark of a stick you can do this.  

But if you don't feel like carving, there's another option.   Chop sticks (the wooden kind they give you at Chinese restaurants) already come with a flat edge.   The end of the chopstick is in the shape of a square,  not in the shape of a triangle, but it will still work for many of the cuneiform alphabets as it still gives you that wedge shape.   The only shape you can't do is a straight down triangle stamp, which not all cuneiform alphabets use.   

A third option for styluses is to buy dowels and then cut them to smaller sizes (crayon size is generally good.)

PREPPING THE CLAY

Next, you flatten out a piece of play dough or air dry clay (which can be bought at Hobby Lobby, Micheal's, and various other hobby stores).    If using clay I suggest doing this on a surface like a Plastic baggie (which can also be used to store the clay beforehand), since clay tends to stick to stuff.  You can put the clay in the baggie and something like a plate or rolling pin to press it flat.   You can also  plastic place mat or  paper plate, and cover it with plastic wrap to keep it from sticking to whatever you use to press it flat. 

WRITING IN CUNEIFORM

Then, using one of the alphabets linked below (under the video) use the method shown in the video to make your cuneiform.  Notice how he uses the edge to make wedge shaped impressions. You don't need to "trace" out triangles, but use the natural shape of the stylus to make those for you.

Now, we did our cuneiform with real air dry clay (easy, and you get that feel of real clay,  but it's fragile after it dries).  I've heard of people using salt dough or play dough too, but my favorite method I've seen (but not yet tried) is cuneiform gingerbread cookies!

Here are some cuneiform alphabets you can try.   Note though, that most (maybe all) of these were actually syllabaries (where one symbol often stood for a whole syllable, not just a single sound like in the English alphabet).  Also, some of these languages didn't use the same sounds as we do in English.  So when you see a cuneiform "alphabet," it is likely an approximation (but that's good enough to help kids explore what it was like to write in cuneiform).  

• Ugaritic Alphabet (c. 1300 BC ) More about it.
• The cuneiform is fairly simple to write, but the one I have is not in alphabetical order, and uses some international symbols for sounds.   It doesn't contain all the English letters/sounds so you might have kids make up their own cuneiform letters for the letters they didn't have.  

• Old Persian Alphabet (c. 550-486 BC).   
• This was created by or under Darius I, who is mentioned in the biblical books of Haggai, Zechariah, Ezra, and Nehemiah (for those supplementing with Bible stories, around Chap 21 of SOTW).   It is also not too complex to write.  It's also not in alphabetical order, and is presented as a syllabary (but a very simple one...if kids wanted to try out the idea of using a syllabary this would be a good one to do that).  Again, it doesn't contain all the English letters.

• Babylonian Alphabet and Numbers (c. ?)  and  More Babylonian Numerals (c. 2000 BC)  
• This has all the English letters, even c (which is redundant with k and s), so it's definitely at best an approximation.  These are COMPLEX characters to make, but it is nice to have all of it in alphabetical order without having to mess with syllables.   It also has numbers 1-20.

• Sumerian Syllabary (c. 2200 BC)  
• First phonetic cuneiform, and kinda complex but older students might enjoy looking at it (symbols were by syllables,  so "ba, be, bi, bu" would all be separate alphabetic symbols).  Some modern scripts, such as Japanese, are structured similarly.  There is a simplified sumerian "alphabet" here though. 

   Then just let your creation air dry, for for more sturdiness, bake it. 

 

We made some other clay creations after playing with cuneiform - my son made the vase and I mad the crocodile.  (I was pretty proud of that crock...used the triangle end of stylus like a stamp to make the scales on his back)

Wrapped Walking Stick - Alternative Wilderness Craft

Several years ago for Vacation Bible School our church decided to trek into the "wilderness" and bring kids into the story of Moses and the Israelites in a very hands-on way. One craft we did for this, which wasn't part of the original program but just fit perfectly, was decorating walking sticks. It took a little scrounging around for materials, and a lot of sawing, but it was absolutely worth it--the kids loved them.

This is a fun craft that, while it takes some adult prep, is easy for kids to do. It can be simplified for a young child, yet is still an enjoyable creative project in the hands of an adult.   Our teen volunteers enjoyed this craft as much as our kindergarteners, as both were able to work on it at their own level.

Learn how to make your own below! Below the craft instruction there's tips on how to use this as a group project (and if you're using it for Wilderness Escape VBS like I was, there's a ton of extra info at the bottom on how to tweak this especially for Wilderness VBS.)

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How to Wrap a Walking Stick With Yarn
We decorated our sticks with either yarn or cloth (or both). Below is a video showing how to wrap the stick with yarn. At the beginning of this video I said that I have "a few inches of yarn." I misspoke...I actually had a few feet...but what I meant was that I had a few inches of yarn left over to form a "tail."   You can add beads other charms to the left over yarn tails, as shown in the picture at the top of this page (more on that below).

I love how the yarn looked on this curvy stick.  

How to Wrap a Stick With Cloth

You can also wrap a stick with cloth tied in yarn (or leather if you can afford it).  

This is actually a useful feature as it creates a padded area for a hand-hold (the more padding you want, the more layers you will want to wrap around your stick). We used strips from old t-shirts, but you can use any type of cloth you want (or even scraps of leather).

Wrapping cloth on a stick is fairly simple. First roll a strip of cloth around the stick. Then take a long piece of yarn and tie it tightly near to top of the cloth.  Make your tie in the middle of the yarn so you have two fairly equal lengths of yarn hanging down, and leave about an inch of cloth above where you tie it. For a criss-cross design, spiral one of these down the cloth, and the other in the opposite direction, so that the two lengths of yarn criss-cross, then at the bottom (about an inch from the edge of the fabric), tie these two yarn-tails together tightly.

Adding Decorations

You can add beads or charms to the strings that are left when you are done tying your yarn. You will need beads with a hole large enough that yarn can fit through. I look for beads with holes just slightly larger than the yarn, because then after I've put them on the yarn, all I need to do is tie a double or triple knot in the yarn and that holds on the beads. You can also get charms that tie on the yarn, and those will hold up all the beads above them.

Getting beads onto thick, fuzzy yarn can be tricky! But I have a trick that makes it easy! I use floss threaders (the kind found in the dental aisle of most supermarkets). Just put the yarn through the large hoop of the floss threader, insert the bead over the small pointy end, and then pull the bead down over the yarn. You can see floss threaders in use in the picture below.

Some Bead Suggestions

I personally prefer wood, glass, or clay beads to the plastic pony beads for this project, because they are closer to what they would have actually had, and I think it's special for kids when things feel real.  If you limit kids to just 2 or three beads each it's not that costly--one $10 mixed bag got me through all of VBS with plenty to spare.  My mixed bag also had shells, which worked well with the story.  I told the kids I picked them up crossing the Red Sea.  These had holes too small for yarn, so I put jump rings through the small holes, which could then be easily tied to the yarn.

Below is a set that looked workable on Amazon (click on picture to click through).   You probably could find similar sets at your local hobby or craft store.

Other Decoration Ideas 

And a few practical considerations

You can add lots of other decorations as well. You could use decorative tape, paint, ribbons...whatever you can think of. You could even carve patterns in your stick if you like to whittle. Skies the limit!

But whatever you do keep practicality in mind. Make sure to leave a smooth surface to hold (or a soft one). Don't put hanging beads and baubles where it will hit your hand as you walk. Be careful of putting paint where you will hold your stick as it might rub off over time (stains might work better). And make sure that whatever you decorate with, it's able to withstand a little weather and wear.

Guide for Using This Craft in Wilderness VBS

Gathering Sticks

The hardest thing about doing this craft as a large group is obtaining the sticks. Luckily, when we needed them, it was in springtime when everyone is pruning their trees. We happened on a large pile of branches from a lot that had been cleared and contacted the owner who let us remove branches to use. You can ask landscapers to see if they would mind you taking branches from trees they trimmed. You can contact your local parks and wildlife office to see if there is any public land that needs clearing (where we live, Bamboo is an invasive species, and we could have easily gotten a permit to go cut some). You can also go on Craigslist to find individuals wanting to get rid of wood from tree prunings, or post a request on a local facebook page.

Look for sticks that are relatively straight, and about 1-2 inches in diameter. Watch out for sticks that are rotten or molded, and make sure to ask if any of the wood had been treated for pesticides (which you will want to avoid). You will want sticks of varying lengths for people of various heights.   A good height for a walking stick is about 6-8 inches taller than a person's elbow if their arms are hanging straight down (got that tip from Boy's Life). 

Setting Up

It can be helpful to cut lengths of yarn beforehand, as well as cloth if you're using that. Set beads in small bowls that aren't easily tipped, and put the floss-threaders with them. Since there were two of us teaching we piled sticks on two sides of the area so that we could pass them out more easily.

Once People Arrive

We had everyone stand up so that we could match them with a stick as they arrived. If you're doing this craft with kids this is also a good time to explain what this craft is and isn't used for (i.e....this is a walking stick, not a fighting stick). Once everyone had a stick we had them sit down and demonstrated ways they could decorate their sticks. Then we showed them the various materials we had available to work with, and let them pick out some things to get started.

NOTE:   Walking sticks with thin pointy ends can't just be turned upside-down, so watch to make sure people are decorating the top end of their stick (the skinny end, not the fat end).   A few of our kids ended up decorating the wrong end of their stick (not that it's wrong to decorate the bottom...but they meant to decorate the top). 

A Few More General Tips

for using this for Wilderness VBS

• We had problems with the sticks catching on the side draping on our tent. I suggest either using a high canopy and securing any draping up high where it's harder to catch on, or not using a tent at all. This is a craft that could be done around a campfire (a nice fake one) where it would have been natural to stack sticks. "Look at all these sticks...some of these are just too good for the campfire" your character could say.

• If you aren't using the Sandal Making Shop, the sign for it can be used for walking sticks.

• I made up a story about how other Isrealites kept using my walking sticks as firewood, so I started decorating my walking sticks so people wouldn't use them for kindling. This is fun background story, and you could even work at a little skit about it with another shopkeeper.

• I find it's best to try to get your script/questions in right at the beginning, before you start explaining the craft. While this is a fairly simple craft, you'll still be busy helping younger kids who have trouble tying knots, re-explaining to kids who weren't paying attention in the beginning, and cutting yarn and passing out other supplies.

• You probably don't want kids to take their sticks with them to game time and other stations, so I suggest having kids leave their sticks with you and collect them after celebration. If you're worried about them forgetting you can take the sticks to the door and hand them out as people leave.

• One thing I wish I had done was take pictures of all the kids in their tunics with their walking sticks before they left. If you do that, write down the kids name and tribe before they leave so you can get the picture to their parents later. (If you print them yourself from home you can get all but the last day's to the tribe leader to pass out to the kids).

• Many churches do a celebration on their final day of VBS where they invite families to enjoy extra activities for everyone. A great activity for this would be a hike through the camp or around the church grounds (or even around the neighborhood if this was feasible)...and you could invite kids to bring their walking sticks with them.

Picture showing a typical egyptian staff

Photo taken by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin and shared under

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

Biblical/Historical Significance of Moses' Staff

Of course, I can't neglect saying a few words about the most important walking stick in the Israelite camp--the "Rod of Moses"--more significantly called the "Rod of God." It was an ordinary walking stick, but God used it, and Moses, and ordinary man, to do extraordinary things.

"You shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs.”

It is significant that when God sent Moses to Egypt he commanded him to take his staff, and that he asked Moses to use it when God performed most of His miracles both in Egypt and the wilderness. In Ancient Egypt the staff was a sign of authority, power and dominion. The Pharaoh, Egyptians priests, and many of the Egyptians gods were often pictured with a staff.

And so it makes sense that God would have sent Moses with such a symbol of authority, one that the Egyptians could easily recognize. Imagine what Pharaoh must have thought, a man who considered himself a god, when Moses arrived with his ordinary shepherd's staff, and did wonders Pharaoh could only dream of?  It was a display of God's true authority.

Sources and Additional Info

The Rod and Staff of the Lord - The Dawn Magazine 

A thorough article about the significance of the Rod and Staff in scripture from the Christian Life and Doctrine section of The Dawn Magazine, August 2009.

Shepherd's Staff Represents God's Spirit - Bibletools

This article overviews how shepherds in Bible times used the staff.
    

Was-Sceptre - Wikipedia

I got my information on the use of the staff as a symbol of authority in ancient Egypt here.

Historical Background: Yarn

While the Egyptians mainly used linen, the Israelites mainly used wool for clothing.   They would have had plentiful wool to make yarn from their herds.   Can you imagine crossing the desert wearing wool? But since the Bible says they took clothes from the Egyptians when they left, as well as gold and silver items, it's likely they would have had linen clothing items too.

The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing.  The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.
 - Exodus 12:35-36 NIV 

Tents though, most certainly would have been made with wool, which is water resistant (making tents more waterproof).   Modern Bedouins still make wool tents with small, transportable looms that are carried with them.   I assume the Isrealites would have done the same.

The section in Group's material for the Weaving Tent Host should have some historical background related to the making of yarn...and you can also find more at my page on weaving and dying I did for Nazareth.

Historical Background: Beads

If you want to use beads that seem authentic to the time period and the story, you have a lot of choices. Egyptians used beads for jewelry and also for their hair. We know that the Isrealites took gold and silver items from the Egyptians when they left Egypt, so metallic beads would make sense. They also had beads of glass, stone, wood, and bone in Egypt. In my shop, I also included sea shells beads (I told kids I gathered them when we crossed the Red Sea). These had holes too small for yarn, so I put jump rings through the small holes, which could then be easily tied to the yarn.

Beads shown at right are actual ancient Egyptian beads from the Walters Museum.   Picture is in the public domain.  That and more pictures of Egyptian beads from the museum can be found on Wikimedia Commons.

Wilderness Bible Points - Alternate Tent Host Script

Here is a daily script you can use which goes along with the daily Bible point for Wilderness Escape. This is from the perspective of an Israelite who trusts God and is trying to encourage others who are worried about the dangers they are facing on their journey.  You can also find a printable version here.

DAY 1: Israelites Cross the Red Sea

What a year it's been. Here we were, stuck making bricks for Pharaoh in Egypt, and along comes Moses and starts doing all these amazing things trying to convince Pharaoh to give us a break so we could go worship God in the wilderness. He throws down his staff and it turns into a snake, and then back into a staff. He goes out to the Nile river and hits the water with his staff, and all the water turns to blood. All sorts of crazy stuff like that. Have you heard about all that? Well, let me tell you, I thought thought that was one amazing staff he had. I thought it was magic or something! But when I met Moses he told me "No, this staff isn't magic...it is just an ordinary walking stick"....an ordinary stick just like we have here, and he told me he's just an ordinary man. It was God who was really doing all that amazing stuff. Isn't that great to think about...that God can take an ordinary stick and an ordinary man and use them to do all that?

DAY 2: God Provides Quail and Manna

Session 1 (Before the Manna): 

Not much to eat here in the wilderness. Some people are worried that we're going to run out of food. But I don't think God would rescue us from Pharaoh just for us to starve in the wilderness. What do you think?

Session 2 (After the Manna): So, did you hear about the manna? Did you try some? See, here everyone was worried about running out of food, but I knew God would come through.

DAY 3: The Amalekites Attack

It can be really scary out here in the Wilderness...first with the Egyptians chasing us, and now with the Amalekites! It's good to have a nice sturdy walking stick for defense (though I better not see any of you using your sticks on each other! We only use these for walking in the camp, understood?) But then, a stick isn't much good against swords and spears and arrows...and that's all a lot of us have! Well...not all we have. We have God, and I know he can keep us safe. Do you trust God to keep you safe?
    

DAY 4: Remembering the Passover
For a walking stick, you need a stick that's light enough to carry, but strong enough to hold your weight. If it's not strong enough, if you lean on it, it will break, but if you choose a good strong sturdy stick, it will help make your journey easier.

Hmm...you know, that makes me think about some of my fellow Israelites--a lot of them don't seem to trust God very much. It's like they don't think he's strong enough to lean on, like a puny twig. But after all he's done I would think they would trust him. Maybe they've forgotten how strong and powerful God is, and how much he loves them? How can we help them to remember?
    

DAY 5: The 10 Commandments

So, you're interested in making a walking stick? A good staff can be very useful. You can lean on it while you're walking, you can use it to help herd your sheep. But it's not very good if you don't use it, is is...it would just be a weight to carry around. That's kind of like God's word...if you trust in what God says, it's useful to you. But if you don't trust enough to obey, knowing what God commanded won't help you any more than a staff you don't use.  Do you trust God enough to obey what he says?

Egyptian Writing Activity

There's something interesting that you won't find in most kids books on Egypt ...that there were TWO types of writing used in in Egypt.

 Hieroglyphs

 Picture by Glen Ashton - Creative Commons

Hieroglyphics is the type of writing most people associate with Ancient Egypt.  It featured characters that looked like pictures, and could stand for either sounds or the objects depicted (depending on context).

BUT, it was not the only type of writing being used in Egypt at this time....and not even the most common type.

Hieratic Writing
(and a few hieroglyphs too)

Picture by Nic McPhee - From British Museum - Adapted Under Creative Commons

Most Egyptians used a form of writing known as hieratic.   It derived from hieroglyphics but was used alongside it  (sort of like we have printing and cursive).   Over time the two forms of writing began to have different functions.    While priests and monument carvers still used hieroglyphics to record things of religious and historical importance, merchants and traders and everyone else used hieratic to write their grocery lists, records, and love notes.

You can see in the examples of both hieratic and hieroglyphics in the ancient religious text shown above (hieratics make up the main body of the text written under the scene at the top, but in the top right corner above the seated women you can see hieroglyphs). 

Documents like these would usually be written on papyrus, a type of woven paper, or sometimes on animal skins--both of which were time consuming to make and therefor expensive.   But the common people, the laborers and farmers and traders, if they could write wrote their hieratic notes on flat limestone rocks, and broken bits of pottery, which were cheap and readily available. 

 Egyptian Writing 

and Scribes Pallet Craft

Kids learning to be scribes in Egypt would practice writing on flat rocks and broken pottery ...it is just as "historical" as writing on papyrus.  So, for this activity I gathered up smooth rocks at a local garden center, and also broke up an old terra cotta pot.  I explained a little bit about the history of both styles of Egyptian writing and game them some sample alphabets of both.   I had them choose a terra cotta shard, or a rock, to paint hieroglyphs and hieratic on with red and black paint (the most commonly used ink colors in ancient Egypt).


I also made reed "brushes" and scribe pallets (a craft I found in Make It Work: Ancient Egypt) for the kids to use.   You could have older kids make these themselves, but the craft does involve using an sharp knife.  Alternatively you could pre-cut the pieces and have kids glue them together and make the indentations for the ink themselves. 

HIEROGLYPHS AND SCRIBES PALLET CRAFT

SUPPLIES:

For Stone Painting

• Red and Black Paint (goes in Pallet if you make that)
• Flat-ish stones and/or a terra-cotta pot (and hammer + trash bag or safety glasses) 

For Scribe's Pallet:

• Balsa wood strips (find at hobby store)
• Harder wood strips for base (optional...see note in instructions)
• Wood Glue 
• Round object (see step 8)
• Cardboard to cut on (a cereal box folded flat works well)
• Utility Knife

For Reed "Brushes":

• Any old reed-like weedy grass
• Scissors

Guide for Writing Hieroglyphs and Hieratics
Egyptian Alphabet Comparison Sheet


INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Collect stones or break a terra-cotta pot.  It's a toss up which is better to use.  The terra cotta is smoother and easier to paint on, but has jagged edges  (though not as sharp as glass). Many garden centers have stones you can buy, or will not mind you taking smaller broken pieces from larger flat stones they sell.  But if you choose to break a terra cotta pot with a hammer in stead, wear safety glasses OR put the pot in the plastic trash bag before breaking to keep broken bits from flying up.  Make sure to sweep area thoroughly afterwards.  (Fun alternative if you have a second story:  clear all people from the area and toss the pot from a 2nd story window.  You can tell I enjoy destruction...just a bit).

2.  For the pallet, I liked using Balsa wood strips for the top part, but a harder wood strip in the same size for the back, to add strength.  Because I was making several of these it was actually cheaper to do this (the harder wood cost less than balsa), but if you were making just one it would cost less to cut one strip of balsa in two and use it for both top and bottom. I found my pre-cut wood strips at Hobby Lobby.

4.  Cut the bottom and top strips to exactly the same length (8 - 10 inches). 

5.  The original craft called for cutting out the ink wells with a craft knife, but I thought it would be easier to press them in the soft balsa wood in stead (you can see how this turned out in the pictures).  It does make for a shallower bowl, so if you want to cut them out with a knife for a deeper ink well, do so during this step.   Otherwise, I think it would probably avoid some of the warping I got later to press them after gluing (though I have not tried this)   For the area to hold your reeds cut a rectangular strip from near the bottom of the top later of balsa wood...leaving about two inches at the top for your inkwells, as shown below.

7.  Glue your top balsa piece to your bottom wood piece...put a book on top to press them pieces together while they dry. 

8. To press out your inkwells (if you haven't choosen to cut them in step five), find a hard object with a small rounded surface.  I used the handle of a small hammer.  You could also use a screwdriver handle or even a marble.  Press the rounded object into the balsa wood hard until it makes an indentation.  (The example below shows only one layer because I made the mistake of pressing before gluing the top and bottom layers).

This is one step that even a young child can help with.  Wha-la...your scribe's pallet is done...now it need some reeds to fill it.


9.  Go outside and look for some weedy grass...something long and skinny, not wide and flat.  Cut off any "seed heads" and cut into segments just shorter than your reed holder.

10.  Last, put a drop of red and black ink in your pallet inkwells, grab your rocks or terra cotta pieces, and start painting hieroglyphics and hieratics (this page can be used for a reference)!

Shared on Throwback Thursday

Ancient Egyptian Foods

Below are all types of food that the ancient Egyptians had that I could dig up.  Originally this was a list I made for a living history Vacation Bible School, but this list could be used for all sorts of other purposes.

I started out trying to limit this to the foods that would have been available in Egypt in the time of Joseph and Moses, but when these event occurred is highly debated among Biblical scholars and so really hard to nail down.   Also, sometimes I don't know when exactly a certain food/ingredient was used in Egypt, just that it was used at some point. 

NOTE ABOUT DATES:  We don't have definite dates for when Joseph and Moses lived, but since the story of Moses mentions chariots, which were not in Egypt until they were taken over by the Hyksos (in the 2nd Intermediate Period between the Middle and New Kingdom), we can limit it to, at earliest, Late Middle Kingdom, or some time after that, but most likely before 1000 BCE.   

FOR VBS VOLUNTEERS:  I've  included some things for historical interest that would not be feasible to use during VBS (don’t worry, I’m not suggesting serving wine or beer, or trying to hunt down papyrus root, which besides being hard to find is now endangered).  



RECIPES

Egyptian Bread and Tigernut Cone Sweets
This is similar to the other tigernut recipes below, but they model the Egyptian method of making them, based off of depictions in Egyptian murals, not just the recipe.

"Tigernut" Sweets   (Includes Walnuts - introduced in Greco-Roman Times)
"Tigernut" Sweets II  (Includes Walnuts - introduced in Greco-Roman Times)

Horchata With Actual Tigernuts  
This also includes a recipe for beer in the beginning.   The Horchata recipe is down below.  Tigernuts are sold now as a health food in some stores so it might be possible to get them to make this recipe. 

Tigernut Honey Cakes

Egyptian Palace Cake 

Egyptian Marshmallow   
While no recipe for this exists, we know they had marshmallow plant and used it.  This is a possible recipe made with ingredients they would have had.   This is not modern marshmallows.

White Lotus Cakes   
Calls for actual lotus seeds, so this one might be harder to find, but would be a cool treat if you could find them. 

Egyptian Bread (Modern Adaption - with historical info) 
Very simple bread recipe. Article includes some other ancient recipes. 

Egyptian Beer Bread (made like Egyptians made it)
Scroll to the end to find recipe.   Beer bakes out.  Lots of good info on Egyptian baking above.

How to Eat Like and Egyptian Pyramid Builder
This includes several simple recipes that were probably eaten by the workers on the pyramids:  flat bread, lentil soup, salted tilapia, and stewed lamb.

Ta'amia/Falafel (Bean Cakes)
While its origins are disputed, some claim this dates back to the pharonic era of ancient Egypt.   Falafel today is usually made from chickpeas but in ancient Egypt it would have been made from beans.

Tilapia Soup

Watermelon Seed Recipe
I read that Egyptians originally cultivated watermelons for their seeds, not to eat the flesh--an indication that early on they weren’t sweet like today, though around the time of Joseph it seems they may have cultivated a more palatable, if not totally sweet, variety.  While we don’t know for certain how they ate the seeds, I found this simple recipe which seems like something they might have done (it’s a middle Eastern recipe with ingredients they had then).  You de-seed watermelon served as a snack, and then later use the seeds to make this.  (Another version here doesn't mention drying seeds as long)

Dukkah Spice Blend
Ancient spice mixture that can be used to season meat, mixed with hummus, or used as a dip for bread.  (Scroll Down on Page for Recipe)

Pickles
The Egyptians made pickles by soaking cucumbers in vinegar, and mixing in spices to flavor them (kids could have fun making their own pickles with combinations of spices Egyptians had, listed further down on this page.)  (11)

Goose with Pomegranate Sauce - Not a dish we knew they made, but a dish with foods we knew they had and ate, so a possible recipe for sure. 

A Meal With Cleopatra
This contains four recipes.   The bread would have been something available at all times in Ancient Egypt.  The rest were intentionally supposed to represent the foods that would have been available at the time of Cleopatra, long after the Greeks had taken over Egypt, and when Rome had taken over what we now think of as Greece...so these recipes have Greek and Roman touches.   While the Greek and Roman influences on Egypt came long after Joseph would have been in Egypt, I think the Mersu with pistachio would be an interesting choice for the time of Joseph, since the Bible records that Joseph's brothers brought him gifts of pistachios (not a native Egyptian plant) on their second trip to Egypt (Gen 43:11), and this is a way that they could have been used in Egyptian cuisine. 

  





WHAT INGREDIENTS/FOODS THEY HAD
You can use the ingredients below to find food for snacking or imagine other recipes they could have made. Remember that while they had a wide variety of foods available, they couldn't use them all at once because some things would only be available in certain seasons (you can find more info on seasonality at the bottom of this page).


BREADS AND GRAIN

• Bread (a main staple of the Egyptian Diet)
• They used emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum) and six-row barley (Hordeum vulgare subsp. Hexastichum) (1)
• Bread was made from flour ground on grinding stones and mixed with water that was then kneaded and left to rise. The dough could be shaped in a flat loaf or baked in ceramic molds. (1)

Egyptians had trouble keeping sand out of their bread...we know this because of the way the bread they ate wore down their teeth.  (12)

DRINKS (5)

• Milk (from sheep, goat and cow)
• Water
• Beer (a main staple of diet)
• Wine (mostly from grapes, but also from pomegranate, grapes, and other fruit)
• Juices

MEAT (1)

• Cattle
• Chicken - used after Persian times, uncertain before that
• Duck
• Fish - primary source of meat for most Egyptians (included Nile perch, catfish, and mullets)
• Geese
• Goats
• Pigs
• Sheep
• Wild animals were hunted, mainly from the desert, and included wild cattle, addax, antelope, hartebeest, gazelle, ibex, Barbary sheep, oryx, and ostriches.  Wild birds were also hunted.  Hippo and crocodile were hunted mainly because they were dangerous. "In pharaonic times many of these desert fauna were hunted for sport by royalty and nobles; hunting dogs similar to the greyhound were used for this." (1)

DAIRY PRODUCTS (5,6)

• Eggs
• Cheeses
• Yogurt
• Butter (clarified, resembling oil...probably because of the heat).

VEGETABLES (1)

• Carob (Introduced in Middle Kingdom, used as a sweetener)
• Celery - Introduced during the 18th Dynasty (early New Kingdom), eaten raw, and used to flavor stews. (9)
• Cucumber (introduced in New Kingdom) (9)
• Chickpeas (introduced in New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty) (9)
• Cress (seeds used as flavoring, so possible that plant used like lettuce as well)(9)
• Garlic
• Fava Beans
• Lima Beans
• Leek
• Lentils
• Lettuce - Its leaves were eaten whole, dipped in oil and salt (4)
• Lotus Tuber (Arum colocasia)
• Mallow (4)
• Onions
• Peas
• Papyrus Tuber -”...they pull up from the fens the papyrus which grows every  year, and the upper parts of it they cut off and turn to other uses,  but that which is left below for about a cubit in length they eat or  sell: and those who desire to have the papyrus at its very best bake it  in an oven heated red-hot, and then eat it.”  Herodotus, Histories II, 2.92  (4) -
• Raddish - white/pink (introduced in Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty)(9)
• Tigernut (a root crop, not actually a nut - sometimes sold now as a health food ) (3)

FRUITS (1)

• Carob Trees - More common in new kingdom (1)
• Dates and Date Palm

- Imported plant...not sure when imported. (1)
- Plentiful after hand pollination was practiced...not sure when that was

• Dom/Doum Palm (native plant with brown fruit) (1)
• Figs (common fig and sycomore fig)
• Grapes and Raisins
• Olives (rare) -there’s evidence of olives, though olive trees don't grow well in the southern part of the country - olive oil was a luxury item so probably olives were too.    (1)
• Persea
• Pomegranate - more common in New Kingdom, though still a luxury item (9)
• Watermelon (2)  - probably was not as sweet as watermelon today.
• Black Mulberry (introduced in New Kingdom)
• Wild Zizyphus berries
• Apricot (imported, only used by wealthy) 
 

 

NUTS/SEEDS

• Sesame
• Watermelon Seeds
• Lotus Seeds
• Celery Seeds (introduced in early New Kingdom,  incorporated in sauces for grilled fish) (9)
• Almonds (New Kingdom on, rare, imported from Persia and Armenia) (5)
• Pistacio (not native - it was available but rare, imported) (14-16)
• Various other seeds

The Bible tells how, when Joseph's brothers returned to Egypt the second time, their father told them to "Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift—a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds." (Gen 43:11)   These would have been valued, because myrrh, pistachio and almonds did not grow in Egypt (14-16). 

HERBS, SPICES (1)

• Anise (added to bread, flavored pork)(9)
• Celery Seeds
  
• Cinnamon (imported and only available to very rich, sometimes even used in mummification) (10)
• Coriander (available from the New Kingdom onward, added to bread, seasoned fish) 
• Cress Seeds
• Cumin (available from the New Kingdom on, used on flavored bread and fish)(9)*
• Dill (available from the New Kingdom on) (9)
• Fennel
• Fenugreek - was used as a spice and possibly after the seeds were removed the stems provided fodder for livestock.
• Garlic
• Lavender
  
• Majoram (9) 
• Mustar (possibly as early as Middle Kingdom) (9)
• Parsley (9)
• Rosemary (9)
• Thyme (9)
• Salt

*Cumin was associated with faithfulness, and so soldiers and merchants sometimes carried the seeds in their pockets to remind them of those waiting at home.   They also thought cumin could help digestion and settle the stomach. (10)


OTHER

• Olive Oil - an imported item common after the Hyksos (9)
• Seed and Nut Oils
• Celery Seed Oil (used as a food preservative in New Kingdom)(9)
• Other Oils
• Vinegar (8)
• Honey - produced in ceramic hives (1)

Honey was the primary sweetener, gathered with effort and used sparingly. It was associated with the gods, with preservation, and with ritual purity. Most Egyptians would have encountered honey only on special occasions.  (Donnie Dodson, Eats History)

 

SOURCES
1.  http://astromic.blogspot.com/2012/01/food-in-ancient-egypt.html

2.  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/150821-watermelon-fruit-history-agriculture/

3.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyperus_esculentus

4. http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/vegetables.htm

5. http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/drink.htm

6. http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/meat.htm

7. https://books.google.com/books?id=Vj7A9jJrZP0C&pg=PA632&lpg=PA632&dq=celery+egypt&source=bl&ots=zt20tgyJKt&sig=PQaNQatoZHYbNAP6AG5BTmFmCqE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiD58uW-orNAhUE7IMKHc31CvcQ6AEIQzAJ#v=onepage&q=plum&f=false

8. http://www.ancient-egypt-online.com/ancient-egyptian-food.html 

9. https://cowofgold.wikispaces.com/Ancient+Egyptian+Food

10. https://www.history.com/news/spices-of-life-in-ancient-egypt 

11. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ancient-Egypt-Reading-Comprehension-The-Nile-River-2613230

12. http://www.ethanholman.com/history/egypt/dailylife/breadmaking.htm

13. https://sourdoughstartersfall20.wordpress.ncsu.edu/2020/09/11/the-history-of-the-cucumber/

14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pistachio

15. https://www.pisti.it/en/pistachio-origins-and-varieties-in-the-world/

16. https://crewsproject.wordpress.com/2018/02/16/crews-display-pistachio-potsherd/

LINKING UP AT....

Throwback Thursday

Egypt VBS Decor - Marketplace

I thought I would share how we decorated our marketplace and "family homes" for Egypt VBS in 2010 and in 2016.  We did not do all the marketplace crafts--I'm just including the official crafts for now (we did several alternatives as well...and I'm going to do separate posts for these). 

The Scribe Shop (Hieroglyphics)

Reed mats just add something to table decor.  I've seen unlined bamboo mats like these for $1 at the Dollar Store or Walmart.  Party stores may have these too.

The Food Market

The food itself is most of the decor for this shop.

A few modern bowls don't detract too much if 

combined with some baskets. 

 

Brickmaking Shop

This was my shop during the marketplace.  I have more pictures and marketplace tips for brickmaking here.

The Basketry Shop

Click on either of the pictures above to 

see them larger.

In 2016 we tried out a Basketry shop.  This would be the 6th time we had done a Holy Land themed VBS, and so we had collected a lot of baskets (and I believe the shop keeper brought some from home too).  So, we were able to make a pretty spectacular basket display around the edges of our basket making shop.

In the back, the stone is just part of our church.  We used a cheap bamboo fence we got several years back at a party story to cover the window.  Sheets we collected from hotels for costumes when we did Rome covered the sides.  It really set a wonderful atmosphere.  

Animal Market

Our Animal market took NO decoration.  The lovely people who brought the animals from a local farm just let them graze freely in our church's grassy yard.  The kids ran around with baby goats (kids playing with kids...and both seeming to have a blast).  It was vastly different from having them in a cage for kids to visit.    There were some chickens in a cage...and the donkey was supervised more for the kids safety, but in general it was more natural than your typical petting zoo.  Both the animals and kids seemed more relaxed.  We did NOT have this during our regular marketplace, but replaced one day's games with "visiting herders."   We brought the kids in small groups so as to better supervise . 

Other Shops

We did several other alternative shops as well (not from Group's material) .  I'll be blogging about these at some point.

Marketplace: Brick Making Suggestions

Back in 2010 our church did the Egypt VBS that Group is putting out again this year.  I worked in the Marketplace making mud bricks, and I can tell you, it was a blast.  It's cheap, fun and really does give kids a good idea about life in Egypt (or lots of places in the middle east, really...where most people made their houses out of mud bricks).

Here's my brick making suggestions:

THE DIRT ON BRICK DIRT

Group has instructions for making bricks, but for those not using this program, you can find instructions on the Biblical Archaeology website, or you can just experiment with your own mix of mud, straw, and water.  Note that Group instructions skip steps 3 and 4, for obvious reasons--who has time for prepping mud for 5 days for a simple kids project?  Turns out the straw was used because it releases humic acid which makes for really strong bricks--so the four days of mud stomping was to give time for fermentation and to mix the acid from the straw through the mud.  For VBS craft purposes, less strong bricks will do...but if you were doing this for homeschool I could see how going through the whole 5 day process might be educational.   

I'd say in most cases it's better to get regular straight out of the ground dirt if you can (especially if you live in a place like Texas where the ground is literally called Texas clay).  Garden soil or sand does not make especially sturdy bricks, but the bricks I made out of "Texas clay" from my backyard ...that dried rock hard and solid.  You can ask volunteers to each bring a bucket of dirt from home or you can talk with a construction company to see if they have any extra "out of the ground" dirt you can use.   As for straw, we didn't chop our straw up in little pieces and the big pieces did make our bricks less stable.   Chopping up straw is time consuming so I suggest involving the kids in this step.  Kids love cutting up things into tiny pieces anyways and you can cut up straw with scissors.   

BRICK MOLDS

Group instructions also include dimensions for the mold, but if you need dimensions,  I have some on my homeschool site here (not sure if this was the same as group's).     They are pretty simple to make, just four short pieces of wood nailed or glued together like in the picture above (ours were a little narrow--slightly wider ones are easier to work with).   You will also want to reserve  some thick short slabs of wood to use to help kids pack the mud and push the bricks out of the mold (see below).

A butter knife can be useful to run along the side of the brick mold if the brick has trouble coming out of the mold.  Below a child uses a plastic knife to smooth his brick.

The bricks shown here were made with a mix of 

garden sand/soil mixed in, and came out kind of

crumbly.  "Texas clay" straight out of my back yard 

worked much better - it dried solid like rock.

LOCATION AND MESS PREP

This "craft" is messy!  If you can, put your brick making area outside...doing this craft on hard ground or cement is preferable.   If the only outdoor location has grass, you may need boards, cookie sheets, or other flat hard surfaces to put your bricks on.  If picnic tables are available they work well...but remember to cover them with a plastic tarp or disposable tablecloth.  

If you have to do this indoors (as we did), protect your floor with a large tarp and line the outsides of the area with towels for kids to wipe their feet off on.  Also, have some extra towels and a bucket of clean water for kids to wash their hands in...maybe some hand sanitizer or soap too  (Historical Tidbit: Egyptians actually had a form of soap).    Also, be forewarned that your clothes will get muddy...it will add to the authenticity of your costume (*wink*).   We offered kids pillowcase tunics to wear during VBS, which worked to protect their clothes from home too.  If you don't do this, I would suggest providing some sort of apron or overshirt for kids to wear during this craft. 

 My outfit during the week got 

more and more "authentic"

DECOR

At our VBS, "shopkeepers" were in charge of decorating their area.  Decor for the brick making shop is pretty simple.   The bricks themselves can be part of your decorations...as the week progresses the kids will need to leave the bricks to dry, though having a few to show to start with is helpful.    Hey bales can be used as seats.  For covering your table and any decorative draping on the sides of the tent I suggest beige plastic shower curtains.  Only use sheets if you own them, not ones you've borrowed as they could get mud splattered on them.   I managed to find one real wooden bucket at a thrift store for ours, but we had plastic ones too...you could paint plastic buckets like wood but I don't think it would be worth the trouble, personally (cause you'll need a lot of buckets for this).   If you are outside you can keep dirt in piles.  Hay looks nice in burlap sacks or canvas laundry bags (but again, the messiness factor is something to consider...only do this with donated bags, not loaned).

7.  Dry your bricks on trays of hay or sand to keep them from sticking.  You will need to take them outside every day to dry in the sun, so kids will have to leave them (pray for no rain!). 

8.  An idea we toyed with but didn't use was making something with our bricks--like a firepit or an edging to a flower garden.  Didn't do that, but I still think this would be cool (depending on the sturdiness of your bricks).

Child playing with the muddy water
we used to mix our bricks.

MISC TIPS

• Younger kids may come back to play in the dirt and mud.  Our brick-making shop turned into an "extra activity" for wee ones who finished early in other shops.

• Visit this site to learn more about Egyptian Brick Making. It has a drawing of Egyptians making bricks, and TONS of interesting facts about ancient Egyptian brick-making.   There's also a more succinct description of how to make mud bricks at Biblical Archeology.

Most of these photos were not taken by me, but other wonderful photographers at Dayspring Baptist Church. 

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Shared on Littles Learning Link-up and Dear Homeschooler Bookshelf and Throwback Thursday