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Daily Life in Ancient Egypt

© Jodee Redmond

Do you ever wonder what it would have been like to live in ancient Egypt? A lot would depend on whether you were an ordinary person or a member of the nobility.

Most people in ancient Egypt lived close to the Nile River. People were able to travel up and down the river by boat. The river was also used to transport grain, cattle, and pieces of stone for building columns.

People had jobs similar to what we see in modern times: Farmers grew crops and raised cattle, goats, and pigs; craftsmen made pottery, shoes, and jewellery; artists and sculptors worked with wood and stone. Scribes were responsible for keeping written records of all kinds; they also collected taxes.

Your home would be made from mud that was shaped into bricks. The bricks were then baked in the sun until they hardened. The roof of the house would be flat. Wealthy families would have tiles on the floors and colored walls and ceilings.

If you were an ordinary person, you would sleep on sheets made of course linen. Your clothing would also be made from this fabric. Noblemen would sleep on fine linen sheets and have a servant to help them put on a kilt made of fine linen. Their sandals would be made from leather. The nobleman's wife would also wear fine linen clothes. She would have jewellery made of glass or gold and would have used kohl (black eye paint) around her eyes. On special occasions, she would wear a black wig made from human hair. Beeswax was used to keep it in place. Perfume was also available - cinnamon and myrrh were popular fragrances.

Both boys and girls had their hair either cut short or shaved off except for one section of hair left on the side of the head. This was called the side-lock of youth. After puberty, boys would often shave their heads. Girls would wear their hair in a ponytail. This was often braided.

Men usually wore their hair short. Sometimes they would curl their hair. Women with long hair would tie their hair with linen ribbons or wear flowers in their hair. Wealthy women could afford to wear hair ornaments made of gold, garnet, or turquoise in their hair. Those who were not rich used berries and petals in their hair. Other women used hairpins made of metal or ivory. Servants and slaves would tie their hair in a loop at the back of the head. Another option was to take eight or nine plaits from the back of the head and have them dangle down at one side of the head.