Meroe was a powerful city in the Kush Kingdom of the Nubians during the Late Period of Egyptian history. It rivalled Egyptian power from about 800 BCE until the fall of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in 30 BCE.

The Egyptians used a flight of steps, constructed on the banks of a river, to measure the rise in the Nile’s water level during the season of inundation. This instrument is called a “Nilometer” because it is used to measure the depth of the Nile.

The ancient Greeks were accomplished mathematicians and probably developed many of their earliest innovations on the backs of ancient Egyptian scholars. The ancient Egyptians, however, generally used mathematics for practical purposes, such as accounting. Whereas the ancient Greeks were more inclined to pursue mathematics for its own sake and the illumination it could provide about the nature of the world. This intellectual curiosity is one of the hallmarks of Greek civilization and distinguishes it from the slightly less intellectual civilization of ancient Egypt.

A “Nilometer” was used by the ancient Egyptians to measure changes in the water level of the Nile River. The Egyptians were extremely concerned by the seasonal inundations of the Nile, because their livelihood and survival depended upon favorable conditions. The “Nilometer,” which was a flight of steps constructed on the banks of the Nile, was just one of many devices invented by the ancient Egyptians in their constant attempt to understand and control the essential flooding of the Nile River.

An obelisk is a narrow, pointed monument constructed either to commemorate the actions of a ruler or to honor a specific God. They were constructed occasionally throughout the Old Kingdom and then frequently during the New Kingdom and the remainder of Egyptian history.

The average lifespan of an ancient Egyptian individual was around twenty, although this, of course, varied dramatically at different times in Egyptian history. A large number of people, however, died when they were infants and if a person survived until their fifth birthday, they might more reasonably expect to live to thirty or forty on average. The biggest killer of the ancient Egyptians was famine and disease. Diseases like smallpox and tuberculosis routinely devastated the Egyptian population and could even precipitate famine through depressed manpower.

The Third Intermediate Period begins with the death of Rameses XI. It saw the political and military decline of Egypt as foreigners came to rule the country. It gave way to the Late Period in which Egyptian culture was very prominent even if the country continued to be ruled by foreigners. 

The Shabaka Stone is primarily significant because it reveals the Memphian theory of creation. The Memphian theory of creation is centered around the worship of the God Ptah, whom the theologians of Memphis considered as an intermediary between the divine and the earthly realm. The Memphian theory of creation was probably originally written on papyrus during the Middle or New Kingdom periods and was then copied onto stone during the reign of Shabaka during the Third Intermediate Period.

Modern historians and scientists have been able to date the Rosetta Stone to 196 BCE, in the midst of the Third Intermediate Period. As near as can be figured, the Stone acted as a sort of public information board; in three different scripts (Hieroglyphics, Demotic, and Greek) the Stone informs Egyptian citizens of the ascension of the Pharaoh Ptolemy V. Prior to its discovery in 1799, no living individual was able to read hieroglyphic script, despite numerous decoding attempts over the ages. Because the Stone reproduced essentially the same text three times over, the Frenchman Jean-Francois Champollion was able to use his knowledge of Greek to translate both the Demotic and Hieroglyphics on the artifact. Champollion’s translation opened up an entire world of understanding, as historians and archeologists were able to read hieroglyphic inscriptions on temple walls, monuments, and scrolls for the very first time.

The oldest dress in the world is believed to be 5,000 years old. It dates all the way to the beginning of the Egyptian kingdom. It was found in an Egyptian tomb and is beautifully stitched and pleated.