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Amusing, factual, informativeIt Began

In Egypt ties you to the past in almost
every department of your life.
 IT BEGAN
II EGYPT
A ROSICRUCIAN EGYPTIAN MUSEUM
PRODUCTION

M ember: American Association of M useums

Egyptian Explora!ion Society
Patrn of Sm ithsonian Institulion prepared by
Fondation Epyptologique
Reine Elisabelh James C. French, M. A.
The International Instilute for tlie
Conserva!ion of N useum Objeets Former Curator, Rosicrucian Egyptiati Museum

Consulting Egyptologist:
D r. M ax G uilm ot
(C ollection arranged under Technical
D irection of D r. G eorg Steindorff
and D r. Etienne D rioton)
 Copyright, 1953
TAXES
By ie Supremo. Granel Lodge of AMORC, Inc. I n the fertile valley of the Nile, over 6000
All Righta Rescrved years ago, the Egyptians worked in their
flelds watering flax and grain. As pay for the
water, they carried a share of their grain and
flax each season to the local ruler who con-
trolled the irrigation facilities of the villages.
If they became delinquent in sharing crops,
the ruler called on them to demand his pay;
otherwise, the flow of water would stop.
This was the earliest form of taxation. A
record was kept by scratching a picture of a
grain basket on the wall of each peasants
home. The number of marks indicated the
basketfuls paid. Later during the Pyramid
Age, the Pharaoh appointed officials in every
locality of Egypt to collect taxes in the form
of producegrain, lvestock, wines, honey,
L I T H O G H A P H E D BY T H E R O S I C R U C I A N P R E S S . L T D .

S A N JOSE, C A L IF O R N IA linens. and other property. Except for the

G -2 0 1 A 1272
livestock, the items were stored in granaries
and storerooxns, constituting the wealth of
Egypt as vested in the Pharaoh.
Many of the Egyptian laymen toofc pride
in resistiag taxation. We read that An
Egyptian blushes if he cannot show numerous
marks on his body that evince his endeavors
to evade the duties.
Another story tells of an angry deputy de-
manding, W hy have you not paid taxes?
Because, replied the citizen with sad ex-
pression in keeping with his ragged appearance,
I have not the means.
At this statement he was ordered thrown
upon the floor and beaten. He prayed to be
released, but the stick continued to fall. Finally
he could resist the torment no longer. At this
he was released and taken home by a soldier.
The money was paid.
The reaction of the wife was: WIGS AND BEARDS
You coward, you fool! Did you give them A c c o r d in g to the historian Herodotus, the
the money on the first demand! . . . after ancient Egyptians did not allow the hair or
fve or six blows . . . Next year our taxes will the beard to grow except at a time of mourn-
be doubled through your weakness, shame! ing. They were habitually clean shaven, and
No, my dear, answered the poor man, to neglect the hair was considered very slovenly
I assure you I resisted . . . I forced them to and dirty. If a man considered of a low
give me at least a hundred blows . . station in life was represented in a portrait,
the artist always drew him with a beard, and
even Rameses VII, who was negligent, is
pictured on his tomb at Thebcs with a stubbly
beard of several days growth.
Artificial wigs or headdresses were used on
special occasions, or at least tight-ftting caps
were wom to protect the shaved heads from
the sun. At frst thought it may seem strange
that the Egyptians should wear such warm
covering as a wig, but when it is realized
that the foundation of the wig was a net,
allowing the heat of the shaved head to escape,
while the hair protected it from the sun, one
can see that it was far superior in comfort
and coolness to the modem turban.
On special occasions the Egyptian gentle-
man, who went clean shaven in everyday Ufe,
wore an artificial beard which was made of
hair very tightly plaited and fastened by LINEN
straps on to the headdress or behind the ears. T h e manufacture of linen was considered
The Ruler wore a longer beard than his sub- to be one of the most important industries in
jeets; and the figures of gods are usually rep Ancient Egypt. Linen was the preferred ma
resentad with a pointed beard curled up at the terial used for clothing although the lower-
end. The same form is often found on the class people wore woolen garments. Wraps
mummy cases, symbolizing the deceased as and cloaks were made of wool also. Wool
having become one with Osiris. was looked upon as impure. Garments made
of this material could not be wom in the tem
ples, and the dead were never buried in such.
On the wall paintings of the tombs, both
men and women are seen weaving linen from
flax which was so extensively cultivated.
Linen as fine as silk was woven, and the
Egyptians were very proud of their skill in
its manufacture. The fineness achieved is un-
believable as the threads are found to be
quite perfect, without the flaws which are
seen today in even our finest work.
The garments of linen of the rich were
embroidered. The thread was dyed before the
cloth was woven, making it possible to work
in pattems.
Immense quantities of linen were used in
the mummifying of bodies of people and also
animals. In the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
are to be seen many rare examples of linen
mummy wrappings from the tombs of Ancient
Egypt. They are inscribed with writings from
the Egyptian Book of the Dead, with funeral
scenes, gods, and goddesses.
MEASUREMENT OF TIME
T h e ancient Egyptians were the inventors
of the oldest clock in the world, a shadow
clock. Because Egypt is a sunny country, it is
certain that the shadow clock became a popular
method of measuring time.
Early in the moming at sunrise, the crossbar
of the instrument was placed facing the east
so that its shadow would fall on the long arm
at the place marked lst Hour (the first of
the six hours to the noon hour). As soon as
the shadow of the sun reached the crossbar
marking the noon hour, the instrument was at
once tumed around facing the aftemoon sun
and allowing it to cast its lengthening shadow
on the long arm, measuring the time till sunset.
According to Breasted, it was from such a
beginning that the twelve-hour day attained
its use in Europe. The oldest of these docks
is 3,400 years od and bears the ame of
Thutmose III. It is interesting to note that
nearly a thousand years later the Greeks be-
gan to use the same kind of clock.
The ancient Egyptians developed still an-
other method of measuring time, based on the
rate of time it took water to flow from a
small hole in the bottom of a container. The
container was filled and then the water was
allowed to gradually escape. As the level of
the water fell, the hours were read on a scale
which had been worked out on the inside
wall of the container.
This water clock was generally constructed
in the form of a seated ape or cynocephalus,
an animal important in the symbology of
the god Thoth considered by the Egyptians to
be the measurer of the time of both gods and
men.
The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum has sev-
eral rare representations of the cynocephalus
in its collection, dating back thousands of years.
IRRIGATION
A n c i e n t Egypt originated the Science of
irrigation. The land of Egypt in the desert
plateau of the northeast portion of the African
continent was really formed by the action of
the Nile river. Through endless ages the
river deposited its annual load of alluvium in
the Valley of the Nile, making it truly one
of the most fruitful lands on earth. Because
of the abundant flow of water which rushed
north each summer, after the rains at the
sources of the Nile, and inundated the land,
the people found that it was necessary to
control the river by building dams and dikes.
By the use of canals and sluices, swamps be-
came usable.
Because of variation in the annual Nile
flood, the Egyptian had to take steps to assure,
by his own labor, a uniform and adequate
supply of water for the fields. The paintings
and sculptures on the walls of the tombs of
Egypt show the peasants bailing up water by
the use of the shadoof, at least 4,000 years
ago. The shadoof, which is even now used in
Egypt to lift water from the Nile to the gar-
dens and fields, consists of a pole resting on an
upright post or beam supported by columns of
mud or brick. At one end a weight balances
the bucket attached to a rope on the other
end. From the shadoof, the workers carried
water to their gardens in buckets attached to
yokes strung across the shoulders.
COSMETICS
F r o m the earliest times, men and women
have used cosmetics in the care of the skin
and to act as beauty agents.
In Egypt, many records are found dating
back 3500 to 5000 B.C., showing the use of
eye paints, face paints, perfumes, and an
assortment of various kinds of oils and un-
guents for rubbing into the skin.
The ancient Egyptians were the inventors
of the artificial bath. They had a passion for
cleanliness, dirt of any kind being regarded
as an abomination. Baths were taken daily;
and priests bathed twice a day and twice dur-
ing the night. After bathing, perfumed oils
and unguents were liberally applied.
Sweet oil on their heads and on new head-
dresses was required during great festivals by
all who could a fiord it, and cakes of ointment
were placed on the heads of guests at feasts.
These melted and ran down over the body.
It was considered a great special honor to be
anointed with the oil of Qemi.
A startling effect to make the eyes appear
large was produced by using green paint be-
neath the eye, while the lid or eyebrow was
darkened by a moist black powder called Kohl.
Often the fingers, too, were stained red with
henna.
Healing qualities were ascribed to the use
of Kohl. Toilet boxes ha ve been found with
four separate compartments, each containing
different preparations, whose uses have been
described as: for opening the sight, for ex-
pelling tears, for expelling the flower, and
as daily eye-paint.
The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum is ex-
hibiting many ancient beauty articles, such THE HARP
as bronze mirrors, copper tweezers, razors, T h e ancient Egyptians were the inventors
combs, hair Cllets, and cosmetic jars and con- of the harp, and it was known to have been
tainers of every description. A most rare in use from the earliest times. The tomb
Wooden Tube for Mestchem of Eye-Paint, walls, as early as the fourth dynasty, during
is to be seen in the Museum, inscribed with the building of the pyramids, depict a great
the prenomen of Amenophis III, King of many varieties of harps. The instrument is
Egypt, 1500 B.C. pictured as being played solo or with other
instruments, and also as an accompaniment
to the human voice. There were a variety of
forms, such as the small bow-shaped kind
which was carried on the shoulder or one of
the same general nature but of mdium size,
and played by the musician seated on his heels
on the ground. Yery large harps as tall as a MEDICINE
man and elaborately decorated are to be seen
with the musician standing in order to play. E g y p t must be
These large harps were rested on the ground co n sid ered th e
or were supported by a sort of stand. p io n e e r in the
The number of strings on the harps varied Science of medi
from four to twenty-two. Very little is known cine. Unquestion-
of their System of notation, but the number ably, the princi
of strings indicate an advanced knowledge of pies as ta u g h t
intervals. and practiced by
Music of a high type was taught and per- Egyptians consti-
formed by the priests, and such was used for tute the founda-
religious purposes. However, it is certain that tion of the modera
a popular music, loved by the people at their art of medicine.
feasts, was provided by professional musicians, The Egyptian
and dancers took part in the entertainment. doctors were fa-
The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum has in mous all over the
its collection, a beautiful, rare, and ancient a n c ie n t w orld.
Egyptian amulet thousands of years od, de- T he ro y a lty of
picting a harp and a harpist. all nations were
treated by them
if their skill was
at all available.
The doctors received their remuneration from
public funds, and evidently there was a de-
partment of Public Healthalso, a medical
association at which methods of treatments
were developed. Their knowledge of therapeu-
tics, surgery, anatomy, physiology, and medi
cine was called the secres of the physician.
The Egyptian physician was known to have
accurate knowledge of anatomy, the location
and functions of the heart, stomach, intestines,
and other organs. He could treat fractures suc-
cessfully. Knowledge of the circulation of the
blood is indicated in the Ebers papyrus by the
statement, The heart is the center and its
vessels lead to all its members.
The medical prescriptions were written out
amazingly like ours, and supported by knowl
BOATS
edge of the countless herbs, as draughts, fo- T h e ancient Egyptians are said to have
mentations, ointments, and liniments suitable built the first real boats. Boat building became
as applications for the disease under treatment. one of their most important trades and arts,
Mineral drugs were used, among them one the great river Nile being their highway for
that cannot be identified today. It produced travel and commerce. Pliny states that the
anesthesia so as to make operatons possible first boats which the Egyptians invented, were
without suffering. made from papyrus. The history of boats and
shps is revealed in the tombs of the Pharaohs,
In the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum may by wall paintings and by many wonderful
be seen a rare bronze figure of Imhotep, fa- models.
mous physician to King Zoser of the Third The oldest literary referentes to reed boats
Dynasty. For his remarkable Service to the are found in the Pyramid Texts, dating to
ancient Egyptians, he was deified as The God 2700 B.C. These first boats were made of
of Medicine. bundles of reeds or bulrushes, tied together
with fibers of papyrus, and smeared inside
with pitch. It was probably into such a boat,
that the cliild Moses was placed by his mother.
Generally these boats were only large enough
to carry one or two people and were controlled
by poles or propelled by the use of a paddle.
The papyrus boat was thought to be a protec-
tion against crocodiles.
The larger boats built of acacia wood, with
masts of fir and sails of papyrus or linen, did
not appear in Egypt until around 1000 B.C.
These boats were beautifully omamented with
paintings and had spacious cabins. Many of
them were well over 100 feet in length and
had as many as twenty rowers to a side for EMBALMING
motive power.
In the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum is a F r o m the beginning of the dynasties, the
rare model funerary boat, found in the tomb ancient Egyptians were known for bringing
of the Pharaoh Thothmes III, the 18th dynasty the art of embalming or mummifying to per-
(1447 B.C.). It is made of wood covered with fection. They believed that the soul would
stucco and painted. The figurehead is a flying retura to the body after a number of years,
goose, and a hawk is at the stem. Thothmes and it was therefore necessary that the body
III, wearing a blue crown, is seated under a be preserved, if its owner wished to live for
canopy and before him is a table of food and ever with the gods.
wine. On one side of the boat is painted the
figure of Anubis, and on the other the pre- In the earliest times, bodies which had
nomen Mem-Kepher-Ra, the great Pharaohs been buried beneath the Egyptian sands be-
religious ame. came desiccated or dried out. When, however,
the first stone-lined tombs were built, the
bodies placed in themwithout the sandsoon
decayed. On the discovery of this condition.

the Egyptians then introduced embalming.
Herodotus, ancient Greek historian, men-
tions tliree ways in which the Egyptians prac-
tised embalming. In the first, the brain was
extracted through the nose; the intestines were
removed and placed in Canopic jars which
were then put into the tomb with the sar-
cophagus. The abdomen was cleansed with wine
and sprinkled with powdered perfumes, then
filled with myrrh and cassia, and then sewed
up. The body was next immersed up to the
head in a bath of salt or natrn for seventy
days, after which it was dried out and treated
with spices and resin and then wrapped in
linen bandages, gummed on the inside, until
every part of it was covered.
In the second method, a material, called
oil of cedar, was introduced, which dissolved
the intestines, so that they could be removed
without mutilation of the body. Then the
body was laid in natrn until the greater part
of the esh dissolved, leaving only the skin
and bones. In the third way, the body was
merely salted for seventy days, and then given
back to the relatives.
After the body was mummified in one of
the above manners, it was placed in a cedar
coffin or case shaped in human form.
...
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San Jos, flalifornia 9 5 1 1 4 , U. S. A.
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ROSICRUCIAN EGYPTIAN
MI'SEUM EXUIBIT
S a n J o s , C ^ a lifo rn ia