Ramses learning journey: New Kingdom Egypt society during the Ramesside period

An exploration of Ramses II through Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs will provide you with an insightful understanding of New Kingdom Egypt society during the Ramesside period. Throughout your visit you will be able to see a range of ancient sources that explore social structure, the economy, religious practices and cultural and everyday life during this time. Before your visit, this learning journey and your booklet will take you through many parts of the syllabus and provide you with the opportunity to engage more effectively with the objects when you arrive at the exhibition.

New Kingdom Egypt is often considered the Golden Age of Egypt, lasting from 1550 BCE to 1077 BCE. The 19th dynasty of the Ramesside period in particular is characterised by a prosperous economy, artistic achievement and a stable government in the wake of the Amarna revolution of Akhenaten and several short-lived pharaohs of the late 18th Dynasty.

There are many ways to measure the success of a society, one of which is their ability to construct monuments.

Abu Simbel, a site of two temples built by Ramses II during the Ramesside period remains one of the world's most iconic heritage sites. It was famously saved by UNESCO from the rising waters of the Nile River, an act that birthed the UNESCO World Heritage Convention which continues to protect world heritage sites across the globe. Carved directly into the sandstone near the border of Egypt and Nubia (modern day Sudan), it took twenty years to build, was flanked by four colossal statues of Ramses that stood at twenty meters tall and was designed so that twice a year on February 22nd and October 22nd, the rising sun would illuminate the sanctuary's inner chamber, shining light on statues of Ramses and the gods that would typically be shrouded in darkness.

What does a monument such as Abu Simbel reveal about the success of society during the Ramesside period?

In your response consider what is required for a project of this magnitude and what this might say about the society that accomplished it.

Learning Intention

- assess the significance that geographic features can have on society

Success Criteria

- use sources A and B to say at least two things about the importance of the Nile

The Nile River was the lifeblood of ancient Egypt, providing water, fertile soil and was the backbone of their agriculture and economy. Not only did it provide the sustenance that Egyptians needed to survive, but it also influenced Egyptian culture, religious beliefs and served as a vital trade route.

Read the text on page one of the booklet and analyse sources A and B. Discuss what the sources reveal about the importance of the Nile to Egyptian society with your peers.

Learning Intention

- assess the significance that individuals, features and events can have on society

- analyse and interpret a range of sources for evidence to support an historical account or argument

Success Criteria

- ancient sculptures and art are explicitly used in responses to comment on the role and image of the pharaoh

- there is a comment on historiographical issues in regard to using these types of sources

- there is explicit reference to the concept of maat

The pharaoh wielded absolute authority in Egypt as its religious, political, military and cultural leader. Their responsibility of maintaining ma'at was central to the prosperity and unity of society and was clearly highlighted throughout the reign of Ramses II. The pharaoh advertised this role through their image, often accomplished through monuments, inscriptions and wall paintings.

Complete the activity on page two of your booklet which will help you understand the divine role of the pharaoh and how this was depicted. Pay special consideration to the second success criteria to integrate historiography into your response.

Maintaining maat also encompassed the pharaoh's ability to protect Egypt from threats, requiring them to act as military leaders. The concept of the warrior pharaoh dates back to the early 18th Dynasty and was upheld by the pharaohs of the Ramesside period, who originally came from military families.

Complete the activity on page three of your booklet and reflect on your response using the success criteria.

Learning Intention

- assess the significance that individuals, features and events can have on society

- analyse and interpret a range of sources for evidence to support an historical account or argument

- effectively research a range of historical features, individuals and events

Success Criteria

- there is well chosen and explicit information about the various roles of the vizier from the Instruction of Rekhmire

- there is an appropriate selection of sources to reveal information about the Egyptian elite and military

The pharaoh relied on a complex bureaucratic system which was headed by the vizier who oversaw the operations of government.

Complete the activity on page four of your booklet which requires you to find a translation of 'Instruction to Rekhmire', to reveal the specific roles the vizier had. It is also known as the 'Installation of the Vizier' or 'The duties of the Vizier' and is easily accessible online.

Using the first success criteria, assess a peer's examples and compare them to your own.

Apart from the vizier, there was a raft of other official positions that oversaw military and administrative operations that ensured the effective maintenance of Egypt during the Ramesside period.

Read the text on page five of your booklet and complete the activity. This will require you to consider a range of sources that you have already looked at and decide how you will make them relevant to the role of Egyptian elites and the military.

Use the second success criteria to reflect on your work.

Learning Intention

- analyse and interpret a range of sources for evidence to support an historical account or argument

Success Criteria

- the sources are used to make clear assumptions about the role and status of women during the Ramesside period

When compared to the role and status of women in other ancient societies, the treatment of women in Egypt was relatively progressive. Their role and status were derived from their male relatives, meaning royal women were highly visible and bestowed with numerous honours, while much less is known about non-royal women.

Complete the activities on page six of your booklet. Use the success criteria to discuss your assumptions with the class.

Challenge question:

Egypt is well known for having multiple female pharaohs. During the Ramesside period, Tausret ascended to the throne as the last pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty.

Complete some research about her rule and answer the following question.

Why must an historian be wary when using sources to evaluate the reign of Tausret?

Learning Intention

- assess the significance that individuals, features and events can have on society

- propose arguments about how historical events and developments impact society

Success Criteria

- notes explicitly reference the Instruction of Amenemope and include what it states in regard to scribes

- response contrasts ostraca with other sources and proposes an argument about an artisan's position in New Kingdom Egypt social structure

The operation of New Kingdom Egypt was reliant on a range of workers including scribes and artisans. As literate individuals, scribes were crucial for the administration of government.

Research activity

Use the internet to find a copy of 'Instruction of Amenemope', an instructional text written by Amenemope, who was supposedly a scribe living during the Ramesside period.

Read the introduction and takes notes on what the role of a scribe was.

While scribes took on administrative and communicative roles within the government, artisans were required for the pharaoh's extensive building programs.

Complete the activity on page seven of your booklet which will give you an insight into the few objects that reveal information about non noble individuals during the Ramesside period.

Learning Intention

- effectively research a range of historical features, individuals and events

Success Criteria

- your responses contain explicit references at least two points pertaining to animal husbandry and transport on the Nile

You have already considered the importance of the Nile to New Kingdom Egypt Society. In this activity you will consider the role it played in supporting the economy of Egypt during the Ramesside period.

Two areas which students are required to understand outside of its agricultural importance is the role it played in animal husbandry and transport.

Complete the research activity on page eight of your booklet to gain a better understanding of the Nile's importance.

Challenge Question

How did the Nile shape the cultural and religious dimensions of society during the Ramesside period?

Learning Intention

- analyse and interpret a range of sources for evidence to support an historical account or argument

- propose arguments about how historical events and developments impact society

Success Criteria

- notes show evidence of understanding through highlighting and annotations

- responses explicitly reference sources from the tomb of Rekhmire and links evidence to the relevant syllabus dot points

- constructions of hypotheses that make reasonable assumptions about sources P, Q and R

Egyptians during the Ramesside period were employed in a range of occupations. Many of these revolved around crafts and industry. They used increasingly sophisticated technology to create the objects you will see at Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs.

Start by reading the text on page nine of your booklet. Highlight references to the three different materials used to create objects and the types of tools and techniques used in their construction.

This will give you the required understanding to answer the question at the bottom of the page. You can also complete some more research on the tomb of Rekhmire, which is an excellent source of information.

On page 10 of your booklet, you will see three objects that are featured in the exhibition, each of which reveal evidence in regard to the work of craftspeople in New Kingdom Egypt. Complete the activity to propose reasonable arguments about objects.

Use the success criteria to assess your work. Comment on areas where you might improve for the next activities.

Learning Intention

- assess the significance that individuals, features and events can have on society

- analyse and interpret a range of sources for evidence to support an historical account or argument

- effectively research a range of historical features, individuals and events

Success Criteria

- responses explicitly reference a range of sources to describe religious beliefs

- research includes specific information in regard to festivals, mummification and the afterlife

Religion during the Ramesside Period was a fundamental aspect of Egyptian culture, governance, and daily life. Egypt's many gods represented all parts of life, whose proper worship ensured cosmic order.

Individuals showed their dedication to the gods through personal piety and appropriate worship, such as the participation in religious festivals.

Read the text on page 11 of your booklet and complete the questions on pages 11 and 12.

A core element of Egyptian religion was their belief of the afterlife. This dictated their funerary customs, funerary texts and construction of tombs where the deceased were laid to rest before attempting their journey to the Field of Reeds.

At Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs you will see a range of objects relevant to religious customs during the Ramesside period, including tomb objects, animal mummies and coffins.

Read the text and complete the activities on pages 13 to 15 of your booklet. These questions will provide you with an insightful understanding of funerary customs, texts and tombs through an analysis of relevant objects, some of which you will see in the exhibition.

Use the success criteria to assess a peer's work. Discuss with them two areas of strength and one area for improvement in their responses.

Learning Intention

- effectively research a range of historical features, individuals and events

Success Criteria

- your research should explicitly reference at least one similarity and one difference between Karnak and the Ramesseum

You have already looked at temples through the multiple festivals that were celebrated there, objects found in them and key sites such as Abu Simbel. Temples during the Ramesside period were multifaceted institutions that went beyond religious worship. They were cultural centers, economic powerhouses, political players, and sites of artistic expression and royal propaganda. They played a vital role in preserving and promoting Egyptian identity and culture as well as religious beliefs.

Read the text on page 15 of your booklet to learn about the structure of temples and how this relates to Egyptian beliefs, and the difference these have with mortuary temples.

Complete the research activity at the bottom on page 16 to show your understanding of this difference.

Learning Intention

- analyse and interpret a range of sources for evidence to support an historical account or argument

- propose arguments about how historical events and developments impact society

Success Criteria

- response clearly offers a hypothesis on what political and/or religious functions are evident in sources X and Y

-at least one source can be identified that provides information about the everyday life of Egyptians during the period

Sculptures and wall paintings during the Ramesside period were based on generations of tradition with very few changes over the course of Egyptian history. The creation of art was not necessarily based on a freedom of expression but served important political functions within Egyptian society.

Complete the activity on page 16 of your booklet. This will help you propose arguments about how art was used by the pharaohs. Use the success criteria to check your work.

While only very few Egyptians would have sculptures made in their likeness, jewellery was worn by all social classes. The jewellery that remains are examples that were found in tombs and missed by tomb robbers, generally belonging to royal and noble families.

Read the text on page 17 and discuss with a peer what we can learn about Egyptian society through the use of jewellery as evidence.

Throughout the last 10 activities there has been multiple references to everyday life of Egyptians. Find two sources that provide insight on everyday life during the Ramesside period.

Learning Intention

- Locate significant objects that will assist in my understanding
- Form complex opinions
- Use archaeological sources to discuss a range of perspectives about with my peers and teachers

Success Criteria

- A completed checklist of relevant objects linked to the syllabus

- Use guiding questions to consider the nature of power and authority and significant developments that shaped New Kingdom Egypt

- Participate in a range of discussions that reveal the multiplicity of perspectives that can be gained from analysing archaeological sources

During your visit to Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs you will be immersed in over 180 objects, models and multimedia experiences that will enrich your understanding of New Kingdom Egypt society during the Ramesside period.

To make the most of your experience, complete as much of the booklet as you can before you visit, as this will provide the context to link the exhibition to your studies.

When you are at Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs you should be divided into groups A, B and C. Using a map and object list, you will locate a range of objects that are relevant to the syllabus and can be used as sources in your future studies.

As you find the objects on your list, use the guiding questions to help you assess and evaluate their significance. There will not be an opportunity to write notes in the exhibition. If you have a phone, feel free to take photos (no flash) of objects and voice record any thoughts you might have.

We hope you enjoyed your visit to the Australian Museum and Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs.

The HSC syllabus requires students to investigate key features of New Kingdom Egypt during the Ramesside period and how these features are connected. This is achieved through a study of archaeological and written sources.

Now that you are back in the classroom it is time to connect the written sources from the booklet and the objects you found in the exhibition to the syllabus.

The following activities will help you make the most of your visit to Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs.

If an object could speak, what kind of story might it tell?

Objects hold multiple stories, whether they be of their creators, those who used them, or the individuals and events they have witnessed.

Here is a short example of an object story about the Gweagal Shield, a First Nations shield that may have been taken by Captain Cook in 1770 before being kept at the British Museum.

The shield’s history has been written and rewritten, but as all things in First Nations Australia, its story begins with country, a story of kinship, earth, water, sky and the lives they support. It is commonly accepted that this shield originated from the Gweagal clan of the Dharawal nation, it was here that Gweagal men, painted in sacred white clay would strip bark from the mangroves and stringy bark trees, harden it over open fires and mark it with the same white clay that adorned their bodies to create the shield. It was a symbol of First Nations relationship with country and their desire to defend it, a future it would soon realise when it sat on the arm of a Gweagal warrior, as he stared down Captain James Cook on the 29th of April 1770.

Take particular of note of how the object remains at the center of the writing, allowing it to tell a narrative of its existence.

Choose an object from Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs and write a short story from its perspective.

Learning Intention

- construct a short story about an object that reveals historical information

Success Criteria

- Using the example of the Gweagal shield, construct your own success criteria that would demonstrate an effective object story

While you were at Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs you were responsible for locating six objects in the exhibition and up to three of your own choosing. These objects have been chosen as valuable sources for your understanding New Kingdom Egypt society and can be utilised in a range of HSC questions.

Take this opportunity to treat each guiding question as a source focused short response worth five marks.

Use the marking criteria to assess your work.

Learning Intention

- show deep understanding of syllabus documents

- communicates the significance of historical objects

Success Criteria

- each object is linked to at least one syllabus dot point

- presentation includes a justification of why two objects are the most useful for the study of New Kingdom Egypt society during the Ramesside period


Form groups of three, ensuring that each member completed a different object list.

Share your responses to the guiding questions with each other and think about where the objects fit into the syllabus.

Label each object with applicable syllabus dot points.

Many of the objects will be relevant to multiple areas of the syllabus.

In your groups, create a short presentation that justifies why three of the objects (one from each list), are the most relevant to the syllabus.

The final step in this journey is to bring together your knowledge from the booklet, your visit to Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs and work you have completed in class to practice your essay writing.

New Kingdom Egypt society during the Ramesside period is typically assessed through three to four questions totaling 25 marks. Within the paper you can expect questions with mark values that range from two to 15.

For example, the 2019 paper included three questions to the value of four, six and fifteen marks. The 2022 paper included four questions to the value of two, four, seven and 12 marks.

Typically, there will be at least one question which requires explicit reference to a provided source. Students are also expected to have knowledge of a range of other sources they can use as evidence in their answers.

The structure of this paper is prone to change, and students should be prepared to answer questions that use a range of instructional verbs from the NESA glossary.

Complete the following practice HSC paper.

Question one - three marks

Outline the role and status of royal women in this period.

Question two - five marks

Describe the features of temples during this period.

Question three - seven marks

What do archaeological sources reveal about crafts, industry and technological developments during this period?

Question four - 10 marks

Explain the funerary customs of New Kingdom Egypt in this period. Support your response using evidence from the source below and other relevant sources.