The sickle in ancient Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Faculty of Archeology, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

The ancient Egyptians realized the appropriate times to prepare the land for cultivation after the floodwaters receded, Egyptian farmer made a set of simple agricultural tools that were suitable for each stage of farming, which can be summarized as: plowing, hoeing, sowing, harvesting, and finally collecting crops in heaps and transporting them to the granaries. The sickle is one of these tools, which can be described as a tool with a semi-circular blade characterized by a curved blade that resembles the bow. The sickle is considered one of the oldest tools used by the Egyptians since prehistoric times, and it has continued to be used until now to reap grain.

This research aims to: Clarify the use of sickles in ancient Egypt and their religious significance.



An analytical study of a group of sickles in various museums in terms of their shape, methods of manufacture, and materials used.

Explain the religious significance of sickles as part of the foundation deposits of some temples in the New Kingdom as well as a part of funerary equipment in the individual tombs (for example, the Hamaka tomb) and in the royal tombs (for example, the Tutankhamun tomb).

Keywords

References

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    أطروحات الماجستير والدكتوراه الاجنبية:

    • Randa, Diana G., "fertility Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Agricultural societies", (unpublished Master Thesis, Faculty of California State University Dominguez Hillsm, 2009).

    المواقع الإلكترونية:

    http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk

    https://www.britishmuseum.org

    https://www.brooklynmuseum.org

    https://www.egypt-museum.com  

    https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection

    https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt  

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