3. Houses (Commoners)
• Lived in town houses usually 2-3 stories high.
• First Floor : held for businesses
• Second and Third Floors : the family living area.
• Sometimes slept on the roof during the summer to keep cool.
• Sewage had to be thrown out into pits, the river, or the streets.
• Most all people had some furniture.
• Things you find in a commoners house : A stool, small boxes for jewelry and cosmetics,
chests for clothing, pottery jars, and oil lamps.
• Most of Egyptians did not have many belongings that had to be hidden so a chest or
basket would use plenty of their space.
• Tables were rarely used.
• Each home had a fly catcher.
Egyptians bringing in furniture.
4. There were no forests in Egypt so wood was scarce and
was s not used for house building. The earliest inhabitants of
Egypt lived in huts made from papyrus reeds. However, it
was soon discovered that the mud left behind after the
annual flooding of the Nile (inundation) could be made into
bricks which could be used for building. Bricks were made by
mixing mud and straw and leaving them to dry in the sun.
The houses of the poorest people used one row of bricks
while those that were not so poor used two or three rows.
Although mud brick houses were relatively cheap to make,
they were not very strong and began to crumble after a few
years.
5. Houses (Rich People)
Building a house.
• Made of bricks of sun dried mud called “adobe”
• They only had little wood.
• A nobleman's home was divided into three areas: a reception area, a hall, and
the private quarters.
• The windows and doors on the house were covered with mats to keep out the
flies, dust, and heat.
• The inside walls were decorated with wall hangings made of leather, and the
floors were covered with tile.
• Sometimes there was a room on the roof with three walls where the family
slept on hot summer nights.
6. • The houses of the richest people were stronger
because they could afford to build their home from
stone.
• Most houses had at least three rooms and all houses
had flat roofs which formed part of the living area.
•
• The farmhouse (above) has two floors. The upper
floor is used for living space while the lower floor is
used to store crops. A reed canopy has been made
on the roof to provide shade.
• Small windows can be seen at the top of the upper
rooms. Windows and doors were covered with reed
mats to keep out dust, flies and heat.
