Pharaohs, pyramids, gods and mummies. Three thousand years of history in 10 questions.
From the Great Pyramid to the Valley of the Kings, this quiz covers the pharaohs, the gods, mummification and the discoveries that made headlines around the world. 10 questions, no peeking.
Pick your level
Few civilisations capture the imagination like ancient Egypt. It lasted over three thousand years, left behind monuments that still tower over the desert, and kept its writing system a mystery until the Rosetta Stone finally gave up its secrets. And then there was that November day in 1922 when Howard Carter peered into a dark tomb and saw wonderful things.
This quiz covers the ground every history lover should know: the great pharaohs from Khufu to Ramesses II, the gods of the Egyptian pantheon, the strange details of mummification, and the discoveries that turned Egyptology into a worldwide obsession. Ten questions to find out how much has stuck.
All ten easy level questions, with the answer and the reasoning behind it.
Correct answer: An asp
An asp, a small venomous snake, though historians are not certain of it.
Correct answer: Mark Antony
Mark Antony, and Shakespeare gave them a play.
Correct answer: 4
Four, each one facing a compass point.
Correct answer: Horus
Horus, whose Eye was a popular amulet.
Correct answer: Linen
Linen, sometimes hundreds of square metres of it.
Correct answer: A beetle
A beetle, the dung-rolling kind, linked to the rising sun.
Correct answer: The Red Sea
The Red Sea, now popular with divers.
Correct answer: Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun, who became pharaoh at around nine years old.
Correct answer: Isis
Isis, who reassembled her husband's body.
Correct answer: The Mummy
The Mummy, with Brendan Fraser and a great many scarabs.
Want to warm up before playing or double-check something? Open any question to reveal the correct answer and a short explanation.
Correct answer: The Nile
The Nile's annual flood left behind rich black silt, which is why the Egyptians called their land Kemet, the "black land". The Greek historian Herodotus called Egypt "the gift of the Nile".
Correct answer: Howard Carter
Howard Carter found the tomb in November 1922 after years of searching, funded by his patron Lord Carnarvon. It remains the best-preserved royal tomb ever found in the Valley of the Kings.
Correct answer: Anubis
Anubis was the god of embalming. During funerary rites, the priest preparing the mummy would often wear a jackal mask to embody him.
Correct answer: Khufu
Built around 2560 BC for Khufu, the Great Pyramid originally stood about 146 metres tall and remained the tallest man-made structure on Earth for over 3,800 years.
Correct answer: The British Museum
Found by French soldiers in 1799 and handed over to Britain in 1801, the Rosetta Stone has been in the British Museum since 1802. It is one of the museum's most visited objects.
Correct answer: Storing the organs of the dead
The four canopic jars held the liver, lungs, stomach and intestines. Each jar was protected by one of the four sons of the god Horus.
Correct answer: Osiris
According to the myth, Set cut Osiris into pieces and scattered them across Egypt. His wife Isis gathered the pieces and brought him back to life, making him lord of the afterlife.
Correct answer: Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut ruled for about twenty years and built the spectacular temple at Deir el-Bahari. After her death, her successor Thutmose III had many of her images chiselled away.
Correct answer: Yes, wonderful things
On 26 November 1922, Carter made a small breach in the doorway and peered in by candlelight. His reply, "Yes, wonderful things", became one of the most famous lines in archaeology.
Correct answer: The heart
The heart stayed in place because it had to be weighed against the feather of Maat at the judgement of the dead. The brain, considered useless, was pulled out through the nose and discarded.
Stuck on one, or just curious how nasty it gets? Every hard mode question is here with its answer and the reasoning behind it.
Correct answer: Demotic
Demotic, the everyday script of the period.
Correct answer: Jean-François Champollion
Jean-François Champollion, racing against Thomas Young.
Correct answer: Amarna
Amarna, abandoned soon after his death.
Correct answer: Berlin
Berlin, at the Neues Museum, and Egypt would like it back.
Correct answer: Ramesses II
Ramesses II. In the 1960s they were moved piece by piece to escape the Aswan Dam's lake.
Correct answer: Set
Set, god of chaos, storms and generally poor family relations.
Correct answer: Sneferu
Sneferu, whose builders changed the angle partway up, then went on to build the Red Pyramid.
Correct answer: Ammit
Ammit, part crocodile, part lion, part hippopotamus.
Correct answer: Menkaure
Menkaure, at about 65 metres high.
Correct answer: Karnak
Karnak, largely dedicated to Amun, with 134 enormous columns in its hall.