Week One - Task #03. “Mummy Passage”

[Anne-Marie Gagne]

Sand whips across your skin, warm and dry even in the shadow of a tomb. The air smells of incense and something older: a silence kept for thousands of years.

You are in Egypt now. Not modern Egypt, but Egypt as it was remembered through ancient ceremony. All gold masks and stone gods, long corridors lit by flame, and the slow, careful preparation of the dead for what comes next.

They didn’t fear death here, not like we do. They prepared for it. Honored it. Wrapped it up in linen and spells and jars. They believed the body must be preserved for the soul to journey forward.

You trail behind a procession. A child-sized figure lies on the bier before you. Not Pipkin, but close enough you had to double take to be sure. A priest chants words you do not understand, though they stir something in your ribs.

You begin to understand that in this world, remembrance is protection. The memory of the dead keeps them whole. Forgetting is the real death.

You leave a token (something personal, symbolic) at the foot of the altar. It’s a gesture as well as a promise.

The Pumpkin Tree still somehow looms along with your group. A lantern above flares, then dims.

One down.

Task:
Please answer these 10 questions and send your answers to both Anne-Marie Gagne and Prof. Sindor Aloyarc in a PM.

1) In what city was one of the greatest libraries located before it was burned down?
2) The oldest object in New York City’s Central Park is an obelisk that’s also called the “needle” of which Egyptian queen?
3) When was papyrus first known to be used by the Egyptians?
4) What is the name of the ancient slab that was discovered in 1799 that made it possible to decipher hieroglyphics?
5) “Sphinx” and “Sphynx” are homophones. Tell me what each of them mean.
6) What was the name of one of the only female pharaohs that reigned from 1478 BCE to 1458 BCE?
7) This Tennessee city shares a name with a former capital city of Ancient Egypt?
8) Along with deciphering hieroglyphics, question four’s answer also had what other language?
9) The Ancient Egyptian God Anubis is depicted as having the head of what animal?
10) This river is the longest in the world with a length of 6,650km (4,130mi). Which is it?

This task is worth 10 beans, with an additional 14 bonus beans for completing all Week One tasks by end of activity. Deadline is 11:59pm (HOL time) on Friday November 21st.