The limestone wall in front of you features rows of pictures, carved in low relief. Look on the rows near the top for wild animals with horns.

These rows, or registers as they are called, illustrate men hunting in the Egyptian high country, on the edge of the desert. They hunt for ibex, antelope, gazelle, and other creatures using bows and arrows, and lassos. Also look for hunting dogs wearing collars.

Now look around at the other walls in this room. They come from a room that was part of an Egyptian tomb. These were the walls of an offering room, which was separate from the burial chamber and could be visited by a dead person’s relatives. This offering room, or chapel, was dedicated to a royal official named Raemkai. His name means “the sun is my life force.” Living people came to the chapel with food for Raemkai. The Egyptians imagined the life after death would be similar to the life they already knew. Therefore, Raemkai still needed food. The walls of the chapel show people preparing offerings to bring to the tomb of Raemkai. We’ve already seen hunters capturing animals for food.

Somewhere in this room, men are also capturing birds in large nets. Can you find this scene? Here’s a hint: the hunting scenes we looked at were high on the south wall of the chapel. You’ll find the birds low on the west wall. Happy hunting!