Per Mesut - for younger readers

If you have ever been into one of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, you will know how dark they are, even with modern fluorescent lighting.

Imagine what they would be like without this illumination, not even the light from an electric torch. If the tomb goes straight underground there will be a little light in the first chambers, but if the entrance is sheltered under the cliffs, or if the corridor turns a corner, the natural daylight will not reach very far and everything will be in absolute blackness, so dark that you cannot see your hand in front of your face.

In ancient times the whole world was a darker place. In the night sky the moon and stars were brightly visible against a jet-black background, unobscured by the glow from orange street lights and floodlit buildings. You can still get a feel for what this must have been like if you can find an isolated spot far enough away from human habitation, such as the middle of Dartmoor or the Scottish Highlands, though sadly our weather does not always allow us a clear view of the sky.

In modern Egypt, away from the light pollution of civilisation, for instance in the desert areas or in the middle of Lake Nasser, the sight of the Milky Way splashed across the sky, and the brilliance of the sheer numbers of stars visible is breath-taking.

In the daytime, of course, outside in the bright sunshine, there was no problem with light. In fact, the Egyptians had to protect their eyes from the sun’s glare and, as they did not have sunglasses, they used a paste made from a finely ground mineral mixed with animal fat or oil to protect the delicate skin of their eyelids. This eyepaint was similar to the barrier creams used by modern sportsmen against the effects of the sun.

But what about indoors, and how did the workers who dug out and decorated the tombs see to do their work? Windows in temples and houses were set high up in the walls so that rooms were lit from above, but they would still have been very shadowy, even at the brightest time of day. To give extra light, people lit lamps. Some very fancy lamps, carved from alabaster, were found in Tutankhamun’s tomb. One is shaped like a waterlily plant with three ‘flowers’ that would have held oil in which floated wicks probably made of linen cord. The fuel for these lamps would have been sesame oil or maybe imported olive oil. Herodotus mentions castor oil being used for lighting in Egypt.

Ordinary households used the same sort of lighting as the tomb-builders. Torn strips of linen were made into tightly twisted wicks that were ‘anointed’ with animal fat or grease so that they became ‘candles’. These candle wicks were set in a pottery bowl, often shaped like a flowerpot, sometimes several at a time. Candle lamps like this are shown in paintings in the tomb of Anherkhau at Deir el-Medina. The twisted linen wick was such a common- place item that it became a hieroglyph, with the phonetic value of a definite or emphatic ‘H’. Two such wicks can be seen amongst food offerings in a scene at Luxor Temple dating from the reign of Rameses III.

It is believed that salt was mixed with the fat to prevent the wicks giving off too much smoke. This seems to have been effective since none of the beautifully decorated tombs shows signs of smoke damage from ancient times.

Records of deliveries of building materials to the royal tombs include quantities of rags and grease which the men used to make their own lighting. On average it appears that thirty-two candle lamps were used each day but, since it would be difficult to ensure a consistent burning time, we cannot say how long a single candle would last. Possibly there was a limit to how many lamps the workmen were allowed to use in a day. In places where sooty smoke was no problem, flaming torches made from reeds and rushes could be used. On the whole, it is likely that the Egyptians made the most of the daylight hours by getting up around dawn and going to bed shortly after sunset.

A fine example of a mirror, probably used by a lady to apply her makeup.
This one has a gilded handle, but the mirror is of silver, which would have been highly reflective when polished.
Photos: RP.

On some occasions such as religious festivals, lights were used as decoration. Burning lamps were left outside the tombs of Thebes during the festival of Osiris so that the dead souls who had made the pilgrimage to Abydos could find their way ‘home’ to their family resting place. When the people of Deir el-Medina celebrated the ‘Beautiful Festival of the Valley’, they held feasts outdoors into the night when the slopes of the hills surrounding the village would be dotted with little lamps like Christmas fairy lights.

Egyptian guides today will produce ingenious ‘mirrors’ made from a shiny metal tray or even a piece of cardboard covered in kitchen foil, which they use to direct the light on to carvings or inscriptions so that tourists can see them better.

The ancient Egyptians had mirrors too, made of shiny metal, usually bronze, and used for cosmetic purposes. By reflecting light off carefully angled mirrors it is possible to bend the light round corners – this is the principle used in a periscope. But modern mirrors, made of perfectly smooth, clear glass with silvered backing, are beyond the experience of the ancient Egyptians. This is why scenes in films like The Mummy, where mirrors bounce daylight back and forth down a series of passages to light up an underground chamber, are totally unrealistic. The farther you try to make the light go, the weaker it becomes. It certainly will not zap from mirror to mirror like a laser display, giving the same effect as football floodlights!

But the Egyptians were good at using what they knew and this is clear from the wonderful paintings they left, painted by the light of a few greased wicks.

Further reading: You can read more about the workmen’s village in Village Life in Ancient Egypt by A.G. McDowell. If you can get someone to help, you could experiment by using a few pocket mirrors to see how far you can shine the light of a torch.

Hilary Wilson