Barley and emmer were the earliest cereal crops har-
vested in Egypt. Emmer was used to make bread, and
barley was the basis for the extensive brewing of beer. In
the Ptolemaic Period (304–30 B.C.E.) wheat was intro-
duced to the Nile fields and prospered. These fields also
provided chickpeas, lentils, garlic, squashes, leeks, beans,
lettuce, radishes, cabbages, cucumbers, onions, and other
vegetables. Other farm products included cinnamon,
carob, olives, melons, dates, figs, raisins, dom nuts, cac-
tus figs, senebberries, pomegranates, apples, grapes, and
palm tree materials for eating and weaving.
Because of the herding techniques used, the Egyp-
tians of various classes feasted on beef often or occasion-
ally and used milk products to make cheeses and yogurts.
They also ate sheep and goats and hunted for other
meats. A type of oryx was prized, as were gazelles,
although they were cherished as pets. Hyenas were used
as hunting animals, and the deceased received their meat
as offerings. When eating oxen or bulls, the Egyptians
preferred the loins. Meat was grilled or stewed. Swine
were regarded as contaminants in many ages and forbid-
den as food. They were, however, raised as food or as
temple offerings in ABYDOSand elsewhere.
The Nile offered more than 50 varieties of fish in its
waters, and the shore marshlands provided a vast quan-
tity of fowls. Partridges, quails, pigeons, cranes, herons,
storks, ducks, geese, and doves were served as food.
Chickens were introduced into the land in a later era,
possibly as late as the fourth centuryB.C.E. The Egyptians
prized eggs of other birds also. Oils were also essential
ingredients, and the Egyptians used the oils from olives,
sesame, and safflowers, as well as a type of butter fat. All
of these foods were enjoyed in elaborate home feasts or
on picnics during certain Nile festivals. Such picnics
included 30 types of bread, some used as desserts. HONEY
sweetened cakes and bread, and fruits accompanied
indoor and outdoor meals. The wines served, as well as
the beers, were flavored and graded according to
strength, flavor, and quality.fortresses A series of remarkable military installations
known as mennuwas designed to provide garrisons for
troops and defensive measures on frontiers or in occu-
pied territories. Egypt maintained such garrisons on the
eastern and western territories of the Delta and in NUBIA
(modern Sudan). Other fortresses were built and subsi-An obelisk of the New Kingdom
(1550–1070 B.C.E.) and then were abandoned to other
political powers along the Mediterranean Sea. Traces of
fortifications at ABYDOSand HIERAKONPOLISindicate the
use of such defensive installations within the Nile Valley
as well, especially in the predynastic periods (before 3000
B.C.E.) or in times of civil unrest.
The WALL OF THE PRINCE, a series of fortresses and
garrisons on the eastern and western boundaries of
Egypt, dates to the reign of AMENEMHET I(1991–1962
B.C.E.), although he may have strengthened older military
structures to form the defense system. Such fortresses,
especially in Nubia, were directly connected to Egypt’s
pursuit of natural resources in mines and quarries and
the regulation of the active trade routes. The fortresses
built in conquered lands were defensive structures that
stabilized entire regions during the imperial era. The col-
lapse of these encampments in the Levant and in other
Near East regions was reported in letters from the
’AMARNAperiod (1353–1335 B.C.E.), and their loss was
viewed as catastrophic by allied rulers of the various ter-
ritories involved.
The Nubian fortresses, the ones documented and
studied in recent times, provide the modern information
about Egyptian military prowess because they are still
available, in ruined form, for study. Erected on rocky pin-
nacles overlooking the Nile and stretching south from
below the first CATARACT, these structures date to the
Twelfth Dynasty (1991–1783 B.C.E.) or possibly earlier in
primitive forms, and they guarded the Nile between the
ELEPHANTINEat ASWANand the second cataract. A cluster
of such fortresses protected Egypt’s southern border.
Among them was the famed fortress at BUHEN, origi-
nally an Old Kingdom (2575–2134 B.C.E.) settlement,
located on the western shore of the Nile opposite WADI
HALFA. This defense worked in conjunction with Gebel
Turob, a hill where Egyptians kept watch on all native
movements. During the Twelfth Dynasty (1991–1783
B.C.E.) the Nubians were not allowed to move northward
without permission, and the sentries on Gebel Turob
were stationed in strategic positions to enforce this royal
policy. Watchers ran down the hill to the fortress the140 fortressesA relief of workers caging wild geese from the Nile marshes
constant food supply for the Egyptians.Hulton Archive