Houses in Ancient Egypt

Poor people built their homes only one brick thick, but as you moved up the social ladder, homes would be built three or four bricks thick. Wood was used to support the roof, doorways, ceiling and stairs. 

 

The construction of houses changed through the years; early on, they would consist of only one room, but over time, houses were built with two floors. The top floor was used as the living space, while the bottom floor was used for food storage. Food such as grain was stored in reed baskets. 

 

Very little furniture was used in Egypt as other than the wealthy, most Egyptians would sit on the floor, even when having their meals. If they did have furniture, it was mainly just a wooden table and wooden stools. The poor slept on the floor or maybe a straw mattress. 

 

Houses had flat roofs and canopies made of papyrus leaves, to shade the roof. Due to the hot climate in Egypt, people mainly slept on the roof of their homes. 

 

The kitchen area had an open roof with an oven for baking bread and a grindstone for milling grain. 

 

Wealthy houses were built on a much grander scale with two or three floors. There were many rooms including bedrooms, separate rooms for the children and even indoor bathrooms. They were built around a central courtyard containing growing areas for fruit and vegetable gardens, chickens and goats were also kept in the courtyard. 

 

To keep sand out of the house, the doorway would be above ground level and reached by a ramp. Windows were high up for the same reason.