The Heart of the Kitchen
Ovens and stoves. The heart (and hearth) of any kitchen, ancient or modern. Ovens were small and brick or clay…
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Browsing Category: Ancient World
How to Make Things Hot
I talk about cooking in How to Eat in Pharaoh Days, but this post is about the fuel. No electricity,…
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Ancient Metalwork Tidbits
I discussed a fair bit of metalwork in Ancient Egypt in the post Goldwork for the Golden Calf. In this…
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Ancient Egyptian Carpentry
Wagons & Carts In addition to using the Nile and its distributaries for transportation over water, the Egyptians created packed…
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Water Everywhere, Except Right Here
I did boatloads (pun intended) of research while writing the first draft of the novel but here and there I…
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Sewing & Other Fabric Arts
Despite their clothing being rather straightforward (mostly lengths of undyed linen tied in various ways or sewn into simple shapes),…
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Soap & Cleaning Materials of Ancient Egypt
Now soap is something I know well, being a soapmaker when I’m not a writer. But using a digital scale…
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The Lights of the Exodus
So what sort of lighting did folks use in Egypt during the New Kingdom? Oddly, most sources say there are…
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Why Was the Golden Calf So Bad?
The story of the Golden Calf is an odd one, in large part because it’s not clear it ever belonged…
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Goldwork for the Golden Calf
Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought such great sin upon them?”…
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The Daily Grind
Once you have dehulled grain, the next step is to grind it. In Ancient Egypt, this would be done by…
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Threshing & Hulling Emmer
Emmer is an old variety of wheat (and a Farro grain) grown extensively in the ancient world, including by Ancient…
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The Sacrifices Between Revelation and Ascension
So do you ever read the Bible and think to yourself, how much blood did Moses throw anyway? No? Maybe…
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Creating Courts
Once the Hebrews arrive in Mount Sinai and set up the first of their long-term camps (after a month and…
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A Wedding in the Desert
Jewish weddings even today follow traditions thousands of years old. Still, a modern wedding, no matter how strictly observant, will…
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Where in the World is Mount Sinai?
That’s the question, isn’t it? Many people are sure they know where Mount Sinai is but it’s hardly settled. Most…
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The Evening Quail
Before there was manna in the Wilderness of Sin, there was quail. Manna came the morning after they ran out…
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A Gay Old Time
Every single society ever has had members who fall in love with people deemed the wrong gender for them (or…
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Turquoise
A sky blue gemstone found in only a few places in the world. Including Egypt and Arizona. Turquoise is a…
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From the Red Sea to Marah
Once our travelers cross the Red Sea and find themselves on the Arabian Peninsula, they watch the Egyptian soldiers drown,…
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