Ancient Egyptian houses looked different than modern Egyptian houses. The earliest houses were made by tying reeds together in the shape of a beehive. The New Kingdom houses were made out of mud bricks. They were made by tying wood beams together with papyrus rope to make a frame. The frame was covered with white limestone plaster.

Keeping Cool

In order to keep the house cool the Egyptians had to be very careful about what they were doing. They couldn’t cook inside because it was too dangerous to cook over an open fire indoors, and it would just get way too hot inside. Instead, cooking was done outside or on the roof. The Ancient Egyptians kept cool by having small windows at the top of the house.

Annual Nile River Flood

When flooding season came, people who lived by the Nile River had to move away. When the flood was over, the owner of the house would knock the house down and build a new one on top. Eventually the pile would get big enough that the house was safe from the flood.