The ancient Egyptians usually built their temples of stone, as homes for the gods. The most sacred part of a temple was the small room where the statue of the god was kept. They believed that the god lived in this statue.

Building the temples

The layout of the temple was based on the Egyptian ideas of the creation of the world, when chaos was brought under control. Craftsmen decorated the walls of the temples with carved and painted images and words. These might be of the gods and prayers, or of the ideal world.

Protecting the temples

When a temple was built (or rebuilt) the ancient Egyptians often buried groups of objects such as model tools and samples of building materials underneath it. They believed that these would maintain and repair the building forever by magic. Burying model ears meant that the gods could hear prayers. Objects such as jewellery, usually with the name of the pharaoh (king) ordering the building work, could also be buried under the temple. These groups of buried objects are called foundation deposits.