Shabti in School

Manchester Museum set six of their very special Ancient Egyptian shabtis ‘free’ each year, installing them in schools around Greater Manchester, and bringing the awe and wonder of the Ancient Egypt gallery at Manchester Museum to thousands of pupils.

Greenfield Academy was one of the lucky six schools to be chosen, and we received our very own shabti on loan from the museum to have on display in school. Ours was a shabti for an Ancient Egyptian woman called Henut-wedjat. Shabtis were buried in the tombs of the dead in Ancient Egypt. They were seen as servants of the person who had been mummified, and would do their work for them in the Afterlife. Only the very wealthy had shabtis. 

All children participated in learning about the shabti during a Curriculum Week, based around Historical Enquiry. Our whole-school enquiry question was 'What could it be?' and each class had a sub-enquiry question to explore in depth.

EYFS- Who used it?

Year 1- Where did it come from?

Year 2- What was it used for?

Year 3- Why is it significant?

Year 4- What can other burial artefacts teach us?

Year 5- What does it tell us about everyday life?

Year 6- Should we keep ancient artefacts?

The children produced fantastic learning during the Curriculum Week which is now displayed in our 'Greenfield Museum' for all to enjoy. It was exciting to have made links with Manchester Museum and we are very proud of what knowledgeable Historians the children have become!

"I got a really good look at the shabti. Normally we look at photos of it and we are unable to see the details or see what the hieroglyphs say so it was easier knowing that we actually had the artefact."

"The shabti helped us to learn because if we didn’t have it, we wouldn't have looked at Ancient Egypt in as much depth as we did."

"Having the shabti really made me interested! We were able to observe a real– life artefact."

"I liked going to see the shabti and taking pictures of it. It brought history to life!"