It has been thousands of years since the ancient Egyptians lived. Yet we know much about them. One reason is the very dry climate in which they lived. Furniture, drawings, and written materials have been preserved under the dry sand of the Nile desert. Paintings on the walls of tombs and pyramids portrayed scenes of everyday life. The belief in life after death also contributed to what we now know. This belief caused people to fill burial chambers with things they thought they might need in the new life. So tables, chairs, statues, tools, and weapons were preserved. Many of the things buried were later stolen. But some remained until modern times. From them, historians learned much about Egyptian life. Book jacket.