Egyptian Survey Puzzles

2 pyramids looking shocked
Cover of Primary Puzzles Issue 1 with a maze on the cover
Primary Puzzles 1

Find the hidden tombs

Practice Logical Thinking by finding the tombs hidden in the dessert. Find Puzzles and solutions below

UK Schools order print copies of our Primary Puzzles magazines and booklets here (while stocks last).

The Ancient Egyptians buried their dead in tombs. Pharaohs had magnificent pyramids as tombs but others, including the artisans (the craftspeople) who helped build the pyramids (they weren’t slaves!), royal scribes, and merchants had tombs too. The more revered their role the more amazing the tombs. Over time the sands of the dessert covered them until they were lost. Now, you are leading a research project to find them and so learn more about the Ancient Egyptians.

Old records you have discovered show that an area of the desert contains the tombs of a given number. The tombs are of scribes (a large tomb covering 3 squares), artisans (medium, 2 squares) and merchants (small, 1 square). A survey has gathered information of where tombs could be. Each number tells you how many squares are part of a tomb in that row or column. Tombs are not adjacent (horizontally, vertically or diagonally). They can run North-South or East-West. In some cases, initial trial digs have been completed and a part of a tomb may or may not have been found.

Can you use logical thinking to work out where all the tombs are without further digging?

How to solve them

From Egyptian Survey Puzzles to Computational thinking

An egyptian god

Solve these puzzles by logical thinking, but you can make it even easier if you create IF-THEN rules to follow. Find out more…

Puzzles and Solutions

Puzzle 1

Egyptian survey puzzle 1

Puzzle 2

Egyptian survey puzzle 2

Puzzle 3

Egyptian survey puzzle 3

Puzzle 4

Egyptian survey puzzle 4

Note that responsible archeology does NOT involve Tomb Raiding!! All digs need licences. All finds need to be declared to the authorities and should NOT removed from the country of origin.

This puzzle is a variation of the Battleships puzzles found in puzzle books and newspapers, however without the implicit violence. However, if you want to find more and do not mind the violence then search for “Battleship Puzzles”.

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This blog is funded by EPSRC on grant EP/W033615/1.