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Ancient Egypt
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Mummification
Introduction
The everyday goods and treasures placed inside Egyptian graves and tombs suggest that
Egyptians believed in a life after death. A popular idea of death and rebirth in Ancient Egypt was
based on the legend of king Osiris, whom the Egyptians believed was killed by his jealous brother
Seth, eventually found by his faithful wife Isis, and then brought back to life by his dutiful son Horus.
After his rebirth Osiris became known as the god of the underworld. When the Opening of the
Mouth ceremony was done at Egyptian funerals, it was a reenactment of the ceremony Horus had
performed for his father. The belief what that you had to open the mouth of the corpse so that the
spirit could get back into its body in the afterlife.
Two very important things were necessary for a person to go to the afterlife with Osiris. One
was passing the final judgment. The other was a well-preserved body so that the person's soul could
recognize it and return to after the Opening of the Mouth ceremony. The Egyptians believed that
without the mummy, the soul could not survive. To assure their continued existence in the afterlife,
the ancient Egyptians worked hard to find the perfect method of preserving the body.
Mummification
The earliest ancient Egyptians buried their dead in small pits in the desert. The heat and
dryness of the sand dehydrated the bodies quickly, creating lifelike and natural 'mummies'.
Later, the ancient Egyptians began burying their dead in coffins to protect them from wild
animals in the desert. However, they realized that bodies placed in coffins decayed when they were
not exposed to the hot, dry sand of the desert.
Over many centuries, the ancient Egyptians developed a method of preserving bodies so they
would remain lifelike. The process included embalming the bodies and wrapping them in strips of
linen. Today we call this process mummification.
Mummification was a long and expensive process. A person would need to have a tomb built,
gather necessary objects to place in the tomb, and
their son or a priest would have to be appointed to
bring offering for the deceased (dead) on a daily
basis. Originally, it was a process usually reserved
for the Pharaoh and his top advisors.
But later, the Egyptians came to believe that
the afterlife extended also to the general
population. The great cost of mummification,
however, still limited the full procedure to only the
rich people in the society. For the poor, a shallow
grave near the desert was common and the dry, hot
climate often caused natural mummification.
Washing the body
The Process of Mummification
The first step in the mummification process was
embalming the body. First, the body was taken to the
tent known as 'ibu' or the 'place of purification'.
There the embalmers washed the body with
good-smelling palm wine and rinsed it with water from
the Nile.
Then, one of the embalmer's men made a cut in
the left side of the body and removed many of the
internal organs. It was important to remove these
because they are the first part of the body to decompose.
The liver, lungs, stomach and intestines were washed and
packed in natron, which would dry them out. The heart
was not taken out of the body because it is the center
Removing the internal organs
of intelligence and feeling and the man would need it in
the afterlife. A long hook was used to smash the brain
and pull it out through the nose.
The body was now covered and stuffed with
natron (salts), which would dry it out. All of the fluids,
and rags from the embalming process would be saved
and buried along with the body.
After forty days the body was washed again with
water from the Nile. Then it was covered with oils to
help the skin stay elastic.
The dehydrated internal organs were wrapped in
linen and returned to the body. The body was stuffed
with dry materials such as sawdust, leaves and linen so
that it looks lifelike.
Covering the body with natron (salts)
Finally the body was covered again with goodsmelling oils. It was now ready to be wrapped in linen.
In the past, when the internal organs were
removed from a body they were placed in hollow
canopic jars. The animal on each jar was supposed to
protect a different internal organ from harm.
Over many years the embalming practices
changed and embalmers began returning internal organs
to bodies after the organs had been dried in natron.
However, solid wood or stone canopic jars were still
Canopic Jars
buried with the mummy to symbolically protect the internal organs.
After the body has been cleaned, dried and rubbed with good-smelling oils it was ready to be
wrapped in linen.
Wrapping the Mummy
First the head and neck were wrapped with strips of
fine linen. Then the fingers and the toes were individually
wrapped (fig.1).
The arms and legs were wrapped separately. Between
the layers of wrapping, the embalmers placed amulets to
protect the body in its journey through the underworld
(fig.2).
A priest read spells out loud while the mummy was
being wrapped. These spells would help ward off evil spirits
and help the deceased make the journey to the afterlife.
The arms and legs are tied together. A papyrus scroll
with spells from the Book of the Dead is placed between the
wrapped hands (fig.3).
More linen strips were wrapped around the body. At
every layer, the bandages were painted with liquid resin that
helped to glue the bandages together.
A cloth was wrapped around the body and a picture
of the god Osiris is painted on its surface (fig.4).
Finally, a large cloth was wrapped around the entire
mummy. It was attached with strips of linen that run from
the top to the bottom of the mummy, and around its
middle (fig.5).
A board of painted wood was placed on top of the
mummy before the mummy was lowered into its coffin. The
first coffin was then put inside a second coffin.
Then, the funeral was held for the deceased and his
family mourned his death.
Figure 1
Figure 3
Figure 2
Figure 4
Figure 5
A ritual called the 'Opening of the Mouth' was performed, allowing the deceased to eat and
drink again.
Finally, the body and its coffins were placed inside a large stone sarcophagus in the tomb.
Furniture, clothing, valuable objects, food and drink were arranged in the tomb for the deceased.
Now his body was ready for its journey through the underworld. There his heart will be
judged by his good deeds on earth. If his heart is found to be pure he will be sent to live for all
eternity in the beautiful 'Field of Reeds' with Osiris, god of the underworld.