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Ancient Egypt
Mummification
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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 with the help of the Egyptian god Thoth. 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 in
the myth. The belief was 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 body), 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 their bodies for the afterlife.
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'.
While this happened almost purely by accident. It may have led to the development of the
belief that the body needed to stay preserved to be used in the after life.
Later, the ancient Egyptians began burying their dead in coffins to protect them from
wild animals in the desert who would sometimes dig up the bodies and eat the decaying flesh.
However, they realized that bodies placed in coffins decayed when they were not exposed to
the hot, dry sand of the desert and turned into skeletons. This meant that the body would not
be able to accept the spirit back into it to live in the underworld.
Over many centuries, the ancient Egyptians developed a method of preserving bodies so
that they would remain life-like. The process included embalming the bodies (pumping the
body full of oils) 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 (the nobles).
But later, the Egyptians came to believe that anyone could go to the afterlife. 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 hot and dry
climate often caused natural mummification but at least there was still a chance that they could
go to the afterlife.
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 or
rot. The liver, lungs, stomach and intestines
were washed and packed in natron, a special
salt, which would dry them out. The heart
was not taken out of the body because it
was believed to be the center of intelligence
and feeling and the man would need it in the
afterlife. It needed to be carefully protected.
On the other hand, a long hook was used to
smash the brain and pull it out through the
nose since Ancient Egyptians did not know
what the brain was for and thought it was just
stuffing or filling for the skull.
Washing the body
Removing the internal organs
The body was now covered and
stuffed with natron, which would dry it out.
All of the fluids like blood and vile 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
and life-like.
The dehydrated internal organs were
wrapped in linen and returned to the body.
The body was stuffed with dry materials such
Covering the body with natron (salts)
as sawdust, leaves and linen to fill it back up so that it looked lifelike.
Finally the body was covered again with good- smelling 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 buried with the mummy to symbolically
protect the internal organs.
Canopic Jars
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.
Figure 1
The arms and legs were tied together. A
papyrus scroll with spells from the Book of the
Dead was placed between the wrapped hands
(fig.3).
Figure 2
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).
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
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. A ritual
called the 'Opening of the Mouth' was performed which would allow the person’s spirit to reenter the body. This also would allow the deceased to eat and drink again in the land of the
dead.
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 would 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. If his heart was found to be evil, he would be turned into
a demon and be cursed to roam the earth in pain and sadness.