Mummification

Mummification is a way of preserving dead bodies. Because the ancient Egyptians believed in a life after death, they had to preserve the body. Methods changed over time. Originally bodies dried naturally because they were buried in the hot sand but later, the Egyptians used artificial means.

Stages of mummification - during mummification, the ancient Egyptians removed the stomach, lungs, liver and the intestines. Sometimes they took the brain out too, through the nose. Embalmers (men who preserved the dead bodies) then covered the body in natron (sodium salts), which absorbed all the moisture. Then they washed the body and wrapped it in linen bandages.

Equipment for mummification - the Egyptians used special equipment for mummification. They needed a table for drying the body, and another table for washing and wrapping. They used tweezers to hold swabs for applying hot oils. The two fingers amulet protected the wound made in the body for the removal of the intestines.

Organs and mummification - embalmers dried the important organs separately. They were stored in four canopic jars or put back into the body wrapped with amulets (protective charms) of the four sons of Re. The Egyptians thought that the heart was important as it was needed for life after death, so they usually left the heart in the body, and often added a heart scarab with a prayer that the dead person needed on their journey to the Afterlife.

Wrapping the body

Dead bodies would shrink in the drying process. Embalmers (men who preserved the dead bodies) tried to make the dead person look more lifelike by padding the body out with linen, mud or grass when they wrapped them up. They even added artificial limbs to replace a missing arm or leg.

Wrapping the body - after a body had been dried for about forty days, it was wrapped in linen bandages. Often, these were made from old clothes and sheets, even for rich people.

Protecting the body - priests said prayers and performed rituals during the mummification process, to help protect the body. Embalmers wrapped amulets (protective charms) in amongst the bandages. They sometimes sewed amulets onto the outer layers of bandage, or onto a network of beads.

Decorating the body - about 4,000 years ago, embalmers began decorating the bandaged body with masks and, later, footpieces. When the Romans ruled Egypt, it became fashionable, about 1,800 years ago, to place a painted portrait of the dead person over the face of their mummy.

Burying the body - when embalmers had finished wrapping the body, it was usually put into a coffin. Embalmers then returned the body to the family of the dead person for burial.

Coffin and tomb

The coffin provided the body with a resting place for eternity. Physically, it protected the body from being damaged by animals, such as wild dogs. Spiritually, the anthropoid (mummy-shaped) coffin connected the dead person with the mummified god, Osiris, and with rebirth.

Coffins for the dead - craft workers made coffins out of wood, clay and stone. The prayers and images of gods they painted on the inside and the outside of the coffin all gave the body protection. Other texts ensured the ka (part of the spirit of a dead person) would be fed in the next world. Those who could afford it would have both an inner and a larger outer coffin. This gave even more space to paint prayers and gods to watch over the dead.

Tombs for the dead - the tomb was the final layer of protection for the body and its possessions. The rich and powerful could afford large and elaborate tombs. The early pharaohs (kings) had pyramids built for their burial. Later pharaohs had their tombs cut into rock in places such as the Valley of the Kings. Prayers and images on the wall decoration asked for protection from the gods. Many ancient Egyptians had simple tombs, the best that they could afford. Most people were simply buried in a grave dug in the sand.