MUMMIESInformation taken from:Mummies and Pyramids

Sam Taplin2002

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What is a mummy?

A mummy is a preserved dead body. Normally, the body of a person or animal starts to decay soon after death, but mummies don’t rot like this. Ancient Egyptians believed that dead people continued living in another world, and they thought that the spirit needed the body in order to enjoy the next world.

The Afterlife

The Egyptians believed in an afterlife. This means a world beyond this one where people go to start a wonderful adventure after they die. Heaven was ruled by the god, Osiris. His kingdom, the Field of Reeds, was full of golden wheat and fruit trees. People ate, drank, and were happy all the time there.

The Terrifying Journey

Reaching the kingdom of Osiris was a long, dangerous journey. You had to travel through the murky passages of the Underworld where you may encounter evil spirits, deadly snakes, and lakes of fire.

Usborne link p. 7

The Heart

The greatest test came at the end. Your heart was weighed against a feather. If your heart was heavy with wickedness, it would be gobbled up by a monster. But, people who had lived a good life could enter the Field of Reeds.

Making Mummies

It took 70 days to mummify the body of someone who had died. They had to deal with blood, guts, and awful smells.

These are the steps that were followed to make a mummy:

1. They pushed a sharp rod up through the nose and into the brain. The brain was broken up and pulled out through the nose.

2. A hole was made in the body, and the embalmers pulled out all the internal organs except for the heart. (What do you know about the canopic jars?)

3. The body was stuffed with linen and spices. Then the body was left under a salt called natron to dry it out.

4. After 40 days, the body was carefully wrapped in linen bandages. Priests said spells while the body was wrapped.

Magnificent Masks

When the mummy was finished, a mask was placed over the bandaged face so that the person could be recognized in the afterlife. Some masks really resembled the dead person.

Usborne link p. 8

Coffins and Cases

• Early coffins were rectangular, later ones were shaped like people.

• Mummies of royals and other wealthy people were given special protection by being placed in a nest of coffins.

• Egyptians painted coffins with pictures of objects the dead person might need in the afterlife.

• The outermost coffin of a pharaoh was a big stone box called a sarcophagus.

• The Opening of the Mouth was a ritual performed by a priest before the mummy was sealed. The priest touched the mummy’s ears, eyes, and mouth with sacred objects to allow the dead person to hear, see, and speak in the next world.

Usborne link p. 10

To find out more information on any of the following topics, use Usborne link pages listed:

Houses of eternity (mastabas and pyramids) p. 14Pyramid builders p. 16Tomb of Tutankhamun p. 24Interest in Tut p. 26Fakes and frauds p. 32Unwrapping a mummy p. 34Mummy face reconstruction p. 36Mummies around the world p. 38Natural mummies p. 40An ongoing quest p. 44