Egyptian MummiesEgyptian Mummies

What are mummies?

• When you think of a mummy, what comes to mind?

• While the Egyptian ones are the most famous, mummies have been found in many places throughout the world.

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The Egyptians believed that after death their bodies travelled to another world during the day, at night they would return to their bodies.

Purpose of Mummies

In order for the person’s spirit to live forever, it had to be able to recognize and return to the body. If a spirit could not recognize the body it belonged to, it would die.

This is why the Egyptians wanted to preserve the bodies of the dead in as lifelike a state as possible. Mummification guaranteed eternal life for the spirit.

How Mummies are made:

• The process of making mummies is more complicated than you may think.

• There is careful planning and specific steps that must be followed.

The entire process took 70 days to complete.

After the body had been shaved and washed, all the parts that might decay were removed. Embalmers first removed the brain through the nose using a long hook.

The Egyptians were so rough on the brain because they didn’t realize its importance. They thought its sole purpose was to produce snot!

A deep incision was made in the left side of the abdomen to remove the internal organs: the lungs, the stomach, the liver and the intestines.

In some cases they removed the heart, but in others they left it, because it was considered to be the seat of the soul that testified on behalf of the deceased during judgment before the gods.

The body was stuffed with bundles of strong drying salt called natron.

It was then completely covered with natron and placed on a slanted board. Any fluids that dripped out as the body dried would be collected and buried along with the mummy.

Canopic jars were used to store the vital organs.

After 40 days, the body was completely dried. The skin became leathery. The natron was removed from the body. The mummy was cleaned one more time and rubbed with sacred oils to soften the skin.

The mummy would be covered with necklaces, rings and bracelets made of gold and gems.

The body was then covered with strips of linen until the mummy had returned to its original size. This was a complicated job and could take as long as a week.

Small magical amulets, or charms, were inserted between the layers of the bandages to further protect the mummy’s spirit on its way to the afterlife.

After the wrapping was finished, the head of the mummy was covered with a portrait mask, just to make sure that the spirit would recognize it.

The masked mummy was then placed in a series of gilded wooden coffins and put into a sarcophagus.

Before the tomb was sealed, family members deposited food, clothes, furniture, and dishes, which the Egyptians believed they would need for eternity.

After the tombs was closed, wealthy families offered food to the soul of the dead. Family members visited the site during special holidays.

The End