A mummy is the body of a person (or an animal) that has been preserved after their death. They were any Egyptian who could afford to pay for the expensive process of preserving their bodies for the afterlife.
How Mummies Are Made?
The hot, dry sand quickly removed moisture from the dead body and created a natural mummy. In order to ensure that the body is preserved the Ancient Egyptians began to use a process called mummification to produce their mummies. This involved embalming the body and then wrapping it in thin strips of linen.
Mummification
The mummification process take around 70 days and involved the following steps:
- The body is washed.
- A cut is made on the left side of the abdomen and the internal organs – intestines, liver, lungs, stomach, are removed. The heart, which the Ancient Egyptians believed to be the centre of emotion and intelligence, is left in the body for use in the next life.
- A hooked instrument is used to remove the brain through the nose. The brain is not considered to be important and is thrown away.
- The body and the internal organs are packed with natron salt for forty days to remove all moisture.
- The dried organs are wrapped in linen and placed in canopic jars. The lid of each jar is shaped to represent one of Horus’ four sons.
- The body is cleaned and the dried skin is rubbed with oil.
- The body is packed with sawdust and rags and the open cuts are sealed with wax.
- The body is then wrapped in linen bandages. About 20 layers are used and this takes 15 to 20 days.
- A death mask is placed over the bandages.
- The bandaged body is placed in a shroud which is secured with linen strips.
- The body is then placed in a decorated mummy case or coffin.
Through this process, mummies were interred into their tombs. Archaeologists continue to find them at excavation sites throughout areas of ancient Egyptian settlement.
Some Facts About Egyptian Mummies
- In ancient Egyptian mummification, onions were sometimes used to fill body cavities, often serving as false eyes.
- During mummification in ancient Egypt, internal organs were removed through a long incision on the left side of the body. The priest who made the incision was known as the "slicer" or "ripper up."
- Mummies were in high demand as a medicine during the European Middle Ages. For example, Europeans would boil a mummy and use the oils to treat bruising, stomach aches, and a myriad of other ailments.
- According to Egyptian lore, the god Osiris was the very first mummy.
- The most popular mummy in the world is most likely Vladimir Lenin. Millions of visitors to Moscow have visited his mummy.
- During mummification, ancient Egyptians removed all internal organs except the heart. They believed that a person was judged by their heart, and it was often protected by a powerful amulet called the heart scarab.
- The oldest well-preserved mummy in Europe is the "Iceman," who was preserved in a glacier in the Alps for over 5,300 years.
- Over one million mummies have been found in Egypt, mostly of cats.
- Also known as "Sleeping Beauty," two-year-old Rosalia Lombardo is one of the most famous child mummies and is the most famous mummy in the Sicilian catacombs. Her father had her embalmed when she died of pneumonia in 1920.
- Climate change is a mummy to rapidly decompose into black slime. The rising humidity has increased the spread of flesh-eating microbes.
Written by - Priya Mathur
Edited by - Maryam Salim
0 Comments