The Process of Mummification
Back to Mummification
Works Cited
Return to Home Page
Return to Index
There are two major steps in Mummification;
embalming and wrapping.
First the body is
taken to a tent known as the "ibu" or "place of purification". There the
body is washed with a mixture of water and natron, which is salt deposit
found along the banks of the Nile after the waters have receeded.The brain
is then removed. They most likley removed it by taking a long, spiral-ended
hook that was inserted through the nose and used to mash the brain into
a liquid, then the body was turned over and the liguid drained out. Believing
it to be useless, the Egyptians would actually throw it away. They then
used palm wine and frakincense to wash the brain cavity clean. They used
an "obsidian", which was a black peice of volcanic glass, to cut the left
side of the body where the organs would be removed. The heart was left
inside the body because it was where the soul of a person was believed
to reside. The organs and the inner body were dried using natron. The organs
were then placed in canopic jars. Each of these jars had the head of a
god who guarded the entrails. They werer the four sons of Horus; Imset,
Duamutef, Qebehsenuf, and Ha'py. The canopic jars would join the body in
the tomb.
As named above, they protect the internal
organs of the deceased person.
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story/main.html
Imset(human-headed god)-liver
Duamutef(jakal-headed god)-stomach
Qebehsenuf(falcon-headed god)-intestines
Ha'py(baboon-headed god)-lungs
The head,
neck, fingers, and toes are the first to be wrapped. This is done in fine
cloths.Then the arms and legs are wrapped and the "isis knot" amulet, to
protect the body, and the "plummet" amulet, to keep the peson balanced
in the afterlife, are placed between the folds to help the person in the
trip to the afterlife. Then the arms and legs are tied together and a scroll
of spells taken from the Book of the Dead are placed between the
hands.Then the body is fully wrapped again in strips and brushed with resin
to act as a glue. Then one large cloth is wrapped around the body and Osiris
is painted on it. One more blank cloth is wrapped around the mummy and
it is bound with small rope-like strips of linen around the body's middle
and from the top to the bottom. The mummy is placed in a coffin, which
is placed in yet another coffin. A funeral is held, which is followed by
a ceromony that will enable the person's spirit to eat and drink again.
It is called the "Opening of the Mouth". Then the body is placed in a sarcophagus
that often resembles the deceased person and it is placed in the tomb along
with food, water, and other neccessities that will be needed in the afterlife.
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story/main.html