Mummification Case

Mummification

Mummification was the process of preserving bodies for the afterlife. Mummification was introduced by the ancient Egyptians because they thought that mummification was the doorway into the afterlife. Mummification was a long process that was done to every pharaoh and important.

Mummification took a long time to perfect and there were different types of mummifications but the Egyptians found the best way to mummify bodies. The first step to mummification was Embalming the body. Embalmers would take the body to a tent called Ibu and rinse his body with wine and then dehydrate the body with natron sand. The Embalmer's men would cut into the body and remove the internal organs. The organs were washed and put into natron salt to dry them out; it was then put into canopic jars.

Canopic jars were used to put the organs in; the lid of the jars had a specific God that protected the organ. Imsety looked after the liver, Hapy looked after the lungs, Duamutef looked after the stomach and Qebehsenuef looked after the intestines.

The embalmers would smash his bones above the nose and use a hook to get out the brain. After forty days, the body is then rinsed again with wine and covered with oil; the oil helps the skin stay elastic. The organs are taken out of canopic jars and kept in linen to stuff into the dead body with saw dust, leaves and other dry objects to make the body life like. The body is once again rinsed in oils.

The body was finished and the only thing left to do was wrap the body in linen. The head and neck was wrapped first and the fingers and toes were then wrapped. The arms and legs were wrapped separately and the stomach was done.

Amulets and jewellery were added to the body to protect the body when entering the underworld, although this made a target for grave robbers. There were many amulets, but there were two main amulets that protected the person, Isis knot which protected the body, and the plummet amulet which kept the person in balance in the afterlife.

A priest is sent in to read spells that ward off bad spirits; this was done while the body was being wrapped again. The arms and legs were then tied together with a papyrus scroll and the book of the dead is then placed in their hands. More layers of linen was wrapped around the body and painted with liquid resin that glued the bandages together.

A cloth was then wrapped around the body and a picture of Osiris was painted onto the surface. A large cloth is then wrapped around the body which had strips of linen attached. Finally a board of painted wood is placed on top of the mummy and it is then placed into its two coffins.

A ritual called the "opening of the mouth" ceremony was held for the body to be able to eat and drink in the afterlife. The coffin was then placed into a sarcophagus with goods and