Mummification of corpses was an important part of religious life and societal culture. The process of embalming the body and preparing it for the afterlife was quite complex and involved skilled labor.
(Authors note) This article is from a paper I wrote from a graduate-level professional development class on Ancient Egypt that I took to renew my teaching certificate. So the format is a bit different than our other blogs.
Religion and Mummification
One of the reasons that Ancient Egypt stands out to us today was their belief in an afterlife and the religious rituals to prepare the body for that life after death. Immortality was not guaranteed, however, and the process of mummification was a very important step.
Their religion taught that people continued to live in the afterlife through the teachings of Isis and Osiris. This brother/sister and husband/wife pair of deities are credited with bringing agriculture to Egypt are the Gods of the Afterlife.
In their mythology, Osiris is tricked by his evil brother Seth who kills him and sinks his body in a wooden chest to the bottom of the Nile. He is recovered and returned to life via Isis’s magic.
Once again Seth finds him, chops him into fourteen pieces, and throws the pieces throughout the land. Isis once again uses her magic to find his parts and rejoin them.
All except his penis which had been eaten by fish in the Nile where it was tossed. She made him an artificial penis and when he came back to life got her pregnant before becoming the God of the Afterlife (1).
This mythos is the foundation for the belief in resurrection among the Egyptian people. Just as Osiris was resurrected so shall all Egyptians. However, having an intact body was critical to the ability to gain life after death. They expanded on that theory to include grave goods or all the necessary items needed for the journey (1).
Certain things were believed to be necessary for the afterlife. A person’s body, their name, and their shadow went with them into eternity (4). Mummification made this possible. In addition, mummification allowed the spirit to rejoin the body in the afterlife.
History of Mummification
Mummification has a long history in Egypt. Burial in sand began during the Neolithic period around 4000 BC (2). When people observed the natural mummification from the salty sand, they developed the belief system that the body must be preserved in order to enter the afterlife.
During the Old Kingdom (2572 – 2130 BC) the Egyptians began to bury their pharaohs in pyramids. This coincided with the development of the embalming process to preserve the body of the dead ruler (4).
Mummification became available for the entire population during the Middle Kingdom (4) and different types were added to meet the budgets of the poor.
Cat mummies at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Photo by Zubro.
Techniques continued to be developed and we see an influx of animal mummy’s appear around 664 BC. Cats, ibis, snakes and even crocodiles have been found mummified in tombs. Some animals may have been food sources for the deceased. However, most of the animals were offerings and brought to the priests to be killed and mummified as a gift to the gods (5).
Mummification fades around 300 AD as Christianity and later Islam takes hold of Egypt (4).
Embalming was a “mixture of holy rite and medical procedure. The process was a carefully orchestrated ritual performed on each of the 70 days it took to turn a dead person into a mummy” (3).
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Ingredients To Make a Mummy
Natron, hydrated sodium carbonate, which is simply salt, helped to dehydrate the body. Natron was easily resourced throughout Egypt. In a 1994 experiment Egyptologist, Bob Brier found that an average of 580 pounds of Natron was needed to dry out a body (4).
Many of the other materials such as beeswax had antibacterial properties. This kept the body from decay caused by microorganisms (2). The most important part of the mummification process was evisceration and dehydration of the body tissues.
A Variety of materials were used during the mummification process including (2):
Natron – a form of salt
Coniferous Resin – pine, cedar, and juniper oils helped protect the flesh and keep it supple (4)
Mastic – a tree that produces a resin
Myrrh – a very fragrant resin that was imported by the Egyptians from the Arabian Peninsula
Beeswax – the Egyptians raised bees for honey and beeswax
Bitumen – a natural pitch that is found in rock cavities around the Dead Sea and caused a blackened color on the mummy
Cassia – cinnamon
Onions – an important food and medicinal plant and were used as an “eye”
Lichen – use to fill body cavities and placed under the skin so it looked more lifelike
Henna – a fragrant shrub. Brown dye is produced from the leaves
Gum Arabic – from the Acacia Senegal trees
Sawdust and straw – used for drying especially in lower-class corpses
Religion and the Afterlife
From a religious standpoint, the Egyptians felt the body must be preserved in a very life-like manner. They felt the soul would return and needed a place to come back to.
Book of the Dead
The Book of the Dead states that “My body is everlasting, it will not perish and it will not decay for ages” (2. Pg130). This funerary text served as a guide for the dead to use on their journey into the afterlife. It contained spells necessary for “the perilous, confusing and elaborate trials faced to earn eternal life among the gods” (5).
The book was prepared by scribes and placed with the mummy. They also wrote passages from the book on the walls of the tombs and on the wrappings of the mummy.
In the case of King Tut, there were passages from the text written on the inside of his golden mask, presumably so he could read them (5).
Three Methods of Mummification
There were three methods of mummification that were available to Egyptian citizens. These methods varied in cost and complexity.
1. The wealthy high-ranking citizens who included the Pharoah and his family and high-ranking priests purchased the most complex method. This method included complete evisceration and dehydration to have a very realistic and welcoming body of the soul. This body was wrapped in bandages after the dehydration process.
2. The middle-class persons had a less expensive and inferior method. Cedar oil was placed in the anus and the hole was plugged. The cedar oil dissolved the internal organs. The body was then covered with natron and given a period of rest. Later the plug was removed, and the organs drained out. This was also the method used for animal mummification.
3. The cheapest method was simply purging the body and treating it with natron. This was used by the lower-class farmers and pheasants (2). Commoners also believed if they were buried near a pharaoh that they could enter the afterlife as servants.
Most Complex Method
The most complex method has been the most studied as it is what archaeologists and scientists have found when excavating the royal tombs such as those in the Valley of the Kings.
Steps of Mummification
1. The body was purified in a structure called an ibu (4)
2. An incision was made on the left side of the body which allowed the embalmers to reach into the abdominal cavity. They reached inside and pulled out the liver, stomach, and intestines. These were washed and rinsed with spices and wine. This served to reduce odors and sterilize. The organs were then placed in a canopic jar (2).
3. Next a cut was made into the diaphragm to remove the lungs. The heart was left in the body. The lungs received the same treatment as the abdominal organs.
4. The brain was removed by cutting it into small pieces and pulling it out the naval cavity. Ironically, the brain was thought to have no real purpose and was discarded.
5. Next, the cavities were packed with natron to dehydrate the corpse. This process lasted between 40 and 70 days (2).
6. After this period of time the natron stuffing was removed, and the body was washed.
7. The body was then repacked with dry stuffing materials which may have consisted of herbs and spices, sawdust, and/or resin.
8. The exterior of the body was brushed with hot resin and beeswax was applied to the mouth and eyes to prevent bacteria growth.
9. Occasionally the body and face were painted with red ocher. Hair may have been dyed and styled.
10. The body was then adorned with jewelry specifically amulets.
11. The mummy was bandaged. The fingers and toes were all bandaged individually and then the entire body was wrapped with several layers.
The mummy wrappings were linen bandages. For wealthier persons the wrappings often had elborate paintings on them. Photo by Marco Almbauer.
Funeral Homes
A recent find in Saqqara, Egypt illuminated light on where the embalming took place. Archaeologists discovered the first well-preserved funeral home from 600 BC (3).
The embalming center for this community was located approximately 40 feet underground in a vaulted chamber. There were dedicated areas to perform various tasks.
The career of embalming began as a specialized art form in the Old Kingdom where they were available for members of the royal family and those the monarch granted permission for mummification (4). Later as mummification became more widely available the wider population independent embalming centers were established.
Embalmers became craftsmen within the priest class who charged for their services. They even had wooden models available to explain to the family what they received for each price breakdown. Mummification could be a very expensive procedure as it used numerous materials. Some of these raw materials came from trade with other countries. Some of them such as beeswax could be purchased from local farmers. (4).
Embalmers often wore the mask of the god Anubis while working (4). Anubis is the God of the Dead and is represented with a man’s body and head of a jackal. Different embalmers held different positions within the process.
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Jobs of the Embalmers
The Lord of Secrets were embalmers who performed sacred rituals wearing a mask of Anubis
Lector priests read out loud a variety of rituals and spells that were completed while the mummy was being bandaged.
Cutters were the lowest rung of the embalmers as they removed the body’s organs during the initial phase.
The embalming facility would have also hired scribes to reproduce the Book of the Dead.
Conclusion
Mummification and the embalming process was a complex and highly sophisticated process in Ancient Egypt. The process was very ritualistic and followed a strict set of rules that took into consideration their religious beliefs and social norms.
References:
1. Bob Briar & Hoyt Hobbs. (2013) Ancient Egypt: Everyday Life In The Land Of The Nile. Sterling Publishing.
2. Abdel-Maksoud, Gomaa & Elamin, Abdelrahman. (2011). A Review On The Materials Used During Mummification Processes In Ancient Egypt. Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry. Vol. 11, Iss. 2, pp. 129-150 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Abdelrahman-Elamin/publication/281404720_A_REVIEW_ON_THE_MATERIALS_USED_DURING_MUMMIFICATION_PROCESSES_IN_ANCIENT_EGYPT/links/5b57c605a6fdccf0b2f33ceb/A-REVIEW-ON-THE-MATERIALS-USED-DURING-MUMMIFICATION-PROCESSES-IN-ANCIENT-EGYPT.pdf
3. Debra Adams Simmons (2020) A New Mummy Discovery. National Geographic Published May 4, 2020 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/newsletters/history/article/new-mummy-discovery-may-4?loggedin=true
4. Milagros Álvarez Sosa (2017). How to Make a Mummy in 70 Days or Less. National Geographic March/April 2017 issue. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/history-magazine/article/egyptian-mummification-technique-process-purpose
5. Neil Prior (2020) Ancient Egypt: Mummified animals 'digitally unwrapped' in 3D scans. BBC News. August 20, 20202. https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-53841256#:~:text=The%20ancient%20Egyptians%20mummified%20animals,to%20present%20to%20the%20gods.
6. Kellie Warren. Book of the Dead: A Guidebook to the Afterlife. American Research Center in Egypt. https://www.arce.org/resource/book-dead-guidebook-afterlife
Author, Ame Vanorio is a lifelong pagan and a science teacher. She is an environmental educator who is currently writing a series on spirit animals. Ame also does our social media pages. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter.