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THE PROCESS OF MUMMIFICATION (INTRO (mummification was a long, religious…
THE PROCESS OF MUMMIFICATION
INTRO
mummification was a long, religious process that was kept secret throughout all of Egyptian history
there are not many papyri, wall paintings, or texts detailing the process of mummification, meaning scholars have to piece together the process from the fragments that do exist
there were many different religious aspects the act of mummification, including the gods involved, the ritual of the "Opening of the Mouth", and the magical objects included in the process
the 18th/19th dynasties were the high time of mummification as the Egyptians appeared to have perfected the art and we have many exceptionally preserved royal mummies from these periods
evidence comes from a document called the
RITUAL OF EMBALMING
which was a piece of text for the people preparing the body
also found in the writings of HERODOTUS and DIODORUS but they were writing much later on
1: THE PROCESS IN BRIEF
the brain
a. removed immediately
b. thought to be useless
c. was the softest of the tissue so it had to be disposed of first to stop it spreading decay throughout the body
the organs
a. these were the second quickest way to spread decay
b. had to be put under the protection of the gods and goddesses
c. removed through a cut in the side which was made using a flint knife
d. were placed in
canopic jars
whose iconography changed throughout history
e. sometimes there were dummy jars and the organs were placed back in the body after being wrapped separately
drying the body
a. used packages of
natron
inserted in the body through the same cut the organs were removed out of
c. the process was repeated over a 70 day period, which was the standard royal burial time
d. the body had to be packed with
natron
due to the drying process taking away the life-like features, and the deflating of the body after the organs have been removed
b. the body was placed in
natron
to dry out the skin as well as the inside of the body
the wrapping
a. have royal and non-royal postures that the deceased were wrapped in
b. the body is wrapped in as many linen layers as they can afford
c. amulets were added to the wrappings as the embalmers went along as the amulets added enhanced abilities to the deceased during the afterlife
d. this can be seen in the form of the
heart scarab
which could be used as a replacement of the heart, which needed to be as light as a feather in the "weighing of the heart" in the afterlife
mummy masks
a. individuality was shown through the mummy masks
b. these were added last, before being placed in the tomb and all rituals were complete
c. they become popular during the Middle and New Kingdom
2: TOOLS OF MUMMIFICATION
a bronze hook for the removal of the brain
knives made from either obsidian or flint
bags of
natron
for the drying of the body, which could be changed over four times
resin bowls and funnels to pour resin into the head when the brain has been removed
an embalming table, which was used to drain off the excess liquid from the body of the deceased
3: THE MAGIC BEHIND MUMMIFICATION
the ritual was always accompanied by a priest, who had access to ritual vaults and texts which were read aloud during the process of mummification
the mummy was enclosed in a shroud mimicking OSIRIS, the god of embalming
the
canopic jars
were representation of the sons of HORUS, who protected the organs inside the jars
when the organs were placed inside the body instead, the jars were kept because they were a significant part of the burial assemblage
canopic jars
were also represented in the form of amulets depicting the sons of Horus instead