Introduction
Mummification is a
method of [reserving artificially the body if deceased people and animals. Ancient
Egyptian civilization is not the only\one
in the world to have practiced this custom, but the Egyptian mummies are the best know often to chagrin of
professional Egyptologists, tend to be regarded as the embodiment of ancient Egypt itself &main
object of interest for those who
study it mummies can contribute to our
knowledge in various ways, in particular by providing information
on such subjects as illnesses &conditions of ancient Egyptians, their diet . in the case of royal mummies ,we add our
understanding of Egyptian chronology by
helping to establish the age of king
at the time of his e death :
family relationship can also be discovered from examination of mummies& their DNA
testing
Development
Mummification was introduced as a result of human interaction with the environment
.it was an attempt to n preserve an element
by artificial means when new burial customs started threading natural preservation.
For the most pre
dynastic period burials ere very simple. Bodies were placed in shallow graves dug on
the edge of the desert& covered with sand. In dry atmosphere the
contact with hot sand produced
dehydration very quickly often before the tissues decomposed , so
that bodies were sometimes preserved by entirely
natural means .
his not escape attention because such mummies were from
time to time accidentally uncovered&
a belief developed that the preservation of the body was essential for
mans continued existence after death . When at the end of the pre-dynastic period some
of the graces turned into
larger tombs & coffins
introduced these natural conditions were altered in particular the content with sand.
it become necessary to look for methods that would achieve by official means what
nature had previously accomplished&
unaided &thus the custom of
mummification was introduced.
It s history is
one of a continues struggle between 2 approaches to the problem. The 1st
aimed at genuine preservation of the body, while the other more formalistic,
concerned on the mummy s wrapping
& packing.
The peak of the craft of mummification was reached at the end of the new king down &
in the period immediately
following from then on, there was a sharp
decline , as if in recognition of the impossibility of the task ,
& formalistic approach
prevailed.
MUMMIFICATION STEPS
1-Putting the
crops on the operating
Shortly
after death the body was
brought to the per nefer . the
house of the mummification it
was stripped of all its
clothes & put on a n operating table
for the extraction of the brain
& viscera . one of
these tables was found
by win lock a t
deri el bahari
2 - Extraction of brain
Since the brain
is among tissues which
suffer quick putre
faction the ancient Egyptians extracted it before
starting the dehydration process .
a chisel was passed through
the ethmoid bone into
the cranial cavity &
then , with a
rode hooked at
one end they cut
the brain into small pieces which were taken out with
another rod. The inner
edge of which
was bent in a
form a spoon
3 -Extraction of
the viscera
The viscera were removed for
2 reasons the 1st is
the quick liability
of the food remai8ns
in the intestines as well as
of some of their
tissues to putrefaction . The
intestines , as porphyry
Sterilization of the body cavities &viscera
The thoracic & abdominal cavities, as well as the
extracted viscera, were then all washed
with palm wine & spices .palm
wine, as manufactured in ancient Egypt ,
usually contained about 14% of alcohol
. its noteworthy that ethyl
alcohol is one of the most important sterilizing materials still
for medical purposes.
4-Embalming the viscera
The viscera were freed of their contents , washed
& sterilized as above
. They were then
most probably, dehydrated by
being buried in
solid natron on as small slanting bed
for about 40 days
after being dried
& re sterilized& . They
were anointed with perfume. oil
& treated with molten resin. Lately they were
wrapped in 4 separate
packages & in
some cases introduced into small anthropoid coffins of
gold such as those
of king tut of liver such
as of sheshonq
1 . these small coffins
were put into canonic jars .
each being identified with
one of the 4 sons of Horus. Until the end
of the 18th dynasty
, after 18th.dyn they
were fashioned into the actual
shapes of the 4 sons of Horus.
5-The temporary stuffing of the thoracic
& abdominal cavites
The thoracic & abdominal cavities were
next packed with
3 kinds of temporary
stuffing materials enclosed
in linen packets containing
dry natron to speed
the dehydration of the body tissues
from inside packets of linen
to linen absorb the extracted
water which might
collect the 2
cavities , & packets
of linen impregnated with odoriferous gum resins
to impart to the body
a god odour
& combat th odour off putrefaction furring the
long period need for the
dehydration of the body
6-Dehydration of the body
This was the main operation in the whole
process of mummification . it depend
scientifically upon the extraction
of the water of the body by osmosis .
& it was accomplished
by putting the body in a
heap of
dry natron on a slanting bed , known as
the bed of mummification at
the end which 3
small canal leading to a small
semicircular basin in which
was collected the water
extracted from the body
. it seems that this process needed 40
days.
& 40 days
were fulfilled for him. for so
are fulfilled the days of those who
are embalmed & the Egyptians
mourned for him threescore & 10
days
It is the most probable therefore
that the dehydration process might have
taken40daysthe remaining 30 days
from the total 70 days which
were required for the entire mummification process as it mentioned
in many ancient Egyptian texts were most probably used for
carrying out the remaining steps
& ceremonies associated with them as mentioned in the book of
(rituals of embalm
in)
7- Removal of the
temporary stuffing material
after the
dehydration process had been
completed , the body was
taken out of the natron
& the temporary stuffing materials taken out of its
thoracic & abdominal cavities.
They had
become saturated & would led t o putrefaction if left in
the body.
They were put in
special jars which were buried in sand
near the tomb in a little
chamber beside it. Many
samples of these refuse embalming materials have been discovered
& used.
8-Packing the
body cavities with permanent stuffing
materials
The cranial cavity
was then stuffed
with resin or
with linen soaked in resin
. the thoracic & abdominal cavities were
most probably washed with
palm wine then stuffed with
fresh dry materials most of which
were enclosed in
linen packets of linen cloth impregnated with resin sawdust
& occasionally 1 or
2 onions inn the most cases
the 2 lips of the incision
were then drawn together closed with
resinous paste, bee wax or linen
smeared with inscribed with the sacred eye of Horus in a
few cases however the embalming incision was sewn up with linen string.
9-Anointing the body
The body was anointed with cedar oil
& other precious ointments
& then rubbed with myrrh, cinnamon & other fragrant materials.
10-Packing the
face openings
The mouth, the ears & the nose were packed with bee
wax or linen soaked in molten resin.
The eyeballs packed with slightly pressed down covered with pads of linen
dipped in molten resin & the eyelids
drawn over them so that they might appear in their normal level as they
had been in life
11-Streaming the skin with molten resin
The whole body
surface was treated with molten resin which would strengthen the skin & at the same time
close its pores to prevent moisture from penetrating into it again.
12-Adorning
& bandaging the mummy
The mummy was adorned
with the jeweler previously prepared for
it & with
amulets . the mummy of tut
was adorned by 134 fine
pieces of jewelry ,
including rings earrings , necklace collars pectorals bracelets
, & various kind of amulets in some cases
griddle of disk beads
with a central pendant
in the form of a crouching
falcon in carnelian was
worn around the abdomen
of the mummy in
such a way that this hawk pendent lay over the embalming
incision the function of this amulet was evidently to protect the lower part of
body &magically to
seal the embalming incision.
The body then bandaged with bandages mad to stick t o the body & to each other with molten resin
or gum-resin. After
the completion of all these processes &religious rites in association
with them the priest performed for the mummy
a priest touched
the mouth of the mummy to
restore to the dead person
All the
faculties of life so that
as they believed he might once
more speak eat &move his arms &legs
.
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