Preservation
of the body was an essential part of
Ancient Egyptian funerary practice.
Without the body, the "ka" could not
return to find sustenance, and if the
body was decayed or unrecognisable, then
the ka would go hungry and the afterlife
of the deceased would be jeopardised.
Mummification was therefore dedicated to
the prevention of decay.
It was
often suggested that mummification was
inspired by simple predynastic pit
burials, in which the body was naturally
dried and preserved by the desert sands,
however it was probably more likely the
desire to preserve the image of the body
that actually motivated mummification.
The first steps towards mummification
(wrapping the body in linen) coincide
with the development of tomb
superstructures just after the rise of
the Egyptian state. Discoveries in early
elite tombs in Meidum show how
dismemberment and recomposition of
corpses was practiced on important
people.
Embalming of the body
Mummification
was not only a technical process but a ritual
one, seeking to recreate the making of the first
original mummy, Osiris.
In charge of mummification
was the "hery seshta"
(overseer of the mysteries),
who took the part of the
jackal god Anubis.
The assistant was the "hetemw
netjer" (seal bearer of
the god) a title which had
previously been held by the
priests of Osiris.
The "hery heb"
(lector priest) would read
the magic spells during each
ritual.
The "wetyw" (the
bandagers) undertook most of
the actual evisceration
(removal of the internal
organs) and bandaging of the
body.
The process of mummification
Shortly after death the body would
be taken to a tent known as the "ibw"the place of purification.
There it would be thoroughly washed
in a solution of natron (a naturally
occurring compound of sodium
carbonate and sodium bicarbonate)
before being taken to another tent
known as the "per nefer"
the house of beauty. Here the
actual mummification process would
take place.
The viscera (internal organs) were
removed and dried, rinsed, bandaged
and then placed in canopic jars or
parcels which were placed with the
body. These canopic jars would be
decorated with the images of the
"four sons of Horus". From the
18th Dynasty onwards, the stoppers
of canopic jars were fashioned into
the forms of the heads of each of
the four gods:
HAPY
was the baboon headed god who
protected the lungs. His cardinal
point was North.
IMSETY
was the human headed god who
protected the liver. His cardinal
point was South.
DUAMUTEF
was the jackal headed god who
protected the stomach. His cardinal
point was East.
QEBEHSENUEF
was the falcon headed god who
protected the intestines. His
cardinal point was West.
After the
removal and preservation of the internal organs,
dry natron would be moulded over the corpse and
possibly also inserted into the body cavity, in
order to assist desiccation. The body would be
left to thoroughly dehydrate for some forty
days.
Once dried out, the temporary
stuffing would be removed, with any
dried body parts being retained for
burial, and the body cavity would be
re-stuffed and packed out with bags
of clean natron, resin soaked
bandages and various sweet smelling
aromatics. The brain cavity was
filled with resin or linen, the
openings in the skull packed and
artificial eyes often added.
The whole body would be coated in
resin, and cosmetics were sometimes
added in order to give the body its
final life-like appearance. Whilst
the body was then completely
bandaged up, amulets would be
inserted between the wrappings in
the appropriate places as described
in the Book of the Dead.
Bandaging the body would take around
fifteen days.
Preservation
of the body was an essential part of
Ancient Egyptian funerary practice.
Without the body, the "ka" could not
return to find sustenance, and if the
body was decayed or unrecognisable, then
the ka would go hungry and the afterlife
of the deceased would be jeopardised.
Mummification was therefore dedicated to
the prevention of decay.
