Mummification
The earliest ancient Egyptians buried their dead in small pits in the desert. The heat and dryness of the sand dehydrated the bodies quickly, creating lifelike and natural 'mummies'. Later, the ancient Egyptians began burying their dead in coffins to protect them from wild animals in the desert. However, they realised that bodies placed in coffins decayed when they were not exposed to the hot, dry sand of the desert.
A Mummy
Over many centuries, the ancient Egyptians developed a method of preserving bodies so they would remain lifelike. The process included embalming the bodies and wrapping them in strips of linen. Today we call this process mummification. In about three thousand B.C., mummies were put in flat topped tombs called“Mastabas.” The first pyramid was built in twenty - seven hundred B.C. It was known as the step pyramid.
Later people started to steal from pharaohs tombs so pharaohs started to build pyramids from solid rock In the heart balancing ritual, a person's heart was weighed against an ostrich feather. If the person's heart was heavy that meant that they had a bad life and would not have an afterlife. If it was light they had lived a life of good deeds and would go to the afterlife. The Egyptians believed that once someone died they had to pass through the underworld to get to paradise. So priests put together books of spells to protect the person from horror and monsters. Mummification could take up to 70 days. The process of mummification has two stages. First, the embalming of the body. Then, the wrapping and burial of the body.The brain was pulled out through their nose and other vital organs were also taken out. The Egyptians then dried them for 40 days. Then the body was treated with salts and wrapped in linen bandages. Up to four hundred and ten yards of linen could be used The Egyptians threw away the brains of the dead because they didn't know what it was back then. We are able to learn more about the Egyptians because of their process of mummification.
Later people started to steal from pharaohs tombs so pharaohs started to build pyramids from solid rock In the heart balancing ritual, a person's heart was weighed against an ostrich feather. If the person's heart was heavy that meant that they had a bad life and would not have an afterlife. If it was light they had lived a life of good deeds and would go to the afterlife. The Egyptians believed that once someone died they had to pass through the underworld to get to paradise. So priests put together books of spells to protect the person from horror and monsters. Mummification could take up to 70 days. The process of mummification has two stages. First, the embalming of the body. Then, the wrapping and burial of the body.The brain was pulled out through their nose and other vital organs were also taken out. The Egyptians then dried them for 40 days. Then the body was treated with salts and wrapped in linen bandages. Up to four hundred and ten yards of linen could be used The Egyptians threw away the brains of the dead because they didn't know what it was back then. We are able to learn more about the Egyptians because of their process of mummification.
The Process of Mummification: EMBALMING
Embalmers embalming a bodyFirst, the body is taken to the tent known as 'Ibu' or the 'place of purification'. There the embalmers wash his body with good-smelling palm wine and rinse it with water from the Nile. One of the embalmer's men makes a cut in the left side of the body and removes many of the internal organs. It is important to remove these because they are the first part of the body to decompose.
Natron
The liver, lungs, stomach and intestines are washed and packed in natron which will dry them out. The heart is not taken out of the body because it is the centre of intelligence and feeling and the man will need it in the afterlife. A long hook is then used to smash the brain and pull it out through the nose. The body is now covered and stuffed with natron which will dry it out. All of the fluids, and rags from the embalming process will be saved and buried along with the body.
After forty days the body is washed again with water from the Nile. Then it is covered with oils to help the skin stay elastic. The dehydrated internal organs are wrapped in linen and returned to the body. The body is stuffed with dry materials such as sawdust, leaves and linen so that it looks lifelike. Finally the body is covered again with good-smelling oils. It is now ready to be wrapped
in linen.
Canopic Jars
in linen.
In the past, when the internal organs were removed from a body they were placed in hollow canopic jars. Over many years the embalming practices changed and embalmers began returninginternal organs to bodies after the organs had been dried in natron. However, solid wood or stone canopic jars were still buried with the mummy to symbolically protect the internal organs. Imsety the human-headed god looks after the liver. Hapy the baboon-headed god looks after the lungs. Duamutef the jackal-headed god looks after the stomach. Qebehsenuef the falcon-headed god looks after the intestines.
Linen used for mummification
The Process of Mummification: WRAPPING
First the head and neck are wrapped with strips of fine linen. Then the fingers and the toes are individually wrapped. The arms and legs are wrapped separately. Between the layers
of wrapping, the embalmers place amulets to protect the body in its journey through the underworld.
First the head and neck are wrapped with strips of fine linen. Then the fingers and the toes are individually wrapped. The arms and legs are wrapped separately. Between the layers
of wrapping, the embalmers place amulets to protect the body in its journey through the underworld.
Isis knot and Plummet
This is the 'Isis knot' amulet which will protect the body and This is the 'Plummet' amulet which will keep the person balanced in the next life.
BOOK of the Dead
A priest reads spells out loud while the mummy is being wrapped. These spells will help ward off evil spirits and help the deceased make the journey to the afterlife. The arms and legs are tied together. A papyrus scroll with spells from the Book of the Dead is placed between the wrapped hands. More linen strips are wrapped around the body. At every layer, the bandages are painted with liquid resin that helps to glue the bandages together. A cloth is wrapped around the body and a picture of the god Osiris is painted on its surface. Finally, a large cloth is wrapped around the entire mummy. It is attached with strips of linen that run from the top to the bottom of the mummy, and around its middle. A board of painted wood is placed on top of the mummy before the mummy is lowered into its coffin. The first coffin is then put inside a second coffin.The funeral is held for the deceased and his family mourns his death.
Pyramids
The ancient Egyptians built pyramids as tombs for the pharaohs and their queens. The pharaohs were buried in pyramids of many different shapes and sizes from before the beginning of the Old Kingdom to the end of the Middle Kingdom. There are about eighty pyramids known today from ancient Egypt. The three largest and best-preserved of these were built at Giza at the beginning of the OlKingdom. The most well-known of these pyramids was built for the pharaoh Khufu. It is known as the 'Great Pyramid'.
The pharaoh Khufu, like the pharaohs before him, began planning his 'house of eternity' as soon as he took the throne. A spot was chosen for building on the west bank of the Nile. Cemeteries were usually built on the west bank because the sun 'died' on the western horizon every night.