The methods of embalming, or treating the dead body, that the ancient Egyptians used is called mummification. Using special processes, the Egyptians removed all moisture from the body, leaving only a dried form that would not easily decay. It was important in their religion to preserve the dead body in as life-like a manner as possible. So successful were they that today we can view the mummified body of an Egyptian and have a good idea of what he or she looked like in life, 3, years ago.
Mummification was practiced throughout most of early Egyptian history. The earliest mummies from prehistoric times probably were accidental. By chance, dry sand and air since Egypt has almost no measurable rainfall preserved some bodies buried in shallow pits dug into the sand. The practice continued and developed for well over 2, years, into the Roman Period ca.
Within any one period the quality of the mummification varied, depending on the price paid for it. The best prepared and preserved mummies are from the Eighteenth through the Twentieth Dynasties of the New Kingdom ca. It is the general process of this period that shall be described here. The mummification process took seventy days. Special priests worked as embalmers, treating and wrapping the body. Beyond knowing the correct rituals and prayers to be performed at various stages, the priests also needed a detailed knowledge of human anatomy.
The first step in the process was the removal of all internal parts that might decay rapidly. The brain was removed by carefully inserting special hooked instruments up through the nostrils in order to pull out bits of brain tissue. It was a delicate operation, one which could easily disfigure the face.
The embalmers then removed the organs of the abdomen and chest through a cut usually made on the left side of the abdomen. They left only the heart in place, believing it to be the center of a person's being and intelligence. The other organs were preserved separately, with the stomach, liver, lungs, and intestines placed in special boxes or jars today called canopic jars.
These were buried with the mummy. In later mummies, the organs were treated, wrapped, and replaced within the body. Even so, unused canopic jars continued to be part of the burial ritual. The embalmers next removed all moisture from the body. This they did by covering the body with natron, a type of salt which has great drying properties, and by placing additional natron packets inside the body.
When the body had dried out completely, embalmers removed the internal packets and lightly washed the natron off the body. The result was a very dried-out but recognizable human form. To make the mummy seem even more life-like, sunken areas of the body were filled out with linen and other materials and false eyes were added. Next the wrapping began. Each mummy needed hundreds of yards of linen. The priests carefully wound the long strips of linen around the body, sometimes even wrapping each finger and toe separately before wrapping the entire hand or foot.
In order to protect the dead from mishap, amulets were placed among the wrappings and prayers and magical words written on some of the linen strips. Cairo's customs inspectors of the late 19th century found that the word "mummy" did not appear within any category of goods permitted for entry.
But, as Hawass explained, they found a solution: The mummies were labeled "salted fish," and welcomed to Cairo. They were first taken to the Bulaq Museum, but later moved to the Egyptian Museum in They first went on public display in This time around, the royal mummies will be welcomed to their new home in the capital by their contemporary counterpart — or the closest figure in present day Egypt, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
The once-thriving tourism industry is one of Egypt's primary sources of income, but it has suffered badly since the arrival of an uninvited guest last year. Clearly the parade was seen as a way to reinvigorate interest in Egypt as a destination as the global travel industry eyes a rebound.
Many Egyptians, including in the government, wanted this event to look good. The countdown starts now! Watch exclusive content of the mummies and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.
One talk show host went so far as to ask residents along the parade route hide junk on the roofs of their buildings, just for a day, for the sake of Egypt's public image, knowing their would be aerial footage of the royal procession.
The event also included the unveiling of an obelisk and the unboxing of four sphinxes in the center of Cairo's famous Tahrir Square. The artifacts had been installed and waiting for their debut for several months now. Despite the obvious draw Egypt's ancient history offers its tourism industry, mummies are, after all, deceased human beings, and there has always been a simmering debate over whether they should simply be left buried, or at least reburied, rather than put on display for gawping visitors.
Digging up graves is forbidden in Islam, and Dr. Ahmad Karima, a professor of Islamic law at Cairo's Al-Azhar University, recently raised the issue again, arguing: "These are our accentors, we shouldn't have them displayed for some dollars and euros. Hieroglyphs revealed that it belonged to Khuwy, a relation of the royal family who lived over 4, years ago.
So her initial reaction was: this is definitely not Old Kingdom. But over the course of the investigation she started to come round [to the idea]. Ancient embalmers bathed bodies in expensive resins from tree sap, preserving the flesh before they wrapped the corpse.
This mummy is impregnated with high-quality resins and wrapped in the highest-grade of bandages. A scientist examines the Khuwy mummy, discovered in
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