In Predynastic Egypt, a body buried in a simple pit would be well preserved by the hot, desiccating sand. As tomb structures became more complex, the body was placed in shafts or chambers well removed from that beneficial sand. Despite advances in tomb design, the body decomposed rapidly. Eventually the Egyptians became aware of the consequences, and to counter them, developed elaborate procedures of mummification, that is, embalmment and wrapping of the body. The term comes from the Arabic word “mumiya,” meaning bitumen, a tar in which, it was mistakenly thought, the blackened, poorly embalmed bodies from the late periods had been dipped.
The earliest known evidence of classic or standard mummification is from the tomb at Giza of Queen Hetep-heres, the mother of Khufu, the important king of the Fourth Dynasty. Although her body was not found, a Canopic chest containing four of her organs proved that the standard process of embalmment was already being performed. The most skillful mummifications come from the New Kingdom. Although classic techniques faded in the Hellenistic period, the practice continued, with different degrees of elaboration (depending on how much one could afford), into the early Christian period.
The organs were removed (except for the heart, the spiritual sentinel, which remained in the body in order to testify at the moment of Judgment), since they putrefied first. Four key organs were given special treatment: the stomach, the intestines, the lungs, and the liver, but not, interestingly, the brain, which was apparently discarded. They were washed, packed and dried in natron (a naturally occurring salt), painted with resins, wrapped in separate bundles, and packed in four Canopic jars, and placed in the tomb. Each was protected by a special divinity.
The body was dried in natron. After a certain period, at least forty days, the natron was removed and the body was prepared for burial by anointing with oils and resins, and packing with linen stuffing to restore its original shape. Finally it was tightly wrapped with linen strips to safeguard that shape, with amulets interspersed in the wrapping.
World History
