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           Whenever the word mummification is heard it is associated with both Egyptians and the really scary mummies we hear about in the movies.    Interestingly enough mummification is a process that still astonishes scientists today.  The three principle processes for mummification were embalming, wrapping, and the burial.

            Embalming was the process of extracting the internal organs.  The liver, stomach, lungs, and intestines are all washed and dried out then placed with the body.  The brain is extracted by a hook through the nose.  The heart is left in the body because it is believed that it is needed in the afterlife.  Natron, the same chemical used to dry out the internal organs, is poured and stuffed in the body.  Before the body is stuffed with dry materials, they must wait forty days to rewash and cover the body in oils.  In all, it takes about seventy days to embalm the body.

        Wrapping is taken a step at a time.  First, the head, neck and individual toes and fingers are wrapped in linen.  When the arms and legs are wrapped a "charm" to protect the body is placed in between the layers of linen.  While the arms and legs are tied together a priest reads spells to help the mummy in the afterlife.  A mask went on the head of the mummy and was then wrapped one last time with resin, a glue used to keep the bandages together. 

        Priests, high-ranked officials, and people who had served the pharaoh and his queen had burials, but the ones who had the most superb burials were the pharaohs.  The ceremony held before the burial was called "The Opening of the Mouth."  A priest would recite a hymn and it would allow the mummy to in a sense be with the people in it's presence.  The mummy could then see, hear, smell, breathe, and eat that way it could join in on the foods and drinks brought to the tomb.  When the ceremony is through the tomb is placed in a sarcophagus in the tomb.  In the underworld their heart is judged y Osiris and it is decided then whether or not it will enter the Field of Reeds.