Mummification

The first Egyptian mummies were bodies of people who had been buried in the desert. Their bodies dried out and remained whole. Later rich Egyptians were mummified after death. This procedure was a way of preserving the body for the afterlife.  The procedure involved cleaning the body inside and out.

Embalmers of the Old Kingdom hadn't yet learned how to preserve the flesh. In the 4th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom embalmers began experimenting with natron. This is a compound of salts that is a close chemical composition of bicarbonate of soda. When the body was packed in natron crystals, the moisture was drawn out of the skin tissue. The consistent use of natron did not occur until the 12th Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom.

During the Fourth Dynasty Queen Hetepheres was the first royal Egyptian believed to have her organs dried out and preserved. First the body was cut open and the organs were removed. All the major organs were taken out except the heart and the kidneys. The brain was removed through the nose with an iron hook. In her tomb a chest with compartments was found. In the chest were the remains of Queen Hetepheres's stomach and other organs. In later years the liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines were placed in canopic jars. The organs were carefully removed from the body and dried with natron. The brain was not considered an important organ and was not preserved. Egyptians believed thoughts and reason came from the heart.

These were made in the likeness of Horus's four sons. The dog headed jar, Duamutef,  held the stomach. The human, Imseti,  jar held the liver. The hawk headed, Qebsenuef,  held the intestines. The baboon, Hapi, held the lungs.

Next the body was covered with a salt substance called natron for 40 days so it would dry out. Natron is mostly made up of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate.

The drying out procedure was followed with rinsing the body, then covering it with oil. Next the body was wrapped in linen. The body was laid flat with the hands stretched out beside the body. Fine linen was wrapped around the body. Within the body wrappings, embalmers placed sacred amulets bearing spells and incantations that were thought to help the soul speed into the next world. Next plaster covered the linen wrapping. The plaster was carefully painted. Sometimes the toes and fingers were individually wrapped. During the Middle Kingdom embalmers experimented with various improved methods of preserving the body. Coating the wrappings with resin made from the sap of various conifers was one improvement. The name of the dead person was marked on the ends of the linen bandages.

By the Twenty-first Dynasty the mummy was inserted with materials between the skin and muscle layer. Sawdust, ashes, mud, sand, and linen were used to give the mummy a lifelike appearance. The body was then placed in a coffin called a sarcophagus. It was decorated with the image of the body inside. During the Middle Kingdom the first painted cartonnage masks were used. These gave the mummy a more life like appearance.

The complete preparation time took approximately 70 days to complete. Mummification preserved the body so that the dead person's soul could recognize its body when the soul returned to the tomb. Egyptians believed the soul called Ka would enter the mummified body.

When the soul returned the dead person would need food and earthly objects. This is why the body was buried with food and items that were needed to live an earthly life. These items included plates, combs, bowls, silverware, and cups. On the walls of their burial chambers pictures of servants were painted. The reason for this was the servants would be there to serve the person being buried in their next life.

The Egyptians did not believe in heaven or hell. They had priest to keep people on their good behavior. The priest performed ceremonies and festivals such as funerals.

In the Old Kingdom only royalty or nobility were mummified. During the Middle Kingdom, mummification began to spread to the upper middle class. During the 18th and 19th Dynasties of the New Kingdom more and more people could afford to be embalmed. Both royal and non-royal mummies were prepared. The only difference in the two were the way the hands were positioned. Royal males were positioned with their hands placed flat on the chest in the "classic mummy pose".