When the Ancient Egyptian civilization thrived, what do you think they did with dead bodies? Did they burn them to ashes or did they bury them in the ground? Did they put them in coffins? Did they bury them with clothes on? What exactly did they do with their dead?

If you were rich or you served the Pharaoh, you would have a proper burial after your body was mummified. It took 70 days to complete the burial process. First they had to take out your brain, your inner organs, and your heart.

Do you think they cut the top of your head open and pulled out your brain? Actually they didn’t even touch your head. They shoved a metal hook up your nose and pulled your brain out through your nostril. After that they threw the brain away because they didn’t think it was important.

After they took out your brain, they cut a slit in the left side of your body (called an embalming cut) and took out your inner organs: lungs, liver, stomach, and intestines. Each organ was placed in its own jar (called a canopic jar) that was made of stone or clay. The lid looked like the head of a god that was also made of clay or stone. These gods protected the organs. The god Hapy protected the lungs, the god Duamutef protected the stomach, the god Imsety protected the liver, and the god Qebhsenuef protected the intestines. These were the gods chosen to protect the organs because they were the four sons of Horus, the protector of the dead.

In later times the Egyptians took out your heart and replaced it with a scarab beetle made of stone. A scarab beetle is a type of beetle that was sacred to the Egyptians. Afterwards, they chopped up your heart and fed it to the Pharaoh's cats.

Once all of the organs were removed, they dried out your body with a grainy chemical known as natron, which is found in deposits of the Nile River. The embalming cut was covered with a golden plate with the protector of the dead on it, the protective eye of Horus.

After they dried out your body, they stuffed the empty spaces with pads of linen (a type of cloth), spices, herbs, and Arabic gums. The eye sockets were plugged with linen and were closed, the nostrils were stuffed with beeswax, and the fingers and toes were covered with caps of gold. They put jewelry, gold, and precious stones on the dead body. The body was then wrapped in cloth. The fingers, toes, arms, and legs were wrapped individually. The body was huge after it was wrapped in about 20 layers of cloth. The person’s name was written on the cloth. Magic amulets were tucked in between the mummy’s wrappings.

The mummy was put into a wood or stone coffin. The coffin was called a sarcophagus. Hieroglyphics were written on the inside of the sarcophagus as spells of protection.

When they finished making the mummy they had a long, solemn ceremony. The mummy was dragged by oxen on a sled. The canopic jars with the organs inside were put in a chest on a different sled. Priests, family, servants, and mourners were paid to weep, and they followed the sled. Porters carried furniture, food, and other possessions that would be buried with the mummy.