The process of mummification involved cleaning the body, inside and out. The organs and intestines had to be removed before the body could be preserved. Using one method, the brain was removed through the nose with an iron hook and the other organs and the intestines were taken out through a cut made in the side of the body. Then the inside of the body was cleaned and the cut was sewn up again. The removed liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines were placed in containers called canopic jars which were placed inside the body or with the body in the tomb. Some of these jars had stoppers shaped like human or animal heads representing gods. It was believed that these gods would ward off evil forces. A natural substance called natron was used to preserve the body. The corpse was covered with natron for seventy days, then rinsed and washed again, and finally wrapped in several meters of linen bandages. After this process was completed the mummy was placed in a wooden coffin shaped like either a box or a person.

The Egyptians believed that one of their most important gods, Osiris, the god of death and rebirth, was the first to be mummified. Therefore, the people that watched over the process of mummification were priests.

The earliest Egyptian graves consisted of a shallow pit in the sand, with the dead body laid inside in a curled position. Although the person was buried without clothes, some of their prized possessions- stuff like weapons, hunting supplies, and toys- were placed in the burial pit with them. The people of ancient Egypt believed that upon death, a person's soul split into several parts, and continued to live on in an afterlife. Therefore, these favorite items would still be needed!

Because they were buried in the blistering hot sand under the scorching desert sun, the dead were naturally preserved by rapid drying before they could decay. When a living thing dies, bacteria breaks down the body, recycling it back to the earth. But without sufficient moisture, bacteria is unable to do its job. Instead, a mummy is born!

Somehow the Egyptians caught on to what was happening a few feet below the desert sand, most likely after catching jackals in the act of digging up human remains to eat. Seeing the dried bodies was great news because in some mysterious way, their dead relatives seemed to still be living! The ancient Egyptians saw these naturally-made mummies as proof of an eternal afterlife.

Dead kings and queens (and anyone else wealthy enough to afford it!) were given even better accommodations. Instead of being buried without clothes, they were wrapped in linen, which is a type of cloth made from the flax plant. To protect the body even further, the linen was coated with melted resin (a very sticky plant extract) which created a water proof, varnish-like seal around the body after it hardened.

A coffin was provided as yet another layer of protection, and the dead person was placed inside it with their jewels and treasures and then buried safely away in a grave much deeper than usual. The Egyptians must have been very pleased with their handiwork. No jackals would be able to reach a body wrapped in linen, coated with resin, locked in a coffin, and buried extra deep!

However, these more elaborate burials were disasters, not improvements! Since the coffin and the coating of resin and linen kept the hot dry sand away from the corpse, the bodies decayed from within instead of becoming mummified. The Egyptians probably realized this after finding graves that had been disturbed by grave robbers- thieves who would hack through the resin-hardened linen with an axe in order to steal the jewels placed on the body. All that remained inside the bandages were bones... not a mummy!

The Egyptians had a huge problem. They desired elaborate burials, with linen and resin and coffins far underground- but also wanted to preserve the body as a symbol of eternal life. They figured that if the body wasn't able to live forever, neither could the parts of the soul... and that would mean no afterlife.

It was therefore absolutely necessary to prevent the dead body from decaying, since the parts of the soul still had a need for it. Three of the more well-known forms of the spirit were the ba, the ka, and the akh. It was believed that the ram-headed creator god Khnum sculpted babies and all the parts of their souls from clay.

The ba was the personality. It was shown as a bird with a human head- in particular, the head of the person to which it belonged. The ka was the life force, like our modern definition of a soul, and it looked exactly like its person. Sometimes a statue modeled after the deceased would be placed in the tomb with the mummy. These "ka statues" were something of an emergency back-up, to make sure the ka had a substitute body in case something should happen to the mummy. In addition to a recognizable body, the ka also needed food to survive. When Egyptians left food and water at the tomb, they were leaving it for the ka. The akh was represented by a type of bird called a crested ibis. At death, the akh flew to the stars to spend eternity in the heavens.

The mummification process

Eventually, someone realized that the trick for having deep elaborate burials but still maintaining a recognizable body was to preserve the dead before burial. They experimented with different techniques and finally discovered a method of mummification that was so effective that many of their mummies are still wonderfully preserved today!

Making mummies turned out to be not so complicated after all- the Egyptians simply intentionally dried the bodies first, then added the linen, resin, coffins, and deep tombs.

The entire process of mummification took 70 days to complete. Several embalmers conducted the task in the special embalming shop or per nefer. The chief embalmer was known as the hery seshta. He wore a jackal mask to represent Anubis, the god of mummification. Assistants called wetyw bandaged the body and carried out other tasks of the embalming process.

After being delivered to the per nefer, the first task that needed to be done was to remove the soft, moist body parts that would cause decay. One of the embalmers would use a knife to make an incision in the left side of the abdomen. Although this step was entirely necessary to remove the organs, they didn't like it because it was considered sinful to "injure" a corpse. The other embalmers present would curse and throw stones at the man who made the cut. They weren't really trying to hurt him, it was all just a symbolic part of the ceremony.

The stomach, intestines, liver, and lungs were removed and preserved by drying them in a special salt called natron. Natron is chemically similar to a mixture of table salt and baking soda. Originally dissolved in the ground water, it is found in clumps by oases where it gets left behind when water evaporates.

Once thoroughly dried, the organs would be put into separate containers called canopic jars. The Egyptians believed that all body parts would be magically reunited in the afterlife and the body would become whole again, just like the god Osiris. According to Egyptian mythology, the god Osiris was murdered by his jealous brother Set and hacked into pieces. The goddess Isis reassembled the pieces and Osiris was magically restored, and went on to become the god of the afterlife.

The stoppers of canopic jars were shaped like the heads of the four sons of the god Horus. Each son protected the organ placed inside his respective jar. Duamutef, who had the head of a jackal, guarded the jar that contained the stomach. Qebehsenuf, who had the head of a falcon, watched over the intestines. Hapi, the baboon-headed son of Horus, protected the lungs, while human-headed Imseti was in charge of protecting the liver. Canopic jars were usually stored in a chest that was later placed in the tomb with the mummy.

Although it didn't get its own canopic jar, the brain was another organ that was taken out of the body. The bone that separates the nasal cavity from the brain was broken open by ramming a sharp instrument up the nose. Next, a long hook was used to stir up the brain until it was liquefied. Then the embalmers would turn the body face down to allow the brain to ooze out the nostrils. The Egyptians were so rough on the brain because they didn't realize its importance. They thought its sole purpose was to produce snot!

After all the organs were removed, the body was washed with wine and rubbed with spices. The alcohol in the wine acted as an antiseptic, helping to kill bacteria. The corpse was then covered with natron for 40 days to dry out. Once dried, the skin was shrunken, wrinkled, and leathery. The mummy was cleaned one more time and rubbed with sacred oils to soften the skin.

In one Egyptian myth, the god Horus had his eye miraculously restored after losing it in a battle with the evil god Set. The Eye of Horus, called a wedjat, is associated with healing and protection. A wax or bronze plate with a wedjat carved on it was placed over the embalming incision to magically heal the gash in the afterlife.

Small magical amulets were inserted between the layers of the bandages to further protect the mummy's spirit on its way to the afterlife. As each layer was added, it was coated with resin to hold the wrappings together with a waterproof seal.