Mummification: How did the ancient Egyptians save the bodies of their kings?

 The secrets of the mummification process of the ancient Egyptians were revealed. Preservation was a common business in many societies in the past. The most famous of these practices goes back to the ancient Egyptians, who were able to preserve bodies in their original condition by a process called embalming. In fact, the operation was so successful that the mummified body can be clearly seen to this day, 3,000 years after death.

The ancient Egyptians loved life and believed in immortality. This prompted them to plan their death early. This may seem paradoxical, but it made sense to the ancient Egyptians, as they believed in life after death and that they would need their bodies at that point. The goal of mummification was to preserve the bodies in their condition as much as possible, which is essential for the continuity of life.

The ancient Egyptians believed that a mummified body housed a person's soul. If the flesh is destroyed, the soul will be lost and will not pass to the afterlife. That is why preparing the tomb was an important ritual in ancient Egypt. This process begins long before a person dies, and includes storing items that a person might need in the afterlife, such as furnishings, clothes, food, and valuables.

This ritual began in Egypt around 2600 BC, at which time kings only enjoyed embalming their bodies. Starting in 2000 BC, common people were allowed to cross into the afterlife, if their bodies were mummified and their valuables were placed with them in the grave.

 

The Mummification Process: How Did The Ancient Egyptians Preserve Corpses Until After Death?  What was the reason that pushed the ancient Egyptians to mummify their dead?  - Embalming of corpses

Mummification method

A 2011 study of the materials used in embalming in ancient Egypt revealed that the process takes 70 days. During this period, clergymen perform embalming steps, practice rituals and prayers, in addition to treating and wrapping the body.

Steps in the embalming process include: First, the removal of internal body organs that are subject to decay, such as the brain. And removing all members of the abdominal cavity except the heart, as they believed that the heart is the center of a person's being. The next step involves removing all of the moisture from the body by covering it with natron, a type of salt that acts as a preservative and desiccant. The final step is to wrap the corpse about 100 meters in glue-coated linen.

Those are the general steps of the mummification process, however the details of the mummification process differ according to the level and social class of the individual, as mummification was expensive, so cheaper alternatives were provided to the poor. The Greek historian Herodotus described three different methods of mummification that were adopted by embalmers at the time, depending on the social class of the individual.

The wealthy and the upper class

 The brain is withdrawn from the nostrils with a hooked iron.

 The abdominal organs are extracted and the inner cavity is cleaned using palm wine and aromatic compounds.

 The stomach is stuffed with myrrh, cinnamon and other spices, then the stomach is sewn.

 Cover the corpse with natron for 70 days.

 The body is washed, wrapped in linen, and gummed.

 Finally, the body is returned to her family.

Middle class

 Syringes are filled with cedar oil and injected into the abdomen, dissolving the intestine and internal organs.

 The body is covered with natron for 70 days, then the cedar oil is washed, and the skin and bones remain from the body.

 The body is returned to her family without wrapping.

the poor

 The abdominal cavity is cleaned with an oil-filled enema.

 The body is covered with natron for 70 days and then returned to her family.

Egyptian mummification became an extinct art around the fourth century AD, when Rome ruled Egypt and Christianity spread. But the mummies offer us a glimpse of the rich culture and traditions of this ancient civilization, due to the ingenuity of the ancient Egyptians in preserving the bodies of the dead.

But the art of mummification has not completely disappeared, as mummification was not limited to ancient Egypt, but this tradition continued with the passage of time. The contemporary people of Papua New Guinea still mummify their dead. And workers in funeral homes in some Western countries often mummify the bodies of the dead to slow the decomposition and provide more time for the funeral. Autopsy laboratories use preservation methods for both medical and educational purposes.