Chapter 5: Mummification: Ancient Egypt

  • Afterlife - involved trials and tribulations that living and dead needed to endure to reach it

  • heat determined worth of spirit and its fate

  • Egyptians understood that brain allowed for movement

  • Heat considered most important organ

  • Believed that heart was a ‘metaphysical entity’ - embodied and source of thought, memory, wisdom, and other emotions e.g. sadness, love

  • Heart - center of the ‘life force’ or soul of body - without heart, a corpse lost its spirit

    • determined soul’s fate in next life

  • “Judgement Scene” - heart weighed to determine if deceased was wicked or free of sin

  • to ensure deceased would be judge fairly in next life, heart often left whole in the chest

  • other organs removed and kept in canopic jars

  • Brain - removed and discarded while heart was preserved/mummified

  • believed mummification and being put in sarcophagus - only way to have afterlife

  • Sarcophagus would be inscribed with “Coffin Texts”

    • instructions about challenges in the afterlife

    • magical spells to navigate dangers of afterlife successfully

    • began to appear for ordinary egyptians in first intermediate period (ca. 2200 BC)

  • royal version of coffin texts

    • “Pyramid texts” - guide for pharaohs and queens

  • due to dangers of afterlife

    • “Book of the Dead” placed in tomb with body as well as food, jewlery, and ‘curses’

  • Mummification Practices Over Time

    • Mummy:

      • preserved human or animal corpse including skin hair flesh regardless of whether it has been created by natural or artificial methods

    • In Egyptology:

      • wrapped body also referred to as a mummy when silhouette of dead person preserved (only skeletal remains may be found within wrapping)

      • Mummification includes:

        1) method for carrying out preservation of soft tissues of body

        2) ritual treatment of dead person before final burial, including embalming materials and bandages

  • Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt

    • beginning in 6th millennium BC

      • most common burial position was the flexed pose

    • body lay wrapped in matting in a shallow grave with burial objects placed next to it

    • body originally laid with head pointing west - over time switched to east

    • Upper Egypt

      • buried dead in desert areas bordering villages

      • body exposed to sun and salty desert sand

    • natural likely accidental preservation

    • assume natural mummification affected religion concept of a death cult

      • adopted physical preservation of body as necessary condition for afterlife

    • Elite cemeteries (ca 3700 BC)

      • change in grave structures

    • Grave Pits became larger

      • walls partially sealed with bricks

      • protected bodies from sun and sand but hindered natural modification

    • other concepts of afterlife developing

      • ex: bodies of 3 prominent women were covered with mats with necks and hands wrapped in fine linen soaked in resin

      • one woman - throat cut after death

      • another woman - organ removed, wrapped in resin-soaked cloth and put back in body

      • possibly preservation of particular body functions

      • parts of body needed for consumption of food

    • Linen-soaked resin found in graves of oldest Proto-historic burial sites such as Mostagedda (ca 4000 BC)

    • Unified state in Egypt (ca 3000 BC)

    • resin-soaked linen bandages

      • found with skeletal remains in necropolises of 1st and 2nd Dynasties (ca 3500 - 2700 BC) in Saqqara and Abydos

    • better preserved burials in Saqqara

      • bodies in flexed poses wrapped in heavy layers of linen and buried in wooden coffins

      • soft tissue not preserved

    • bodies in royal tombs of Abydos

      • few impregnated linen clothed with pieces of bones clinging to them (assigned to royal graved of Djer, Djet, Dewen, and Merneith)

    • best known fragment

      • tomb complex of King Djer (ca 3000 BC)

      • lower arm wrapped in fine linen and wearing four bracelets made of gold, turquoise, lapis lazulim and amethyst

      • no preservation of skin or muscle tissues

      • arm of Djer or his wife Merneith

    • understanding of how dead handled during pre and protohisotric eras incomplete

    • few bodies dismembered or had skin and muscle tissues removed from bones long before burial but certainly after death

    • other bodies

      • first signs of mummification techniques

      • linen wrappings body modification

    • following era

      • ritual texts of the dead

        • written description of concepts connected to dismemberment

  • Pyramid Texts

    • first appeared during reign of Unas (last ruler of 5th dynasty)

    • oldest written records from which Egyptian concept of afterlife known

    • over 700 individual spells

      • give incongruous sometimes contradictory ideas

    • impossible to say how far back in early history maybe 1000 years earlier ideas existed that considered reuniting limbs separated by death

    • during preparation of dead in later eras

      • restoration of intact body is very important

      • produced by bandaging and embalming

  • The Old Kingdom

    • 3rd-6th Dynasties (ca 2700-2200 BC)

    • characterized by great architectural monuments of stone above all the pyramids

    • chronology of mummification techniques royal settings

    • around 2600 BC

      • removal of internal organs (evisceration)

      • common procedure

    • beginning of 4th dynasty

      • only indirect proof of evisceration

      • niches in grave walls each with 4 compartments

      • may have contained four organs: stomach, intestines, lungs, liver

    • Viscera

      • extracted and saved in later eras in canopic jars or chests

    • earliest evidence of canopic container

      • tomb of Hetepheres I, mother of Khufu

    • linen wrapped viscera

      • kept in alabaster chest with 4 compartments

    • fluid adhering to linen

      • 3% natron solution

    • Tomb of Meresankh III (granddaughter of Khufu and wife of Khafra)

      • oldest evidence for preservation of organs in 4 canopic jars then placed in canopic chest

    • no evidence of extraction of brain on a regular basis

    • few individual cases indicate experimental phase

    • once removal of inner organs part of mummification process

      • bodies placed on backs for the burial

    • Next step in mummification practice typified by the mummy of a civilian, Ranefer (4th or 5th Dynasty, ca. 2500 BC).

    • Organs wrapped in linen and stored in a niche.

    • Linen-wrapped head

      • eyes, eyebrows, hair, and a mouth painted on it

    • Shapes of body parts had been reproduced

    • Body completely wrapped in resin-soaked cloths and bandages.

    • New procedure

      • abdomen stuffed with resin-soaked linen.

    • Tradition lasted initially until end of Old Kingdom

      • other mummies from Saqqara, Giza, and Abusir.

    • Parts of human body (including genitals)

      • reconstructed with linen bandages and resin.

    • End of Old Kingdom

      • separate cartonnage (scraps of linen or papyrus glued together with resin) funerary masks appeared

      • distinguishing feature of Egyptian mummies.

    • Full body coverings made of several layers of plaster with carefully reconstructed facial features (fitted onto bandaged contours of body)

      • common in 5th and 6th Dynasties (ca. 2500 – 2200 BC).

  • The Old Kingdom - Afterlife

    • End of Old Kingdom

      • concept of afterworld/life established.

    • Osiris:

      • ruler of Egypt and successor of father (Geb – earth; mother Nut - sky)

      • killed by brother and rival for royal throne (Seth).

    • Seth dismembered Osiris

      • scattered limbs throughout Egypt.

    • Osiris' sisters (Isis, Nephthys):

      • searched for body parts and put brother's body back together.

    • Archetypal mummification:

      • Osiris resurrected and had son (Horace) with Isis.

      • Horace avenged father's killing and became new ruler of
        Egypt.

    • From this time on:

      • Osiris: ruler of afterworld.

    • Upon burial:

      • deceased received “Osiris name”

      • identify them to Osiris in afterworld and allow existence in afterlife.

    • Complemented older mummification practices.

    • Preservation of bodies and care given to buried:

      • essential for continued existence in afterlife.

    • Missing body parts:

      • restored or replaced.

    • Attempts made to preserve soft tissues:

      • any decomposition, violation, or neglect of corpse would extinguish person.

    • Body had to be supplied regularly with food:

      • done by magic, through images/sacrificial texts.

    • Tomb had to be maintained:

      • meeting place for transfigured dead and living.

    • Life in afterworld:

      • supposed to be like life on Earth.

    • Three constituents made-up a person – the Ba, the Ka, and the Akh

    • Ba:

      • established connection with dead body - became separated from the body at death but was able to fly in form of a bird between this world and next and always return to body.

    • Ka:

      • concept of a moral character – person's double to which social categories, such as honor, dignity, and
        status, were tied.

    • After death:

      • Ka separated from body and was able to confront the deceased.

    • Akh

      • spirit of transfigured dead person.

    • One of aims of funerary rites

      • carry the dead person across in Akh form and make them into glorified ancestral spirit.

    • Religious recitation texts needed for this

      • available to ordinary citizens starting in late Old Kingdom.

    • Through embalming and mummification rights

      • person reconstructed, reintegrated, and conveyed in living form

      • be able to enter into another realm of life.

  • The First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom

    • First Intermediate Period (ca. 2200 BC)

      • collapse of central authority in Egypt when local rulers gained power.

    • Practice of using coffins and wrapping dead:

      • spread to provincial cemeteries and poorer people.

    • Egypt

      • not reunited until rule of Upper Egypt until Middle Kingdom (ca. 2100 – 1790 BC).

    • Autonomous local rulers:

      • no longer had themselves buried near king

      • built their own necropolises.

    • Mummification techniques

      • diverse due in part to different financial means.

    • Cartonnage masks

      • first appeared at end of 6th Dynasty

      • now in majority of mummies.

    • Reign of Mentuhotep II (ca. 2000 BC)

      • developed into anthropoid coffin type

      • for mummies of especially high-ranking individuals.

    • Considerable amounts of linen cloth used for wrapping.

    • Body parts:

      • not only wrapped individually and bandaged together to form the typical mummy shape

      • finished mummy then sometimes wrapped in more layers of linen - cocoon.

      • For example - mummy of Wah (11th Dynasty) - in Thebes - amulets providing protection placed in the layers of linen.

    • As in Old Kingdom

      • linen sometimes partially coated with resin

      • resin not applied directly to skin fungicidal and anti-bacterial properties do not aid in preservation

    • Natron

      • most important means of preserving soft tissues since Middle Kingdom.

    • Removal of viscera and contents of skull (in some cases).

    • Brain removal rare

      • only wealthier classes.

    • In New Kingdom (from ca. 1550 BC)

      • trans-nasal brain removal more common.

    • 30 cm long hooked metal rod

      • inserted through left nostril perforating the ethmoid bone.

    • Hook

      • used to crush brain then removed through nose.

    • Viscera removed through abdominal wall

      • left side usually cut open.

    • From the 12th Dynasty (ca. 1990 BC onwards)

      • heated resin applied directly to skin.

    • Senebtisi from Lisht (12th Dynasty).

    • Body laid left side (typical during Middle Kingdom); face pointing east.

    • Inner organs

      • removed through incision on left side of abdomen.

    • Heart, wrapped in linen

      • replaced in correct position in body.

    • Abdominal cavity then stuffed with resin-soaked cloth and sealed with resin.

    • Brain left in skull.

    • Mummy - in anthropoid coffin - then covered in pitch.

    • After organs removed:

      • empty abdominal cavity filled with linens (sometimes sawdust).

    • After removal:

      • inner organs stored in four canopic jars.

    • Brain - discarded.

    • Shape of the jars changed over time - but always four of them.

    • From First Intermediate Period onwards:

      • lids featured human heads.

    • Starting in Middle Kingdom:

      • containers display inscriptions putting them under protection of four sons of Horace (Amset, Hapi, Qebehsenuef, and Duamutef).

    • Occasionally - tombs with canopic jars found - although internal organs still in body.

    • Jars:

      • significance far greater than simply containers for stomach (Duamutef), intestines (Qebehsenuef), liver (Amset), and lungs (Hapi)

  • The New Kingdom

    • Very good condition of mummies of rulers of New Kingdom (ca. 1550 – 1070 BC) in Valley of the Kings.

    • Most tombs looted – Tutankhamun – most famous exception.

    • Caches

      • established for reburial of defiled mummies from Valley -ensure existence in afterlife.

    • Two caches found – end of 19th century.
      1. Deir el-Bahri - contained 40 mummies – 10 pharaohs.
      2. Valley of the Kings - 16 mummies – 9 pharaohs.

    • Following reburial

      • mummies remained untouched for nearly 3000 years.

    • Modern analyses

      • doubts concerning accuracy of royal names that priests inscribed on some coffins and mummy wrappings at time of reburial.

    • Mummification technology

      • reconstructed from preserved mummies (varied by pharaoh).

    • Trans-nasal brain removal - standard practice.

    • Resin

      • applied generously to skin, poured through the nose into brain cavity, used in form of plugs inserted into nasal and oral orifices

      • occasionally into the anus, used as glue to seal the incision made into left side of abdomen (then covered by thin sheet of gold).

    • Heart

      • always remained in body (sometimes with linen wrappings)

    • After removal of organs

      • body cavities cleansed with water and wine

      • then stuffed with natron, resin, and/or linen.

    • After drying, embalming, and wrapping

      • organs placed in canopic jars

      • sometimes had lids decorated with characteristic heads of the four sons of Horace

      • Amset (human head - liver)

      • Hapi (baboon head - lungs)

      • Duamutef (jackal head - stomach)

      • Qebehsenuef (falcon head - intestines).

    • Cleansing and drying phases

      • began 4 days after death

      • lasted about 48 days.

    • After

      • adornment of outer appearance (artificial hair extensions, hair dyeing, blackened eyebrows, and other aesthetic modifications).

    • Then mummy wrapped from head to foot

      • amulets placed between linen bandages

      • given its shape by stuffing its body cavities.

    • Body

      • placed in coffin (in some cases, covered with layer of resin).

    • Embalming and wrapping

      • about 14 days, 70 days ideally needed for entire process.

    • Drying agents, ointments, and linen cloths used, along with remains of hair and nails from embalmed body

      • stored separately in containers or coffins and buried near mummy’s tomb.

    • Toward end of 18th Dynasty

      • artificial eyes first added

      • painted pieces of linen applied over eye sockets.

    • During 20th Dynasty (ca. 1180 – 1070 BC) and continuing into Third Intermediate Period (ca. 1070– 525 BC)

      • small onions placed under eyelids.

      • For example, onion bulbs found over compressed eyeballs of Ramses IV (3rd king of 20th Dynasty).

    • Onions

      • also wrapped into other parts of body and identified with teeth of Osiris as far back as Pyramid Texts.

      • important role as cult objects in feast celebrating the regeneration of the mummified Sokar-Osiris.

      • also have antibacterial properties

    • Careful bandaging of mummies.

      • For example, mummy of Ramses II

      • small animal bones used to bandage nose in such a way that nostrils remained open.

    • Great importance given nose

      • where breath of life entered the body.

    • Why act of smashing nose of a statue of deceased person

      • very serious punishment

      • since victim would be denied existence in the afterlife.

    • Importance given to preservation of fingernails and toenails

      • tied to extremities

      • prevent them from falling off during embalming process.

    • In New Kingdom

      • any missing body parts

      • reconstructed and replaced during mummification process (using bandages, resin, or wood)

  • The Third Intermediate Period

    • Art of embalming

      • reached pinnacle during 21st Dynasty (ca. 1000 BC).

    • Many royal bodies

      • moved to caches.

    • Possible for embalmers to notice any technical faults when viewing mummies of previous generations.

    • Resulted in change in techniques.

    • Skin cut open on many places of dead body and inner surface lined with sawdust, linen, resin, or mud – body retain its shape despite desiccation.

    • In a few cases

      • excessive padding

      • unnatural appearance or skin bursting open.

    • Head and body

      • painted in colors from paintings and statues (red =a man; yellow = woman).

    • By 21st Dynasty

      • burial of inner organs outside body ceased.

    • Organs

      • removed through side abdomen

      • placed back body, often with wax figures of protective deities

    • Brain still removed through nose.

    • Skull and body cavities - filled with melted resin.

  • After Third Intermediate Period

    • By 22nd Dynasty (ca. 950 BC)

      • shaping the body underneath the skin declined.

    • Instead returned to shaping outer structure through additional linen.

    • No royal mummies preserved

      • Late Period (746 – 332 BC) or Ptolemaic Period (332 – 230 BC).

    • Many questions

      • Did practice fall out of favor among kings and queens of Egypt?

    • Mummification continued - methods changed.

      • For example, in Late Period

      • internal organs (after embalming) - placed between thighs or calves of deceased.

    • Canopic jars in tombs - purely symbolic function.

    • Mummification in Ptolemaic Period

      • various techniques followed local customs.

  • The Embalming Ritual

    • Ancient Egyptian texts

      • do not describe methods used for cleaning and drying corpse.

    • Techniques of wrapping and embalming

      • found in “Embalming Ritual”.

    • Ritual

      • preserved fragmentarily in two papyri from 1st century AD.

    • Written 2500 years after Pyramid Texts.

    • Deceased

      • still identified with Osiris, whose fate they undergo to continue living in eternity.

    • Embalming Ritual

      • depicted corpse as lifeless and dismembered body.

    • Dismemberment

      • overcome through bandaging, surgical intervention, and mummification agents (‘drugs’).

    • Accompanied by spells magically bring body back together as well.

    • Mummy - created in image of God Osiris.

    • Inclusion of funerary possessions

      • “Opening of the Mouth” ritual and rituals of protection at tomb.

  • Most Important Embalming Agents

    • Evidence for agents

      • found in ancient texts and material remaining on mummies and in vessels.

    • Analyzing text sources (e.g., Embalming Ritual, vessels in tombs) problematic.

    • Why? - ingredients named cannot be identified with certainty.

    • Only natron, asphalt, wax, pitch, and myrrh

      • safely translated from historic meaning.

    • Natron

      • desiccant in mummification

      • mixture of sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, and smaller amounts of sodium chloride and sodium sulphate.

    • Desiccating effect

      • mainly from crystallized sodium carbonate.

    • Dehydration

      • hastened by repeatedly replacing layers of salt (natron).

    • Wood shavings and linen - also used to support process.

    • After dehydration

      • body was treated with ointments and resins, sometimes also bitumen.

    • Egyptian word for bitumen

      • not encountered until New Kingdom, but probably already used

    • Used seal structures against water

      • adapted for embalming corpses.

    • Bitumen

      • late appearance (during the 20th Dynasty).

    • Analysis of mummies

      • first evidence of bitumen in 9th century BC (22nd Dynasty).

    • Like resin and beeswax

      • bitumen softened when heated and was alone or in combination with other salve ingredients.

      • Evidence of blending bitumen with animal and vegetable oils.

      • Bitumen protected natron

      • dried bodies from rehydration and subsequent decomposition.

    • Beeswax

      • similar effect to bitumen

      • used in mummification beginning in Middle Kingdom.

    • Resins

      • already applied to linen in 4000 BC.

    • Antiseptic properties

      • effective only when in direct contact with skin.

    • Resin in mummies

      • mainly from conifers (Aleppo pine)

    • Embalming agent - imported

    • Starting in 18th Dynasty

      • resin from cedars used in mummification

    • Viscous spreadable preparation

      • obtained by warming resin

      • but heating it at high temperature under airtight conditions created pitch (viscous dark brown substance).

    • Shrouds from Roman period

      • featured Anubis

      • the God of the Dead

      • cooking resin on stove

    • Antibacterial and antifungal properties of wood tars (resins).

    • Myrrh

      • imported and among most precious ingredients

      • used to repel liquid from desiccated mummy

    • Liquid gum resin

      • seeps out of cracks in tree bark and hardens on contact with air

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