Mummification in Ancient Egypt

Introduction

The ancient Egypt was ruled by pharaohs. These Pharaoh were many (about 170 of them) since the history of the ancient Egypt is very long. The empire lasted from around 3150 BCE to about 31BCE. These Pharaohs wore ceremonial clothes with symbols of their power and position in the Egyptian society. Ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphs to represent letter sounds, whole words or part of words and even complex ideas[1]. They also used symbols to represent numerals. The most famous thing about the ancient Egyptians is building pyramids, which required great skill, mathematical and engineering knowledge and practice.

A mummy refers to a dead body that has been intentionally preserved. Ancient Egyptians believed that all people had a ka and a ba. The ka is the life force, which is the same in everybody. The ba is one’s conscience or personality made up of good and bad that they do during their lives. After a person died, the ka left the body to live with the gods and for it to be able to leave, it needed food and drink. Thus, the ancient Egyptians buried their dead with jugs of wine and bowls of food[2]. The ba rested inside the deceased body and therefore the body had to be preserved thus the ancient Egyptians practiced mummification.

During the ancient times in Egypt, bodies that were placed in shallow graves dried naturally due to the hot and dry climate. This probed the preservation of the bodies after death, which was part of the Egyptians traditions. They believed that preserving the body of the deceased provided an opportunity for the spirits (the ka, the ba and the shu) of the deceased to return. Therefore, the body was preserved and treated appropriately in order for the deceased to survive in the afterlife. This is referred to as mummification[3] .The main purpose of the mummification process was to create a new, magical image for eternity, which was ready to go to the realm of the dead. The ancient Egyptian’s belief of preserving the body as a place for the soul to return came from a series of observations that the dry sand of the desert acted as a preservative for the bodies. These beliefs existed as early as the Neolithic and the Pre-dynastic periods between 5000 to 4000BC.

Preservation of the body was important as seen from an invocation found in the Egyptian mortuary texts called “Book of the Dead” that read, “my body is everlasting, it will not perish and it will not decay for ages”. Mummification in ancient Egypt was practiced for almost 3500 years from the Old kingdom to the Christian period but ended after the Arabs conquered Egypt in the 7^th Century AD. There were three main types of mummification available but the client chose one of the methods that they could afford. Evisceration and dehydration of the tissues were the most important elements of mummification, which were used to preserve the body (David, 1990). This paper will look into detail the process of mummification and its significance during the ancient Egypt.

The proto-dynastic people have discovered bodies that have been naturally preserved during their process of burying a new corpse in the sand near a corpse that was previously buried. This might have motivated them to strongly believe that the body could be preserved and retain its human likeness. True mummification is a process that involves several sophisticated techniques by use of chemicals and other agents. This requires many years of experimentation to perfect such methods. Artificial preservation of the corpse was done in Egypt between the Old Kingdom up to the Christian era. Various groups of men practiced true mummification and made it their business as they earned enough to sustain their living. When people brought the body to them, they showed the family of the deceased the models of corpses, which were wooden, to enable them (family) choose the level of mummification they preferred. Techniques of mummification were classified into three types[4]The first method was very expensive and it was reserved for royalty and very wealthy nobles. The second method was cheaper than the first one. It did not involve wrapping of the body. The third method was the cheapest of them all.

The first method

It involved stripping the body of its garments, placing it on the embalming couch and purifying it. This was done from a structure that was temporary close to the Nile or a canal. With the help of a knife of obsidian or a stone, an incision was made in the left side of the abdomen. The embalmer then inserted their hand through the incision to remove the liver, stomach and intestines. They then cut the diaphragm and removed the lungs. They did not remove the heart since it was believed that it was supposed to be weighed in the afterlife in order to determine the individual’s goodness. The kidneys were also left in the body. The embalmers rinsed and purified the liver, stomach and the intestines using spices and palm wine. The spices were used as a deodorant and for sterilization purpose (Smith, 1991). What followed was drying the individual organs, wrapping them in linen and placing them in separate jars. The jar lids were later shaped to represent one of the four sons of Horus sons.

The brain was unimportant and therefore it was cut into small pieces to enable its removal and then discarded. Research shows that, examining ancient Egyptian skulls in the Macalister Collection at Cambridge, 56 percent of them had a hole at the base of the skull through the neck bone. To ensure complete dehydration of the body, body cavities were well packed and covered with natron and the body was left on a slanting couch. The dehydration process took a period of seventy days. Natron salt was used in a liquid state but from the Middle Kingdom it was used in a solid state thus a shorter desiccation process (Edwards, 2007). The purpose of the natron salt was to enable rapid desiccation as well as saponification of the fatty tissues thus chemical stability of the mummy. After the body was fully dehydrated, both thoracic and abdominal cavities were evacuated of their temporary stuffing materials. This further speeded dehydration of the body tissues to prevent the abdominal wall from collapsing and combat the odor putrefaction.

The body was then washed with water then dried with towels or alcoholic liquid. Embalmers packed the body using permanent dry stuffing materials like crushed myrrh, cinnamon, frankincense, sawdust packets mixed with resin, cassia and one or more onions. Hot liquid resin was poured over the body to prevent the growth of bacteria. Both inside and outside of the body was prepared using aromatic resins, oils and perfumes to prevent moisture re-entry and strengthen the skin. Beeswax was used to cover the mouth, eyes and ears. The whole body or the face was painted with ochre (red for men and yellow for women). Hair was dyed to its natural color and made thicker (Hong, 2004). The abdominal incision could be left open, covered with a plate of wax/copper alloy or sewn shut. Ornaments were then placed in specific locations (the neck, waist and limbs). The mummy was lastly bandaged with the fingers and toes independently wrapped then a layer of linen wound around the limbs.

The second and the third method

The second method of mummification was cheaper as it did not involve complete evisceration. Oil was injected into the anus and plugged to prevent the liquid from escaping. The body was then treated with natron (Edwards, 2007). The oil was then drained off, the intestines and the stomach came out with the oil, desiccation of the body had also been done thus only the skin and the skeleton remained. The third method of mummification involved removing the stomach and the internal organs through an abdominal incision on the left side of the body. Sterilization of the body cavities was then done using ethyl alcohol. Lastly, the whole body was buried in natron salt.

Materials used during mummification and their significance

The first material is the natron salt. According to the Egyptian hieroglyphics, the word natron is most likely derived from the root “ntr” as an indication of its association with religious and funerary rituals (Edwards, 2007). Natron was an important component during the mummification process in ancient Egypt. It is a white, crystalline, hygroscopic and a natural material; that is mined at Wadi Natrun along the Nile Delta. It was used to remove water from the tissues thus preventing biological deterioration by bacteria or fungi. It contains sodium compounds (chloride, carbonate, bicarbonate and sulphate) that broke down the body fat. Coniferous resin is another material[5]. This was oil from plants. Embalmers were aware that the special properties of the unsaturated oils allowed them to dry or polymerize quickly. During polymerization, a thoroughly cross-linked aliphatic network was produced. This stabilized the activities of microorganisms. The resin used on the human body was derived from coniferous trees (cedar, juniper and pine trees).

Beeswax was also an important material in the process of mummification. This is wax from honeycombs from honeybees. It can be yellow, brown or white bleached solid but its color changes with age emitting a faint honey smell. Its components are; myricylpalmitate, cerotic acid, esters and high-carbon paraffin. Beeswax served several purposes in ancient Egypt like modeling figures and mummification. The Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom used it as an adhesive. It was therefore used as a preservative by soaking the linen strips for wrapping. Coffins were also coated and sealed by use of beeswax. The onion is one of the most important and oldest crops grown in Egypt mainly for food and used as a traditional medicine[6] . It is a major organo-sulphur compound found in various preparations based on the extraction method. Onions were found in body cavities in the New Kingdom placed in the eye sockets and ears covered with resin. They acted as stimulants to the eye.

Animal mummification

There were five categories of animal mummies in ancient Egypt. They included pets, sacred, votive and ‘other’ categories. Food mummies consisted of the peculiar foods that Egyptians consumed like beef ribs, steaks, ducks and geese. The foods were placed in tombs so that the tomb owners never went hungry. Preparation of meat and poultry was in form of ready to cook, meat was skinned and the poultry was plucked with wing tips and feet removed. Most of the mummies were brown in color an indication that they were roasted brown through the application of very hot resin on the bird that had been slightly cooked. They were then preserved using natron salt[7]. The bandaged meat was placed in individual sycamore-wood coffins shaped in different forms to be consumed by the deceased.

In ancient Egypt, certain animals were worshipped during their lifetimes and were considered sacred. Various gods sent their spirits into the body of the sacred animal, which was chosen due to its peculiar colors and patterns. The god’s spirit would then enter the animal after its death. Due to this, the animal was mummified and buried with great respect since it was worshipped and treated as agod during its lifetime. Apis Bulls and the Rams of Elephantine were among the most famous sacred animals. The votive category of animal mummies was the most common type of animal mummies. The mummified animals were dedicated to specific deities where each god had its own mummy that it used as symbols. To goddess Bastet a mummy cat was given. Goddess Bastet was the goddess of pleasure and self-indulgence. The god Thoth received mummy baboons. This was god of writing and knowledge. The sun god had the raptors and shrews.

Mummified animals were not given free but were purchased and then presented as offerings by pilgrims at shrines as a dedication to these gods. Ancient Egyptians believed that the mummified animals presented their prayers to the gods throughout eternity. During a special festival, mummified animals were consecrated and taken in procession and then buried in masses. They were buried in cata-combs, which contained millions of such mummies. The ‘other’ category of animal mummies composed of those animals that did not fit among the other four categories. Such animals included the dogs, ibis and monkeys. Mummification methods of animals varied with the most colorful methods reserved to large animals. For example, mummifying a cow involved dissolving its internal organs in cedar oil[8]. This cedar oil was put into the body through the anus then the hole was plugged up. What followed was burying the cow in natron salt for forty days. After dehydration, the cedar oil was flushed out by pressing the dissolved internal organs through the anus. The internal organs were then wrapped. The methods varied depending on the various creatures, economic status, and embalmers’ preferences, preferences by towns or villages and technological changes over time.

Mummification as a business

Animal mummification was part of the Egyptian economy mainly during the first millennium BC. It involved breeding various animals like ibis, puppies and kittens. Priests had a duty to care for these animals with the higher rank of priests looking after the sacred animals. These priests were supported using the income from the temple[9]. The embalmers reaped many profits from this business due to their skills. Those who mixed the resins and oils as well as those who created colorful patterns of bandages were highly paid. International trade was rampant due to the importation of frankincense and myrrh from far places like Syria, Ethiopia, Somalia and Arabia. Tones of natron were also acquired locally thus developing the local economy. During the businesses, people met, interacted and exchanged ideas. This contributed to various innovations in the ancient Egypt.

Conclusion

All the world’s cultures and civilizations have approached death from different perspectives since the earliest of human time. Most of them believe that gods were all-powerful and lived eternally. Therefore, human beings created religions in a bid to explain what happened after one died with majority of them believing in life after death. From the prior discussion, ancient Egyptians believed in life after death and they believed that their afterlife would be eternal. The purpose of mummification was to create a new body that could last for eternity. Ancient Egyptians had a belief that a person was made up of physical and non-physical elements with the body being the physical part. The ka and the ba as well as a person’s name and their shadow formed the non-physical elements. The preserved body was the therefore in a position to hold the ka and the ba. The ka was sustained by food offerings left by the living at the tombs. The ba was able to move and leave the body, travel through the worlds of the living and of the dead, thus the dead were able to participate in both.

The external appearance of a mummy was importance to enable the ba recognize its own body and return to it safely. Coffins were place in secure tombs with protected mummified bodies. They had texts and pictures to provide their owner with the magical assistance and knowledge to survive and prosper in the afterlife. The coffins were decorated with two major themes: the sun god and the god-king Osiris. The sun god was the maker of the universe. The ancient Egyptians therefore believed that the dead would accompany the sun god to the sky during the day and visit the underworld over the night thus; they would be rejuvenated and reborn each morning. By linking the dead with the god-king Osiris, they would achieve a second life after death since king Osiris was murdered by his brother Seth but he (Osiris) was restored to life by his wife Isis.

During the mummification process, the internal organs were treated differently according to their importance. The brain was discarded since its function was not known or understood. The heart was left since it was believed to be the Centre of intelligence thus, it was vital for survival in the next life. Canopic jars were used to store the organs as assign of magical protection for the organs wherever they were. These jars were fitted with stoppers that were human headed to represent the deceased. Bodies mummified by the third method were more damaged due to bacteria, fungi or insects while the ones preserved by use of the second method (royal method) were most protected. Therefore, the mummification process during the ancient Egypt represented the beliefs and traditions of the ancient Egyptian people.

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