Egyptology | Mummification
Mummification
Mummification & Body Preservation
Within the framework of his belief in a life after death – an eternal life with no death thereafter – the ancient Egyptian sought to take every necessary means to keep his body safe and unharmed.
From the prehistoric ages the Egyptian was careful to bury his dead in a contracted position, the same position as that of the foetus in its mother's womb, believing that just as he began his life as a foetus, he had to be buried in the same position in order to be resurrected anew in the other world. For this reason he began to take an interest in the tomb, which started in the form of a pit that he developed over long years, then evolved into a mastaba, then a stepped mastaba, then a pyramid, and finally into a rock-cut tomb.
He then showed intense interest in the body, wrapping it in matting and placing it in a coffin of plant stalks; the process of preserving the body then developed until it reached mummification, and the coffins began to be made of wood or fashioned from stone. The tombs were filled with funerary furniture and the tools of daily life, and with offerings of food and drink for the deceased to use when he was resurrected in the other world.
The walls of the tombs were decorated with scenes expressing the activities of the deceased in his worldly life, and others connected with religious beliefs, cults and burial, etc.
Thus, from the earliest beginnings of ancient Egyptian history, the Egyptian took every possible measure, including the protection of the tomb from robbery, in order to keep the body intact so that the spirit which had separated from it after death could return, recognise it while it was intact, and breathe life into it so that it might enjoy eternity.
The fortified tomb, the well-sealed coffin, the statues and scenes, the texts recorded on the walls of the tomb, the funerary furniture, and all the means of protection and security, as well as the dry soil – all these are matters that help to preserve the body; yet the direct treatment of the body itself (through the stages of preservation, ending with mummification) remains the principal factor in guaranteeing safety, and consequently eternity.
The Origin and Etymology of the Term "Mummy"
The word "mummification" refers to the treatment of the body with aromatic and non-aromatic substances, resulting in its preservation in a good condition. Perhaps the first beginning of the treatment of the body was that known as "embalming," which corresponds in English to Embalming. As for mummification, which represents the comprehensive treatment of the body, it was known in English as Mummification; for this reason the treated body became known as a Mummy, which was corrupted in Arabic into "mūmiyā'." The prevailing belief concerning the reason for naming the treated body a "mummy" was that it was derived from the Persian word "mummiā," which means bitumen (pitch), on the assumption of those who gave it this name that bitumen was among the principal materials used in mummification when they observed the black colour of certain mummies – although examination and analysis later showed that bitumen was not used in the mummification of Egyptian mummies.
In 1983, my colleagues, members of the Department of Archaeology at Sana'a University (when I was head of that department), discovered mummies in the area of "Shibam al-Ghiras," located 27 km north-east of Sana'a, in rock-cut tombs dating back to the third century BC.
After examination and study it became clear that a black substance had been used in the process of mummification; when analysed it proved to be the substance "mūmiyā'," which is the product of organic materials found in limited quantities in the Yemeni mountains and used, after being converted into a liquid, in the treatment of certain diseases. The word "mūmiyā'" is an ancient Arabic word referring to this solid substance of penetrating odour, and it is mentioned in the book of Abu Bakr al-Razi on Arabic medicine.
Thus it can be said that Mummy is a corruption of the ancient Arabic word "mīmiyā," and that it has no connection with bitumen.
Confirmed Facts and Historical Evidence
It is clear that from the time the Egyptian began to bury his dead under the influence of his belief in a life after death, he took steps commensurate with his capabilities and experience to preserve the body. It is certain that throughout the first three dynasties particular steps were taken.
In the Fourth Dynasty a chest containing the canopic jars of Queen Hetepheres (mother of King Khufu) was found; in it were remains of entrails wrapped in pieces of linen cloth, and the entrails were immersed in a liquid which, after analysis, proved to contain natron salt and other substances. If the entrails had been treated, then the mummy which was not found must also have been treated.
Before continuing to follow the stages that led to mummification, I wish to point out that the ancient Egyptian left us no document that tells us the materials and the steps which the embalmers followed while performing this task, and that some of the materials used by the embalmers – despite all the analyses and studies carried out on the mummies of humans, animals, birds, reptiles and other creatures – were among the secrets of the profession, or else they no longer exist in the Egyptian environment in our present time. For this reason the greater reliance – while we are speaking of mummification – remains on what appears in the writings of the Greek historian Herodotus and others, and on some of the materials that it has been possible to identify through study.
Nevertheless, there are certain confirmed facts, among them:
1. That the drying of the body was among the fundamental steps of the process of mummification, either naturally through the rays of the sun, or artificially through heating at a particular temperature by fire.
2. That some of the materials used in the preservation and mummification of the body are known, among them: salt, lime, natron, resin, beeswax, cinnamon, cassia, henna, cedar oil, juniper berries, onion, palm fibre and sawdust.
3. That mummification was restricted to the upper class, because of the high cost of such a matter. In the later periods simple methods of mummification appeared through drying with natron, so that the poor could make use of them.
4. That mummification remained known in Egypt until the end of the Roman period.
5. That the attempts to preserve the body which preceded the arrival at the complete technique of mummification included the preparation of face-masks to preserve the features, the wrapping of all or some of the limbs of the body, and drying without the extraction of the entrails.
6. That the dry soil helped to preserve certain bodies in a good condition that appeared as if they were mummified, while the reality confirms that the hand of man had not touched them.
7. That the oldest mummy known to us until now is the mummy of King Seqenenre, who was killed in one of his battles against the Hyksos; it is now preserved in the Mummy Hall of the Egyptian Museum.
8. That the ancient Egyptian, just as he mummified the bodies, treated the linen bandages with materials that made them capable of retaining their properties; for this reason they appear in most cases in a good condition.
9. That the extraction of the entrails did not take place in every process of mummification.
The Evolution of Mummification Through the Dynasties
We return to following the stages of the preservation of the body. In the tomb of a person named "Nefer" (of the Fifth Dynasty at Saqqara) a body was found in a good condition; it appears that attempts had been made to preserve it through drying.
From the Eleventh Dynasty, in the tomb belonging to King Mentuhotep Nebhepetre and the tombs of the royal ladies beside the temple of Deir el-Bahari, dried bodies were found without the extraction of the entrails, wrapped in linen bandages. Bodies of sixty of his soldiers who had fought with him against the Heracleopolitans were also found, each limb of the body being wrapped in linen bandages.
The Egyptian continued to develop the procedures for preserving the body until he arrived, as far as we know until now, in the Seventeenth Dynasty at complete mummification.
The first step, it seems, was the making of an opening in the body on the left side, where the intestines were extracted, treated and placed in the four canopic jars protected by the four sons of Horus, namely: Hapy, Imsety, Duamutef and Qebehsenuef.
The following step was the immersion of the body in a bath containing a solution of natron so that the fluids present in the body could be eliminated, lest it be afflicted with putrefaction. There is another opinion that the body was treated with dry natron – that is, salted as fish, for example, are salted – a matter that leads to the required degree of dryness.
It appears that the step of using natron used to last between 40 and 70 days, after which the mummy would be ready for burial. Perhaps a connection can be made between the period which this stage lasts (40 days) and the "fortieth-day" memorial of the deceased among Muslims and Christians. After confirmation that the body had been freed of those fluids and had reached the complete degree of dryness by means of the rays of the sun, or by placing it in ovens at a particular temperature, the process of packing the thoracic cavity and the abdomen with linen cloth and resin, and sometimes sawdust, would begin, so that the mummy might appear in its natural form. Then came the process of anointing the body with oil.
Beginning with the Eighteenth Dynasty, the brain used to be extracted from the skull by means of a hooked instrument that was passed through one of the nasal openings to reach the region of the brain, which it then mashed so that it could be emptied; after confirmation of the dryness of the skull it was filled with resin and linen.
The heart was left in the body on the consideration that it would play a role during the judgement of the deceased: either it would lead him to paradise (the Fields of Iaru) if he had been just, or the mythical creature Ammit would devour it if he had been unjust.
The body as a whole was sometimes covered with resin. Then the limbs were wrapped in linen bandages, and after the opening in the body had been sewn up a complete wrapping process was carried out with a number of bandages that differed according to the economic condition of the deceased.
Methods of Mummification According to Ancient Historians
As I mentioned earlier, the ancient Egyptian texts are devoid of a description of the process of mummification, although a papyrus dating to Dynasty 26 describes the process of mummifying the Apis bull. The greater reliance will remain on what appears in the writings of Herodotus (who visited Egypt in the fifth century BC) and Diodorus of Sicily (who visited Egypt in the first century BC), where they indicated three methods of mummification, namely:
The first method: which is of high cost, in which the contents of the abdomen and the chest (except the heart) are extracted, and the entrails are treated with spices and palm wine; then the cavity is packed with aromatic substances, with myrrh and cinnamon; and after the opening in the body has been sewn up, the body is treated with natron, then washed and wrapped in linen bandages fixed with a kind of gum.
The second method: the body is injected with cedar oil by way of the anus, then treated with natron.
The third method: which was restricted to the poor class, consisted of the use of an enema to cleanse the entrails, after which the body was treated with natron.
| Method | Process Description | Cost Level |
|---|---|---|
| First Method | Contents of the abdomen and the chest (except the heart) are extracted; entrails treated with spices and palm wine; cavity packed with aromatic substances, myrrh and cinnamon; opening sewn up; body treated with natron, then washed and wrapped in linen bandages fixed with a kind of gum. | High Cost |
| Second Method | Body injected with cedar oil by way of the anus, then treated with natron. | Moderate |
| Third Method | Use of an enema to cleanse the entrails, after which the body was treated with natron. | Poor Class |
Since mummification – as a fundamental means of preserving the body – continued for thousands of years, it is natural that we should expect periods of flourishing and decline in this process for material or technical reasons, and that the procedures and details which were carried out on the body of the deceased should differ from one period to another and from one place to another. For this reason it is no wonder that we see different styles and means for the process of mummification; yet they all aimed in the end at securing the safety of the body so that the spirit might recognise it in the other world and life might return to it.
Module Key Takeaways
- Mummification was driven by the belief in eternal life, requiring the body to remain intact for the spirit to recognise and reanimate it in the afterlife.
- The process evolved over millennia, with natron, resin, and linen as fundamental materials, and varied methods depending on the deceased's economic status.
- Herodotus and Diodorus of Sicily documented three distinct methods, while the ancient Egyptians themselves left no written record of the complete embalming procedure.