The Mummification Process

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In the early days of ancient Egypt, the deceased were placed in a hole in the ground. This was good, because the heat and sands of the desert would eventually dehydrate and preserve the bodies. Later, they decided to start putting them in coffins. But, without the sands and heat of the desert, the body just decayed. Thus, the mummification process came around. The embalming process starts with the washed and shaved body in the “ibu,” or “place of purification”. The body is then washed with palm wine and water from the Nile. Then, a slit is cut in the side of the body to remove all internal organs but the heart and the brain. The brain is smashed with a hook put up the nose and pulled out. The heart is left in because when you reach the underworld, a ceremony called the weighing of the heart is performed. The god Anubis weighs the heart, then, if your heart is pure, you will be able to enter the afterlife. But, if your heart is heavy, you would be eaten by Ammut. The stomach, lungs, liver, and intestines are packed in natron salt to dry them out. These will later be stored in canopic jars. Then the body is stuffed with natron and covered in a thick layer of natron to dehydrate it. It is left like this for 40 days. After 40 days, the salt is taken off and the body is again washed with water from the Nile. Then it is rubbed with oils and spices. The body is then stuffed with sawdust, leaves, or linen to make it look life like. The organs are then stored in the canopic jars. Imsety, the human-headed god, looks after the liver, Hapy, the baboon-headed god, stores the lungs, Duamutef, the jackal-headed god, looks after the stomach, and Qebehseunef, the falcon-headed god, stores the intestines. Now, the body is ready to be wrapped. The head and neck are wrapped first in this process. The fingers and toes are wrapped individually, then the arms and legs. Embalmers place

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