Our information as to the procedure followed by the Egyptians in mummifying the dead comes mainly from the Greek historians Herodotus (fifth century BC) and Diodorus (first century BC), as well as from a few documents dating from the later periods of Egyptian civilization. All these accounts seem to be in general agreement with the examinations carried out upon the mummies themselves.
Basically there were three ways in which the embalmers would preserve the body, and each method was graded according to cost. The cheapest method was merely to soak the body in salt, which would leave the bones white and brittle, erase the facial features and hair completely, and leave the skin like paper. The second procedure consisted of soaking the body in hot bitumen as well as in salt. In this case, although the hair was removed, the body cavities became filled with bitumen and most of the facial features were retained. It is from the bodies preserved in this manner that the word ‘mummy’ originates; it is thought to be derived from a Persian word mummia, meaning ‘bitumen’ or ‘tar’.
The third and most expensive method entailed the removal of all the internal organs through a cut made in the lower left side of the stomach. Only the heart was left in the body because the ancient Egyptians believed that the conscience was located there; it also had to be weighed in the nether world during the judgement to which all the dead were subjected. The brain was skilfully removed by forcing a pointed tool up through the nose and then scraping out the inside of the skull, probably with a small ladle.
Once cleaned in wine and spices, the body and its organs were separately packed in natron, which effectively dehydrated them over a period of 30 to 40 days. After dehydration, the body was packed with linen, sawdust, tar or even mud in order to make the body look as lifelike as possible. The internal organs, carefully wrapped and preserved, were either placed in the abdominal cavity before it was sewn closed or preserved separately in four stone canopic jars (each decorated with the heads of one of Horus’s four sons).
Each limb, together with the head and torso, was then wrapped separately with over 150 metres of resin-smeared linen before the body was handed back to the family for burial. Every so often, various protective amulets -and sometimes the intestines as well – were inserted between the layers of linen to provide some protection in the nether world. Generally speaking, the entire process seems to have taken about 70 days, but it undoubtedly varied during the different Dynasties.
