An Overview of Mummification in Ancient Egypt

About Ancient Egypt

An Overview of Mummification in Ancient Egypt

by Jimmy Dunn writing as Jefferson Monet





Mummies is a term that today is used to describe natural or artificially preserved bodies, though traditionally the word was used specifically to describe the bodies of ancient Egyptians where dehydration of the tissues was used to prevent putrefaction. The word is derived from the Persian or Arabic word mumia (or mumiya), which means "pitch" or "bitumen". It originally referred to a black, asphalt-like substance, thought to have medicinal properties and eagerly sought as a cure for many ailments, that oozed from the "Mummy Mountain" in Persia. There was such a demand for this substance that an alternative source was eventually sought and, because the ancient Egyptian mummies often have a blackened appearance, they were believed to possess similar properties to munia. Hence, during the medieval and later times, they were used as medicinal ingredient. The term mumia, or "mummy" was therefore extended to these bodies and has continued in use up until our present day.


Mummification of bodies was originally a natural process in Egypt and elsewhere, where the dryness of the sand in which the body was buried, the heat or coldness of the climate, or the absence of air in the burial helped to produce unintentional or "natural" mummies. These processes have produced mummies not only in Egypt, but in South America, Mexico, the Alps, Central Asia, the Canary Islands, the Aleutian Islands and Alaska. Another type of natural mummification also occurred in northwestern Europe where bodies have been preserved when buried in peat bogs or fens containing lime.


In some of these areas, the natural process was early on intentionally developed by enhancing the environmental conditions. Sun, fire or other sources of heat were sometimes used to dehydrate the bodies, while at other times, the bodies were cured using smoke. Also, natural material such as grass could be used to surround the body, fill its cavities or seal the burial place so that, by the exclusion of air, decomposition and further deterioration was prevented.


Our Sources and Research on Mummification

What we know about Egyptian mummification comes from a number of sources, including the archaeological evidence provided by the mummies themselves, paleopathological studies of the bodies, painted and carved representations in tomb scenes and elsewhere that depict some stages of the mummification process, and textual references in Egyptian and other classical era accounts. However, there exists no known Egyptian description of the technical processes involved in mummification. No paintings or carvings provide an extant, complete record of mummification, though some wall scenes in the tombs of Thoy and Amenemope (tombs 23 and 41 on the West Bank at Thebes, respectively) and vignettes painted on some coffins and canopic jars show some stages in the mummification process. However, the earliest known accounts of mummification that are relatively complete occur in the writings of two specific Greek historians (Herodotus from the fifth century BC and Diodorus Siculus from the first century BC).


An older x-ray of the   head of Ramesses II


Nevertheless, within Egyptian literature, there is scattered references to mummification and the associated religious rituals. In one text, called the "Ritual of Embalming", is provided a set of instructions to the officials who perform the rites that accompany the mummification process, as well as a collection of prayers and incantations to be invoked after each rite. This ritual is specifically set out in two papyri, probably copied from the same source and both dated to the Roman period. They are the Papyrus Boulaq 3, now in the Cairo Museum, and Papyrus 5158 in the Louvre. There are also references to the embalming ceremonies in the Rhind Papyri and in other literary sources, including inscriptions on stelae. However, it is Herodotus's account that remains the most complete regarding the mummification process.


In addition to classical texts and references, a surprising amount of modern scientific research has been conducted in regards to mummies. Sometimes,. these have even included multidisciplinary studies of mummified remains which have supplied new information about the process of mummification itself, as well as disease, diet, living and working conditions and even family relationships. For example, the use of scanning electron microscopes has been used to identify insects that attack mummies, histology and electron microscopy have supplied evidence about the success or failure of individual mummification techniques, and thin layer and gas liquid chromatography have isolated and characterized the substances that were applied to the mummy bandages.


Results of a ct or Cat   Scan of an unidentified female mummy.


There have also been several techniques that have informed us of the diseases in mummies. As early as the 1970s, radiography, which is a nondestructive method, became a major investigative procedure and later the additional use of computerized tomography (CT) became standard in most radiological investigations of mummies. There are also dental studies of mummies that have provided evidence about age, diet, oral health and disease. Paleo-histology, which involves the re-hydration, fixing and selective staining of sections of mummified tissue, together with paleo-pathology, which is the study of disease in ancient people, have developed considerably since the techniques were originally pioneered in Cairo earlier in the twentieth century by M. A. Ruffer.


Today, endoscopy has almost completely replaced the need to autopsy a mummy, since this technique allows the researcher to gain firsthand evidence about embalming methods and to obtain tissue samples for further study without destroying the mummy. Histology, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), immunohistochemistry and immunocytochemistry can then be used to search for evidence of disease in the tissue samples. Today, we also use DNA, rather than the older studies of blood groups, to help identify individual family relationships and future studies of this type may even help identify the origins and migrations of ancient populations. DNA analysis may also help identify bacterial, fungal, viral and parasitic disease.


In the future, current studies on the process of deterioration may also help curators and conservators in preserving their mummy collections.


Egyptian Mummification


A mummy preserved by   natural mummification in the hot sands of Egypt









An unknown mummy from   the 1881 cache of mummies found in the Valley of the Kings








Today, the method of mummification used to preserve a body, as well as the quality of the work, aids Egyptologists in determining the social status of the deceased. Herodotus, the Greek historian, tells us that there were three primary types of mummification available which ancient clients chose according to their ability to pay for these services.


Egyptian Mummies


The most expensive processes included elaborate funerary rites as well as a lengthy and complicated procedure to preserve the body. This process involved a number of stages, though the two most important steps continued to be the arresting of the decomposition of the body through evisceration and dehydration.


The internal organs, called viscera, were normally removed from the thoracic and abdominal cavities through an abdominal incision in the left flank. In some instances, the viscera were not extracted at all, while in others they were removed through the anus. This tissue was then dehydrated with natron, and either placed in canopic jars or made into four packages and reinserted into the body cavities. Some were wrapped in one large packet that was placed on the legs of the mummy. Interestingly, the heart was considered to be the organ associated with the individual's intelligence and life force and was therefore retained in place, while the brain was removed and discarded.


After removal of the internal organs, the body cavities were washed out with spiced palm wine and then filled with a mixture of dry natron (a type of salt) gum resin and vegetable matter. Afterwards, the corpse was left to dehydrate, apparently in a bath of natron, for a period of up to seventy days. However, experimentation has proven that forty days is sufficient for the dehydration process, and he seventy days that Herodotus spoke of may have actually represented the period of time between the individual's death and his burial. natron, believed to be the main ingredient used to pack the body, was found in a dry desert valley called the Wadi Natrun, now famous for its monasteries. It is composed of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate and includes some natural impurities. Originally, there was some discussion in Egyptology circles concerning the use of natron, actual salt (sodium chloride), or lime (calcium carbonate) as the main dehydration agent in Egyptian mummification. There was also a question of whether the natron was used in a solution such as water, or in a solid state. However, Assessment of the Greek texts that describes the process, together with modern experiments on mummification has led us to believe that dry natron provides the most satisfactory results and was probably used exclusively.










The mummy of elderly   woman from the 1898 cache has been at least tentatively identified as   Queen Tiye, the wife of Amenhotep III








The Rituals and Accessories of Mummification


Mummification was attended to in the embalmer's workshop, known as wbt (place of purification). There may have been some such workshops erected near specific tombs, but because mummification had an "impure" nature and was considered to be associated with certain dangers, most workshops would have been situated outside the actual tomb enclosure. Most workshops, and particularly those that dealt with many bodies, were located somewhat close to the necropolises or temples.


There were actually a number of different rites associated with the mummification process. Some of these were performed in the embalmer's workshop, though the most important of these, known as the Opening of the Mouth ceremony, was normally carried out at the tomb itself. Yet, there were many other less important rituals that were probably performed throughout the seventy days that Herodotus and others tell us were required for the mummification process. One question Egyptologists have not specifically answered is whether the rituals, which themselves were long and extensive, caused the need for the lengthy embalming process, or instead whether the rituals were extended because of the time required for mummification.


The embalmers and priests used a variety of tools and accessories in the mummification process and its associated rites. In the actual preparation of the body, the embalmers and their assistants employed a blade of obsidian, sometimes called a "stone of Ethiopia", to make the incision in the side of the mummy. They also used a hooked tool for brain extraction, as noted above, together with various containment vessels which held the plant remains and resin used to anoint the mummy.


Of course, there were amulets placed between the layers of bandages and a cartoonage mask was placed on the face. There were also chest and foot covers placed over the mummy to supply support, and even toe and finger stalls were sometimes utilized to prevent damage to those appendages.


The Embalmers and Others Associated with the Mummification Process


In the mature practice of mummification, there were three distinct groups of practitioners. They included the cutter who made the incision in the flank of the mummy, the scribe who supervised this work and the embalmer himself, who belonged to a special guild or organization and was responsible for leading the mummification ceremonies and for wrapping the mummy in bandages. The latter actually supervised all of the stages of the mummification process and wore a jackal-headed mask to impersonate Anubis, the god of embalming, as he performed the rituals.


The embalmers were actually a special class of priest and were considered to be highly skilled professionals, probably with close ties with the medical doctors. Their office was hereditary. Under their charge might be others, including those who made coffins and wooden funerary figures, as well as other items for the tomb.


On the other hand, the cutters had one of the lowest statuses in society, because of the ritual "impurity" associated with the incision in the corpse and the removing of the viscera. They also obviously faced certain health risks. This class of individual in the mummification process may have even included criminals.


Others included in the mummification procedure and the funeral included priests of Osiris, who performed the rituals, lector priests, who recited the chants and the ritual instructions and the men who washed and cleansed the mummy and the viscera, prepared the natron and resin, and actually wrapped the body with layers of linen bandages. The whole process associated with death became a major industry that employed many workers including mourners and even dancers.



See also:



Mummies Myth and Magic El Mahdy, Christine 1989 Thames and Hudson Ltd ISBN 0-500-27579-3 Mummy, The (A Handbook of Egyptian Funerary Archaeology) Budge, E. A. Wallis 1989 Dover Publications, Inc. ISBN 0-486-25928-5






Reference Number

Ancient Gods Speak, The: A Guide to Egyptian Religion Redford

Donald B.


Cornell University Press

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ISBN 0-19-515401-0

Egyptian Religion Morenz



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Life of the Ancient Egyptians

Strouhal, Eugen


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A Guide to Egyptian Religion

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Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, The

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Valley of the Kings

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ISBN 1-5866-3295-7

Last Updated: August 22nd, 2011