Egyptian mummies

The mummy is prepared and preserved dead body. The word ‘mummy’ comes from the Arabic language and means a body preserved by wax or tar. Mummification is the process by which we stuff corpses so they remain intact. In this process, skin turns black and becomes hard and wrinkled.
The Egyptians believed in life after death. They also buried dead their ones in a curled position in the hot desert sand. This process probably was accidental. Hot desert sand kept the body from decay. When someone died, they would remove his brain, digestive system, heart and lungs. It was kept separately in the four courts called canopic jars. In later times these organs are returned to the body. When the corpse has dried, they wrapped it in hundreds of meters of fabric. It all took for 70 days. The body was then placed in the coffin – the sarcophagus. If the deceased was a wealthy person then he had several boxes. Each of these boxes accurately fit into the next one. Egyptian mummies have been a great discovery.

This mummification process was so successful that today we can see the mummified body old for several thousand years. Because of that we can see how they looked. The best prepared and preserved Egyptian mummies are from 18 and 20 Dynasty. One of the most famous mummies is Tutankhamen’s. Egyptian had to know very well human anatomy to be able to do mummification process. At the funeral, most important ceremony was called – opening the mouth. A priest would touch parts of deceased se he can enjoy in the afterlife. The most important touch was on the mouth. After that touch, dead person could now eat and speak.

As we can see, Egyptians were preoccupies with thoughts of dead. They were doing this mummification process because they believe that Egyptian mummies are the home for the soul and spirit. If mummy was accidentally destroyed, the spirit might be lost. Rich people were buried in a tomb while poor were buried in the sand.
Egyptians are not only done mummification process on the humans but also on the animals. Sometimes were mummified animals like cats, crocodiles, baboons and birds. All this animals had a great religious significance. They considered that after life is journey to another world. There they should lead a new life. Their things, such as tool, were also putted in their graves. It was believed that they will need that tool in after life too. In the process of mummification they always leave the heart in the body. According to their beliefs, heart was the centre of emotion and intelligence.

Egyptian mummies help us better understand people in that time. With the help of x-rays we are now able to research mummies without destroying them. Egyptians also had a god of mummification. It was Anubis. Anubis was a half human with a head of a jackal. His job was to prepare bodies of the dead. The bodies should be received by Osiris.
Known fact is that pharaohs were buried in pyramids. Pyramids are the stone tombs. These stone tombs were built because they believe that in it pharaoh would live forever. They were designed to protect pharaoh’s body.