Preserving The Dead

The first Egyptian mummies date from about 2600 BC, and the practice survived until Muslim Arabs conquered Egypt in AD 641. At its height, around the time of the 21st dynasty of pharaohs (about 1085 - 945 BC), the most sophisticated techniques of mummification took about 70 days to complete. The internal organs were first removed through a cut about 100 mm long near the left hip. They were cleaned in wine and spices, and the abdominal cavity was flushed out with cedar oil. The brain was removed by forcing a pointed tool up through the nose and then scraping the inside of the skull, probably with a small ladle. Once cleaned, the body and organs were packed in natron - a natural rock salt which was a mixture of washing soda and baking soda - to dry them. Then the organs were individually wrapped and replaced in the body, and the cavity was topped up with sawdust, linen, tar or even mud, depending on what was available. The face and body were restored to a lifelike plumpness by inserting wads of linen under the skin. Finally, each limb, along with the head and torso, was wrapped separately in layers of resin-smeared linen before the body was handed back to the family for burial. This last stage must have taken considerable time. On some mummies that have been unwrapped by modern scholars, the total length of the bandages has been about 2.5 km.