Osiris became associated with mummification as he had over come death by such a process. Therefore
Egyptians thought that if they too were mummified after death their soul would live forever. The Priests of
Osiris taught that the body was a sacred vessel and should not just be left in the desert, but honored and
preserved so that the ka (life force) could return to the body.
Until the period of the New Kingdom (c.1550-1086BC) mummification had been quite a crude process.
Before this time a mummified body was not a rare site to the Ancient Egyptians. The drying sands of the
desert caused the buried to be naturally mummified. It was the next step to develop a technique to preserve
the bodies manually. The earliest method used was to wrap the
body in resin soaked linen strips. This process was unsuccessful
and the body would continue to rot.
At its height of popularity in the 21st Dynasty the Egyptians had refined the
technique to work more effectively. This embalming process began with the removal
of the brain and internal organs. The intestines would be placed into canopic jars.
The heart would be left in place as it was considered to contain the individual's
intellect. The now empty body was now ready to be cleaned and dried out. It was then refilled with resin-soaked linen
sawdust, myrrh or other spices. When this process was completed the body would be sewn
up and placed into a bath of natron (a naturally occurring salt) and was left for up to seventy
days. When removed the body was the wrapped in bandages and covered in an adhesive
substance.
The finished mummy was placed in a coffin often
representing the original shape of its occupant.
This coffin was then placed in a tomb and
surrounded with everything that would be needed
in the afterlife including food. Often a book of the dead in papyrus form was also
supplied in the tomb.
 |
