You wouldn’t want to be an Egyptian mummy!

Introduction Ancient Egypt began about 5000 years ago beside the river Nile. The pharoahs had huge monuments built for them so they would always be remembered. Ancient Egyptians believed in the afterlife

Dead? Ancient Egyptians take a lot of trouble preparing for the afterlife The bodies are preserved by embalming and mummification.

Removing the organs After your body has been cleaned, it is taken to the place of embalming called the wabet. A slicer priest will make a long cut alongside the left side of your stomach. Natron salt is used to dry out your body once the organs have been removed.

Storing the organs Which organ is not removed? Your liver, lungs, stomach and intestines are removed through the incision in your stomach and then stored in canopic jars. Each jar is protected by one of the four sons of the God Horus and the lid of the jar is shaped like it’s protectors head. The body is washed out with palm wine and will be soaked in natron for 40 days to dry it out. Which organ is not removed?

Get stuffed! After 40 days your skin will be shrivelled and you will look like a piece of old leather. So your skin is rubbed with oils to make it softer. The empty space where your organs were will be stuffed with sawdust and rags. With some false eyes and hair you will almost look alive again.

What bandages did the Egyptians use? Wrapped and ready The embalmers work is almost done and soon you will be a mummy. It will take 15 days to wrap you up and you will need 20 layers of bandages. If you were sensible you would have saved linen for the whole of your life for this purpose. Resin was use to glue the bandages together. What bandages did the Egyptians use?

The coffins Once wrapped up you will need a good wooden coffin. The coffins should have pictures of Gods on them and lots of hieroglyphics. A nest of coffins will be placed in your tomb, inside a stone coffin called a sacrcophagus.

What a mummy needs for a blissful afterlife…. Have the wall of your tomb painted with pictures of you. Stock your tomb with food, clothes. Weapons, furniture and tools. It is the duty of your relatives to bring you gifts of food, so you don’t go hungry

The end Once your tomb has been sealed, your soul will battle its way through the underworld and your heart will be weighed against the feather of truth.

Quick quiz Why was Tutankhamun’s body not preserved well? What is Natron? Who is the God of embalming? The embalmers used too much oil and his flesh stuck to the sides of the coffin. A natural salt used to dry out the body. Anubis- a jackal headed God.

Quick quiz How many days is the body left before it is stuffed? What wine was use to clean the body? What is a canopic jar? 40 Palm wine Four jars in which the embalmed stomach, lungs, liver and intestines were stored.