Ancient Egyptian Mummy Preservatives Used on the Bodies of Pharaohs

CAIRO – Ancient Egyptian mummy preservatives has been firmly rooted in Egyptian society since the Old Kingdom or the Pyramid Age (2686 – 2181 BC).

Mummification or embalming in ancient Egypt was usually reserved for elite society, such as Pharaohs (Kings), nobles, noble families, government officials, and the wealthy.

Ordinary people were rarely preserved as mummies because the process was expensive. Mummification in ancient Egypt was closely tied to the religious beliefs of the people. The ancient Egyptians believed that when a person died, their spiritual essence (soul) still survived.

So mummification or preserving the body of a deceased person is done wholeheartedly by a skilled person with deep religious meaning. So it is not to arouse horror or be made a scary object that is often shown in horror or mystical films.

Unfortunately, there is very little record in ancient Egyptian texts of the actual mummification process. Most of it comes from non-Egyptian sources, such as the 5th century Greek writer Herodotus (lived between 484 – 425 BC).

In his famous work “The Histories,” he described three stages of mummification, each distinguished by the manner and complexity of the process. The most elaborate method involved first removing the brain and many of the internal organs, especially the entrails.

Rita Lucarelli, an Egyptologist and expert on Egyptian papyri (ancient texts) at the University of California, Berkeley, explains that the brain was typically removed using a curved metal instrument inserted through the nostrils. Other organs were removed by making an incision along the abdomen.

The empty cavity was filled with various aromatic herbs, such as cassia (made from the bark of a pine tree), before the body was sewn shut again. “The heart was always left inside because the Egyptians believed the heart was the most important aspect of every human body,” said Rita Lucarelli, quoted by SINDOnews from the livescience page.

The body was then covered with salt for 70 days to remove all moisture. After 70 days, the body was bathed and wrapped in linen that had been treated with a sticky resin to ensure it adhered to the body. ir
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