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In Ancient Egypt, it was a common practice to mummify any deceased person's body to preserve it for future use in the afterlife. A mummy is the body of any creature, a human or an animal, that has undergone a process of chemical treatment and exposure to be used after death as a vessel for the creature's soul when they are reincarnated.

 Historical Overview: The first Egyptians buried their deceased in the desert in small cavities in the middle of the desert as a most primal form of mummification. The way it worked is that the arid, hot weather of the desert served as a substitute for the chemical reactions for drying the bodies quickly, and thus making a mummy out of it. As time went on, they started to place the bodies of the dead in coffins as a means of protection from animal attacks, but they quickly figured out that the bodies decomposed quickly when they were not dried out by the heat. They started researching and experimenting till they came up with a process of embalming

the body and covering it with linen strips, and that is what known nowadays as mummification.

Why did they mummify their dead? The Ancient Egyptians were strong believers in life after death, and for them to be able to be an active part of that life they had to have their bodies intact. They believed that a person's existence is comprised of 5 aspects: name, body, shadow, ka and ba.

The ka and the ba are two spiritual counterparts to a person's soul. Both serve different functions: the ka links a person to his/her past generations, and after death it remains in the tomb, receiving offerings. The ba is more independent, and it moves freely. Since they are not tangible aspects, they need a physical link. The ba required a statue of the owner while the ba needed the mummy or the body of the person.

All the aspects of the person are linked during their life, but after death that connection is broken. The only way it can be restored for the afterlife is through having a common medium, which is the mummy.

' The Ancient Egyptians used a plethora of materials, oils an chemicals to preserve the human body for the afterlife. Some, but not all, of these materials are listed below. Beeswax Bitumen Cassia and Cinnamon Cedar Oil Henna Honey Juniper berries Lichen Natron Ointments Paint Palm Wine
 * 1) REDIRECT Materials for Mummification:'Materials for Mummification

The Mummification process: The Mummification process was long and complicated, and it took years to perfect. It is composed of several stages, as described below

1. Purification: A short time after death, the embalmers were summoned, and they would take the body away to be embalmed. The process would take place in the “Tent of Purification,” and it would usually take 70 days to complete. Those 70 days were also the time of the Decan's journey in the underworld. Purification is the first step of the process, and it starts by cleansing the body and washing it with Natron, a drying agent. The embalming procedure was not just a chemical process for preservation, but it was also a ritual exercised and cherished by the embalmers. They would often assume different roles during the embalming:

- Chief Embalmer: he was the “Controller of Mysteries”, Anubis in name, who 	was the jackal-headed God of tombs. - God's Seal Bearer: assistant to Chief Embalmer. - Lector Priest: he read spells during the process. -Ripper-up: he made the puncture as an access point to the internal organs. -Minor priests: they executed the bandaging process.

2. Removing Organs: After the body has been cleansed, it was sent to the “Place of Embalming,” where the internal organs were removed through an incision on one side of the body. The organs involved would be the lungs, liver, stomach and intestines but not the liver, since they thought they were not of importance. The heart was the only organ that would not be removed. The Ancient Egyptians believed that the heart and the body should never be separated, as it was the place of wisdom and intelligence.

The organs were separately cleaned and wrapped, while the body itself was stuffed with a temporary stuffing. After that, it was wrapped from head to toe in linen strips, multiple layers to help preserve it.

3. Natron Bath After 16 days from death, the natron bath was performed which, as the name suggests, entails placing the body in a bath of Natron, which is basically a mix of Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Sulphate and Sodium Chloride. The empty pits inside the body where the organs were once placed were also filled with Natron to ensure that the dehydration happened thoroughly.

This process went on till the 40th day, by then the body would be completely dry, with no moisture left and would keep the body safe from any kind of further decomposition. In some time periods, the body was covered with hot resin as more insurance that the body will not decay, and that could be plainly viewed in the mummy of Tutankhamun.

4. Anointing and decorating the body: After the drying process is complete, the body is moved to “Per Nefer,” or the House of Beauty, where the body is covered and rubbed with oils to restore its softness. Before that step, however, the temporary stuffing put inside the body is removed to be buried with the body, and then the latter was to be stuffed with linen that has been treated with perfums and oils. The incision was then camouflaged with a metal plate for protection, and it was adorned with a magical symbol. The bodies if the dead were sometimes covered with colour: red for men, yellow for women. “Henna” was used for covering for the hands and feet. Gold leaf was applied to some parts in the Graeco-Roman period, and women's mummies had their eyes accentuated.

5. Wrapping the mummy: The actual process of the mummy being wrapped took upwards of two weeks, and was often interrupted by prayers. The material used for the wrapping, the linen, may have been produced in distinct sites, or may have been specifically painted with magical engravings for the mummy. If the deceased was not of much wealth, the linen would be produced in households because it is cheap. The linen strips that were used in the process had to be torn in a width form 2 to 8 inches, and they started wapping the extremities first, starting by the head and the neck, and then moving on to toes and fingers, then arms and legs and then finally the torso. Amulets would be put in the wrapping to help defend the mummy in the Beyond. After the separate parts of the body have been covered, the rest of the body was wrapped from head to toe with layers of linen. The position of the mummy's arms for after the wrapping differed all over the centuries; on occasions they would be crossed over the chest, sometimes extended to the pelvis or kept by the sides of the body. The last moment of the process would be using one huge linen sheet that covers the body, and secured by bands made out of linen. It was painted red in the New Kingdom, and during the Late period the body was instead covered with blue faience parts woven into the shape of a net.

6. Masking: Masks were used in the burial ever since the Middle Kingdom, and it entailed covering the head and shoulders of the mummy with a cartonnage mask. If the deceased was of royal descent, the mask would be made out of pure gold and embellished with precious stones. In the late Roman-Graeco periods the mask was a face that was put over the bandages, and it would depict the face of the deceased as if sleeping on a pillow. In the Roman period, the person would have a portrait made for himself while alive, and it would be later placed on the head of the mummy. After the mask was placed, more resin would be poured on the mummy along with more perfumes, and the mummy would then be finally placed in the coffin to be buried in the tomb.

Concluding Remarks: As Christianity spread in Egypt, the Mummification process gradually diminished, even though up till the 4th Century A.D. Some of the bodies found display some of the techniques of mummification.

Bibliography

Anthony, Zappia. Mummification Process. N.d. Photograph. Wellbeing. Web. http://www.wellbeing.com.au/blog/ancient-medicine-sandalwood-cassia-cedarwood-and-cypress/mummification-process/

Kenneth, Garrett. 2005. Photograph. National Geographic. National Geographic. Web. .

Mummy at the British Museum. 2004. Photograph. British Museum. Web. .

Taylor, John H. Egyptian Mummies. London: British Museum, 2010. Print. Pp.160, ISBN 978-0-7141-5058-1. £9.99.

"The Mummifying Ritual." Cartage. N.p., n.d. Web. 