Mysterious mummies 

A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay further if kept in cool and dry conditions. 

Egyptian mummies have fascinated the world for hundreds of years. People flock to see them in modern museums, and many movies have featured a scary scene where the mummy wakes. In the most ancient times, the dead were simply buried in the hot desert sand, which dried and preserved the bodies well, giving them a Mummy-like appearance. Later, belief in an afterlife in which the soul needed a well-preserved body encouraged wealthy Egyptians to look for more splendid ways of keeping dead bodies intact. 

     By the time of the Kingdom-----3,500 years ago, complicated rituals and procedures had evolved to keep the corps looking as it had in life. Padding, paint, wigs, special tarlike coating, and many yards of fine linen wrapping helped achieve this effect. 

Beneath the Bandages 

The mummy of a wealthy or royal person would not be laid to rest wrapped only in linen strips. Priests tucked protective amulets and personal jewelry between the wrappings. They placed an ornamental mask depicting the person's face over the bandages and laid the body in a coffin. At least one and sometimes more wooden or metal coffins surrounded the first one, each decorated with texts and scenes showing the life of the deceased. Inscriptions might include the texts of spells to help the soul find its way through the Underworld. The coffins were then encased in a carved stone sarcophagus. 

Ramses ll 

The mummy of Ramses ll has had a lively journey. Embalmed in 1224 Bc and first unwrapped in 1886-3,110 years later it was flown to Paris and opened again for study and repair in 1976. Scientists found the pharaoh had red hair and suffered from arthritis. 

Preserving the dead 

Priestly embalmers prepared the bodies for the afterlife. Wearing the masks of Anubis, as shown at left, they removed stomach, intestines, liver, and lungs and placed them in four special jars carved with the heads of the sons of Horus (below). They removed the brain with a hook through the nose and threw it away. Egyptians believed the heart----not the brain----was the source of personality. Embalmers packed a natural salt called natron into the body cavity to dry it out and stuffed it with straw or cloth. Finally, they spread oils and spices on the body and wrapped it in linen strips.

Would you believe?  

Animal mummies 

The two falcons at left were probably buried in honor of the falcon god, Horus. Egyptians honored their gods by sacrificing and mummifying the animals associated with them. Pilgrims journeyed to worship centers to offer wrapped and mummified animals: ibises for Thoth, the god of scribes; dogs for Anubis, the god of embalming; and cats for bastes, the cat goddess. 

I was there! 

More than 3,000 years after this mummy's death, French scientists studied this and other corpse with modern medical techniques. Their notes showed that "most of the mummies did not live longer than 30 or 40 years. Their lungs were often filled with sand from desert storms. The bandages showed traces of plant pollen from wheat, barley, nettle, sage, and evergreen shrubs and trees," which grew in Egypt so long ago