Subject: They start by removing the organs
Author:
Posted on: 2013-04-23 04:46:00 UTC
If you don't like this, stop reading soon. I present to you the five step process for creating mummies!
1) The heart, lungs, stomach and liver are washed in palm wine and preserved in canopic jars along with copious amounts of natron salt. They're basically little clay jars with the faces of gods. I used to know which god went with each of the four organs, which made me popular with groups of boys at haloween, not so much the rest of the year.
2) Other organs, such as the brain, are thrown out. They didn't see much use for the large intestine (given what it was full of...) and they removed the brain by breaking through the septum and the back of the nose, then whisking around with a wire and draining the skull. King tut had his head packed with resin after that so it would stay the right shape: they didn't do that to everyone.
3) Wash everything in palm wine, pack it in natron salt for forty days inside and out in order to bring all the moisture out and kill all the bacteria.
4) Depending on the dynasty, either put the preserved organs back in or leave them in their jars while you sew the dude back up and wrap him in forty layers of bandages (the finest linen for a pharoh,) and cover him in amulets to ward off evil spirits and ensure that his Ba (part of his soul) can return.
5)Bury him with a massive procession, paid public mourners, and as many grave goods as you can stuff in a pyramid.
I hope that took your mind off the bugs. :)
