The Tradition and Method of Mummification in Ancient Egypt

Mummification is the term given to the bodies in which decay is prevented by applying various processes. The mummification technique, first encountered in ancient Egypt around the 15th century BCE, has been inherited from polytheistic religions. The basis of the Egyptians' mummification tradition lay in their belief in the afterlife. They believed that the spirits of the deceased would be resurrected in the other world and return to their bodies, so they attached great importance to the process of mummification to ensure the preservation of their bodies.

Mummification Method:

In the mummification method called "tahnit," drugs that are not known in detail today were used.

The process of turning a body into a mummy could take up to 70 days. After the deceased person's body was left for 3 days, it was immersed in potassium and left for a week. After one week, the removal of the organs would begin.

While the lungs and kidneys of the deceased were removed from the left side, the brain was extracted by inserting a special tool through the nose and breaking the bone. Since there was a belief that the heart would be used in the judgment process in the afterlife, it was generally not removed. Even if it was removed, it was mummified and placed back into the body. All the removed organs were placed in four separate pottery containers called "canopic jars."

The body, from which the internal organs were removed, was covered with a mixture of salt and carbonate called natron and then dried. After waiting in natron for 40 days, the body was submerged in water in the Nile Delta. To keep the body flexible and maintain its shape, materials such as sawdust and straw soaked in oil and resin were placed in the body. The openings created during the placement of these materials were stitched with palm thread, and the body was wrapped with linen bandages using prayers and spells.

The mummified bodies were preserved in stone coffins or oil-coated wooden coffins. The Egyptians not only mummified humans but also animals such as cats and dogs.