Mummification In Egypt

The tombs of ancient Egypt are one of the seven ancient wonders in the world; in fact, they are the only surviving wonder. However, these impressive pyramids are a result representing the culmination of a process that had taken thousands of years to evolve. In the beginning deceased Egyptian’s were buried in simple graves, as time went on, these graves had been developed into spectacular tomb chambers today known as pyramids. Religion in Ancient Egypt had strongly influenced the physical design of tombs, Egyptians were strong believers in the afterlife, and the design of the pyramid had granted pharaohs the best standard of living in the next life. Pyramids had also allowed for many ceremonies surrounding death and the afterlife, such as mummification, …show more content…
Body preservation played a significant role in the deceased making it through rituals and into the afterlife. Initially Egyptian burial rituals had not been as advanced as they became in the old and new kingdom, when a Pharaoh or commoner died they were just buried in the sand. The Egyptians had realised the effect sand had on a dead body, the sand would help to dry up and preserve the remains, resulting in the body remaining intact. However, this basic sand burial had not been used for pharaohs in the old and new kingdom; these pharaohs had often wanted spectacular tombs in order to reinforce their significance in Egypt. These new tombs were huge, and did not allow for natural mummification. Instead, Egyptians used salt or sunlight to shrivel up the body and then wrapped it in bandages. Prior to shrivelling up the pharaoh, the organs had been removed and placed in Canopic jars excluding the heart, in an attempt to keep them preserved and protected (Brier 1996: 27). It is hard to say for sure what the process was; many primary sources had been lost or previously stolen however historical evidence suggests that this theory is the most plausible. Intentional body preservation had been significant in Egypt and was a process that took over 70 days, in which experienced embalmers worked with the corpse to preserve it. (Kennedy, 2015) This preservation not only bettered the pharaoh’s chance in the afterlife, it also assisted modern day historians to understand Ancient Egyptian customs. Several other steps of the mummification process had also held religious significance, on the tomb of numerous pharaoh’s references to the gods throughout the process of preservation had been made. The following had been inscribed on the tomb of Petosiris, pure, pure is the Osiris Great of the Five... Your purification is the purification of Horus, and