Unwrapping Ancient Egypt's Past

Sakshi Jain
Jun 13, 2019 • 46 views

The Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization, medicine, technology, pyramids and life style. The word mummy reminds us of Egypt. The Egyptian Civilization is famous for its mysterious relics and ancient rituals. Ancient Egypt is oldest civilization in the world. Egypt was civilized near the Nile Valley.

Egyptians used a great method to deal with the dead bodies, called mummification. The Egyptians removed moisture from body, and leaved a dried form that would not decay soon. It was ritual to preserve the dead body. If we look today we can expect what he or she looked like in life, 3000 years ago.

The process normally takes time of 70 days. The priests and family members wrap the body. They do prayers and keep required things in coffin. The priests had good knowledge of human anatomy.

PROCESS

The process begins with the removal of all the internal parts that could decay. The brain was removed by with proper care and attention up through the nostrils in order to pull small parts of the brain tissue. It was a hard and typical operation, one which could easily damage the face. The embalmers took out organs of abdominal parts. They left only the heart in its right place, they believed it to be main portion that controls a person's intelligence and behaviours. The other organs were preserved in containers called called canopic jars. These were kept with the mummy in cabin. Even the, unused canopic jars were the part of burial customs.

HOW COFFIN LOOKS LIKE

The moisture of body was removed by special type of salt named natron, which has great drying properties. To make the mummy seem more live, lifeless areas of the body were stuffed with other materials and false eyes were used to look real.

In the funeral, priests performed special religious activities at the tomb's entrance. The most important part of the ceremony was called the "Opening of the Mouth". According to their beliefs by touching the instrument to the mouth, the dead person could now speak and eat. He was then ready for the journey to Afterlife. The mummy was placed in coffin in the burial cabin and the entrance packed from all sides.

But why preserve the body?The Egyptians believed that the mummified body was the home for this soul or spirit. If the body was destroyed, the spirit might be lost.

By studying the x-rays or performing autopsies on unwrapped bodies, experts are learning more about diseases suffered by the Egyptians and their medical treatment. A better idea of average height and life span comes from studying the bones. By learning their age at death, the order and dates of the Egyptian kings becomes a little clearer.

MUMMY OF EGYPTIAN PHARAOH

Ancient Egypt’s “boy king” became pharaoh at the age of nine and ruled for only 10 years. The famous archaeologist Howard Carter found his tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. Even after lots of robberies the tomb was filled with a wealth of ancient treasures, including jewelry and a solid gold funerary mask.