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after death, and if the deceased were important and wealthy, the corpse would be given to
specialists in the making of a mummy. (Mummy is not an Egyptian word; it comes from
the Persian word for ground seepage: the oils and tars used to coat and preserve the body.)
Several procedures were used. The body was washed and stretched on a board to prevent
rigor mortis from distorting its sleeping position. Viscera were removed and placed in jars
guarded by spirit statues. The body cavity was coated with herbs, scents, and preservat-
ives, including natron, a sodium-rich mineral mined in the western desert, and then was
packed with linen soaked in natron, tar, and other preservatives. A pick inserted through
the nose broke into the skull, and a whisk-like implement drew out the brains, which were
also placed in a canopic jar.
Afterward, the entire body was wrapped and rewrapped in linen swathing soaked in
unguents and other preservatives. And at last, the wrapped corpse was placed inside a series
of caskets, the outermost (depending upon rank and wealth of the deceased) covered with
precious jewels, gold, and a likeness of the deceased. Mummy, sarcophagus, and nesting
caskets were sealed in the tomb, along with implements and adornments of earthly life that
would give aid and comfort in Osiris's land of contented souls. Tombs at present-day Ab-
dos, about 300 miles south of Cairo, contained mummified slabs of beef, mummified birds,
and jars of figs, beer, bread, oil, fats, and wine. Among the more than 500 items interred
with Tutankhamen were a royal bed, a bronze chariot, a chest with scenes of the king's mil-
itary victories, and a throne sheathed in gold and precious jewels.
Figure 13.7. Mummy on display,
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