Mummification & Afterlife

Embalming the Body Wash the body with good smelling palm wines and rinse with water from the Nile. Cut a slit in the left side of the body and remove internal organs the liver, stomach, lungs and intestines are placed in canopic jars. imsety the human headed god holds the liver hapy the baboon headed god holds the lungs Canopic Jars 

Embalming the Body (continued) duamutef the jackal headed god holds the stomach qebehsenuef the falcon headed god holds the intestines A hook is then inserted up the nose to remove the brains the heart remains in the body because the Egyptians believed that your heart was the most important aspect of the human. the body is then covered and stuffed with natron salt which will help to dry out the body The body is then placed in the desert for 40 days. After the 40 days the body is then washed again with Nile water the skin is the covered in oils.

Wrapping First the head and neck are wrapped with linen. The fingers and toes are wrapped individually. The arms and legs are wrapped separately from the body In the layers the embalmers place amulets to protect the body in the underworld. The 'isis knot' amulet protects the body and ' Plummet' represents personal balance Priests read out spells while the mummy is being wrapped.

Wrapping (continued) Papyrus scroll filled with spells from the book of the dead is wrapped in the mummies hands A cloth is then wrapped over the whole body and a painting of Osiris is Painted on top. A funeral is then held for the dead person before the body is laid to rest they have a ritual called 'the opening of he mouth' this lets the dead person eat and drink one last time

The Afterlife Death is not seen as the last stage of life Before the mummy can reach the underworld it has to pass through seven gates, aided by the magic spells inscribed upon the funerary objects, then the dead person arrives in the presence of Osiris (god of the underworld)

The Afterlife (continued) Osiris then performs a ceremony called the 'weighing of the heart' Heart of the dead person is weighed on a scale by the jackal headed god Anubis (god of dead) against the feather of Ma'at (goddess of truth)

The Afterlife (continued) Balancing the scale meant immortality If the scale did not balance then Amemt (crocodile headed god) would eat the heart, and Seth, murderer of Osiris ate the rest of the body