Appendix I: The Ancient process of Mummification as practiced in the New Kingdom

The Four Amenti or Sons of Horus

"I shall not be afraid of my body, for words and magic shall overcome this evil for me. I shall see the Lord of Light, I shall live there. Make way for me! Let me see Nun and Amun! they dare not speak for fear of the One whose Name is hidden in my body. I know him! I am equipped to pass through the Door!"

ummification was not new in Egypt. Even the earliest Neolithic burials, out in the Western desert sands, produced natural mummies that later generations tried to emulate. However interring their bodies in monuments, allowed the processes of decay to destroy that which they were trying to achieve: An incorruptible shell to house the Ba and Ka spirit and a Focus to receive the offerings that would nourish these Spirits for Eternity. The preservation of the corpse became the goal of the Embalmers Art which, most experts agree, reached its zenith in the New Kingdom.

There were three levels of classical mummification. These were carried out on a mass production basis in very much the same manner that modern undertakers carry out theiir business today. The more money the client had the better the quality of (supposed) treatment.

According to Herodotus the original "Father of History (Lies)" at the lowest level, preservation involved little more than placing the corpses, sometimes five at a time, in a common pickling bath for thirty days. The body was then washed down and wrapped in plain bandages recycled from old linen sheets. As an intermediate stage various increasingly bizarre and morbid practices were used to remove the viscera and better preserve the body.

From archeological evidence, early practices merely involved the tight bandaging of the limbs and body and the use of plaster to keep out corruption. It soon became clear that removal of the internal organs was essential to prevent the body from decay. Various techniques were tried and even as early as the IVth Dynasty the viscera were being removed and stored in separate containers.

In general the bodies were pickled in a brine bath or preferably (and more expensively) packed in dry Natron, a naturally occuring mixture of Salt and (17%) Sodium Bicarbonate found in the eponymous Wadi Natrûn; many miles to the West of the Giza Plateau. The Sodium Bicarbonate content acting as the active desiccant. The period of dessication being fixed at around forty of the standard Seventy Days set aside for the Funerary Rites. The now dessicated husk was washed down as before and covered by a series of increasingly more expensive preservative oils and unguents. In Roman times, bitumen was poured over the body as an outer protective coating. The modern term Mummy derives from the Persian term "mumiyah" (bitumen). Unfortunately some of these materials were actually corrosive over long periods of time and thus acted in a manner directly opposite to that intended!

Then came the complex process of bandaging the corpse. In later Dynasties becoming a high art. Padding was introduced to bulk out the husk and return it to human proportions. Ritual amulets were introduced in between the layers of bandages along with prayers and magical formulae written on scraps of papyrus. Finally a mask bearing a painted and gilded likeness of the deceased would be placed over the head of the wrapped body. Usually made of cartonnage (papier mâché made from papyrus) or linen soaked in plaster or, in the famous case of Tutankhamun.. solid gold!.

The most expensive methods were used on the wealthy and the royal household. First the body was removed to a tented area the "ibw" where it was washed and purged, possibly using a mechanism which later became the ritual Imiut Fetish (See below) Then it would be moved to the "per nefer" (lit. place of beauty) or house of regeneration. Here the brain, having no function according to Egyptian anatomical beliefs, would be removed. Usually by breaking through to the skull via the ethmoid bone at the back of the nasal cavity with a long sharp probe or alternatively, by a direct incision at the back of the skull. The brain tissue was scraped out and discarded and the cavity was cleaned out with corrosives and packed with molten wax or resin. The blood would be replaced by preservative oils injected into a major vein. The internal organs were removed through a neat and surprisingly small abdominal incision. These were separately embalmed being considered vital for the health of the Ka spirit in the tomb. The rituals and treatments afforded the viscera became increasingly more complex with the passage of time.

The Kidneys: being the seat of emotions and The Heart: required for the Judgement of the deceased, were treated with the greatest of care and, after preservation, generally replaced back into the body cavity. If damaged during their removal these organs were carefully repaired before they were returned to the body cavity. Classically, the rest of the organs were divided into four and embalmed separately then placed in four separate compartments of a special piece of funerary furniture that became known as the Canopic Chest. These embalmed packages of organs then became the focus of increasingly complex packaging: jars with human headed stoppers, miniature coffins or other simulacra with increasingly elaborate trappings, ending up with miniature sarcophagi placed in solid stone chests with stoppers with the heads of the four sons of Horus:

ORGAN	Protective Genii (Son of Horus)	Stopper Type	Patron Goddess	Orientation	Esoteric Association
LIVER	Imsety	human headed	Isis	North
LUNGS	Hepy (Hepi)	baboon headed	Nephthys	South
STOMACH	Duamutef	jackal headed	Neith	West
INTESTINES	Qebehsnewef	falcon headed	Selkit	East

These four sons were collectively known as the Amenti and were also responsible for supporting the Heavens. Each spirit was also associated with a Tutelary Protectress, a compass point, and latterly a classical Aristotelian Element. These containers became so ritually important that even when the embalmed organs were replaced back in the body or not removed in the first place, solid and therefore functionless proxies were placed in the tomb. In this way the viscera of the deceased would not cause their owner "any unpleasantness"!

Imiut Fetish: one of the standard Ritual Funerary Objects

eanwhile the cavity of the eviscerated body would be washed out and packed out to preserve its shape. Then placed in Natron for forty days, during this time the corpse would dehydrate and the fatty tissues dissolve; leaving an incorruptible shell with a tanned skin. The embalmed heart and kidneys were replaced back into the cavity and the remaining space packed with bandages soaked in preservatives, herbs, spices and amulets. The wound of the original incision would be sown up and a 'healing' plate with the udjat or healing eye of Horus placed over it. Various lotions and potions were rubbed into the skin and the body was painted and decorated to restore some of it's colour. Then it was dressed in fine clothes and adorned with jewellery. Various extremities would be sheathed with gold and amulets placed in important locations. Even artificial eyes were used to give the body a lifelike appearance. Then the Mummy was bandaged, starting with each individual digit, then limbs and then finally the whole body; with large numbers of written spells and Amulets (q.v. Appendix III) incorporated in between the layers; accompanied by spoken incantations and prayers to the Gods. Preservative oils and unguents being applied as well as a generous coating of resinous materials. According to some funerary texts: fifteen days would be spent in bandaging and packing the corpse! Finally a richly decorated funerary mask of gold or silver would be fitted over the head for the "Opening of the Mouth" ceremony and the Mummy would be complete.

Even the poorest Egyptian had some form of Embalmment although Slaves and Criminals were excluded, being unworthy. The latter were fed to the crocodiles whilst the former, if they were lucky, were sacrificed so that they could continue to serve their master in the Afterlife!

" After the seventy days of embalming hath passed thou are laid nobly out in thy tomb. Thou art placed on thy bier and drawn by oxen who hath no blemish. Thy path on the way to thy tomb is washed in milk. Thy children weep from a full heart. Thy mouth is opened by the priests, and the Sem priest shall purify thee. Horus moves thy lips and opens thine eyes and ears. Thy body is perfect in everything pertaining to thee. Words of praise are spoken and thy virtues are proclaimed. A sacrifice to the dead is made to thee. Thy Heart is with thee as in life. Thou art as thou wast on the day thou wast born. Thy courtiers bow before thee. Thou goest to a land which the King (Osiris) hath given thee, to the Land of the West. The fitting ceremonial is observed. The funeral dancers come proudly towards thee.."

The funeral procession on the way to the Deceased's "House of Eternity" (Tomb ) was a striking affair. There would be the wailing and weeping of the professional mourners "The Kites". Especially the two acting out the roles of Isis and Nephthys these roles being acted out by members of the Family.

Additionally with the more expensive funerals there would be the group of dancing girls wearing reed head-dresses and short loincloths who would perform the sacred "muu" dance and invoke the ancestral spirits of the Lower Egypt. These individuals would preceed the Mummy resting in an open sided shrine erected over the funeral sled. This was Ritually drawn by "The Nine Friends" a replication of the Ennead (The Nine Gods of the Heliopolitan Paut q.v. Atum) these would usually be Priests ritually purified and wearing white robes, headbands and shoes. Behind the Funeral Sled would be a procession bearing the ritual funerary furniture and domestic objects that would furnish the deceased's new home. On arrival the Deceased would be propped upright and the Sem priest, traditionally dressed in a leopard skin, would officiate at the complex Opening of the Mouth Ceremony.

Link to enlargement(s) (initially 26 KB! and then 103 KB!!) describing the various elements of the Illustration

In front of a small altar, with the various wands used in the ceremony, there would also be important ritual objects. Important enough for their repeated representation in tomb decorations down the ages: There would be a hind limb of an ox representing a minimal funerary banquet; an artifactual representation of two fingers to assist the spirit of the deceased up to the heavens and always a single ostrich feather of Ma'at. In front of this Altar the lector priest would read out the service: To awaken the Mummy and allow it to see, hear, smell, speak and take nourishment. To enable its senses to function and enable its spirit to move between this world and the next. During this the Sem priest and members of the family would undertake over seventy different magical operations. These would involve touching a variety of wands: several in the form of a ritualised carpenter's adze; snake wands including the forked "pesesh-kaf" wand to the Mummy's eyes, ears, nose, mouth feet and hands. After this Ritual the terrestrially bound Ka spirit of the Deceased could use the Mummy as a focus for manifestation and the first of an endless series of offerings of food, drink and other fine things would be made to nourish the Ba and Ka spirits in their new residence. The Mummy would then be born away into the Tomb and laid to rest in a simply painted wooden coffin or royal sarcophagus of pink granite. Sacrifices and magical rituals would be performed to ensure that the deceased would remain incorruptible and undisturbed and the entrance to their House of Eternity sealed.

"My mouth is open! My mouth is split open by Shu with that metal blade of his that he used to split open the mouths of the Gods. I am the Powerful One. I shall sit beside her who is in the great breath of the sky!"

For a reason why so much trouble was taken to preserve the corpse one must turn to the rather complicated belief system that the Egyptians had concerning the complex makeup of the Soul. See:

Appendix II: A Dissection of the Soul according to Egyptian Beliefs and its correspondences to the In Nomine Game System.

also Note (ii). Teep's Modern Mummification Method