Mummification

"Hail to you, Osiris! Your limbs are lasting, you do not know corruption."

―Ritual to the Egyptian god of death Osiris, 48 BCE.

An embalmer explains his work to Bayek of Siwa

Mummification is the process by which corpses are preserved by intentional or accidental exposure to certain factors such as low humidity, chemicals or extreme cold. The preserved bodies are called mummies.

Though mummies have been found in every continent, Egyptian mummies are the best known, both due to their sheer amount and due to its constant and historical study. The mummification process used by Ancient Egyptians was highly ceremonial, and took into the account the social level and wealth of the deceased person, and was often also applied to animals (mostly for ritual purposes).

Egyptian mummies

Process

Once the bodies arrived at the mummification site, they were placed on inclined tables while the bodily fluids drained away before being cleaned by priests until they were deemed ready. Then they were purified with a libation from sacred water followed by fumigation with terebinth resin. After the ritual cleansing, priests used oils, spices and essences to further purify the body of the deceased. Finally, all body hair was removed.

The embalmers then removed the internal organs, following very specific procedures. First, the brain was extracted by inserting a spoon through the nostril to break the ethmoid bone before using a spatula to remove it as thoroughly as possible. What matter remained was liquified through the use of a caustic liquid. The cranial box, once emptied, was rinsed and disinfected with palm wine, and then stuffed with strips of linen cloth and liquefied resin.

Embalmers then made an incision on the left flank and carefully set aside the viscera, before rinsing the inside of the body with palm wine, filling it with pure myrrh, cinnamon and other perfumes and sewing it shut. The removed viscera were washed in palm wine, and packed in crushed herbs before being placed in canopic jars, which would be placed close to the sarcophagus or kept in a chest nearby. At first, the viscera were wrapped in tissue and placed in the vases. As the ritual requirements became more elaborate, ointments, spices and even water and natron were added to the process.

A couple of scarab amulets used in mummification

To halt the putrefaction process, the deceased body would be covered in natron and dessicated for about 40 days. Once the body was completely dried out, embalmers oiled, painted, and sometimes even added hair extensions or a wig, before wrapping each part of the body with strips of linen. At this times, some amulets were also carefully inserted into the weaving of the linen.

Once the mummy was properly wrapped and adorned, the embalmers proceeded with the ceremony of "the Opening of the Mouth", a highly complicated vital step meant to bring back to life the deceased themselves, or an object representing the deceased.

Myths and legends

With the arrival of the myth of Osiris in the Egyptian religion, around the 5th Dynasty, the process became grounded in both a mythological and ideological point of view.

Osiris, the first king to rule Egypt, was killed by his brother Seth, who dismembered him and scattered his body parts all over Egypt. Iset, goddess of magic, tracked down all the pieces of her husband (bar his penis, which had been eaten by a fish) and reassembled his body by binding it together with strips of linen. Along with her sister Nephthys, the pair gave Osiris the breath of life, bringing Osiris back from the dead and recovering his virility for long enough to impregnate Iset before dying once again. The ritual used to bring Osiris back to life depicts how he became the very first mummy.

History

The oldest mummies recovered from Egypt date from the Old Kingdom, though Egyptologists believe that mummification was in use much earlier than that. Originally it was achieved through environmental desiccation, taking advantage of the heat and dryness of the area. Earty experimentations in mummification were conducted with the use of tree sap resin and linen strips were only used on some superficial parts of the hands or jaw.

Bayek investigating the rotten mummies

In 48 BCE, the Order of the Ancients member Hetepi devised a plan to ruin Pasherenptah's reputation. One of the aspects of this plan was to sabotage the mummifications at Memphis by mixing sand in with the natron used for dessicating the various bodies, causing the city to become plagued with the vile stench of putrefication. Medjay Bayek of Siwa investigated the mummies, uncovered the plot and dealt with those responsible.

As early as the Middle Ages, mummies discovered by European travelers were often sent back to Europe, with curio cabinets dating from the 16th and 17th centuries usually including pharaonic artifacts in their collections. Among the many treasures collected by the pirate Alonzo Batilla in the early 18th century were a pair of Egyptian scarabs that had once been placed on the throat, chest and heart of a mummy.

Following Napoleon Bonaparte's Egyptian campaign (1798–1802), a phenomenon called Egyptomania took hold of Europe once again. A resurgence of interest from rich enthusiasts and scholars, exposed Egypt to the general populace and many research societies focusing on Egyptology were founded during those years. By 1868, mass tourism began in Egypt. The rich would go on trips and bring back mummies. Upon their return, they would organize events where they would unpack the mummies, removing strips of linen and amulets layer by layer. The Egyptian collections of many museums were founded as a consequence of this mass pillaging.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Origins
• Discovery Tour: Ancient Egypt