Here is all you need to know about Egyptian Mummies
Hyderabad: The afterlife was an important part of Ancient Egyptian culture. They prepared for the afterlife by preserving the dead as long as possible. They did this through a process called mummification. These bodies are called mummies.
Sometimes the mummy’s mouth would be opened to symbolise breathing in the afterlife. It is probably this custom that led to the superstition that mummies come back to life.
During the mummification process the organs of the human body were removed and preserved separately in Canopic jars. Those jars were decorated with the heads of the four sons of Horus. There are still mummies of some of the ancient Pharaohs around. Both Tutankhamun and Rameses the Great were preserved and can be seen at museums.
It is estimated that 70 million mummies were made in Egypt over the 3,000 years of the ancient civilisation.
The Egyptians covered the bodies with a substance called natron which is a natural salt to dry out the body. They used lotions on the skin to preserve it. They would use many layers of strips of linen wrapping, which are glued with resin, to cover the body. Later, they cover the body in a sheet called a shroud and place in a stone coffin called a sarcophagus.
Over the past thousands of years, many of the Egyptian mummies have been destroyed. Some were burned for fuel, some were ground into powder to make magical potions, and some were destroyed by treasure hunters.
Mummies are studied by scientists without unwrapping them by using CAT scan and X-Ray machines.
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