the cemeteries around tombs, such as the tomb of
MERNEITH(1), an important woman of the First Dynasty
(2920–2770 B.C.E.). The custom was abandoned rather
abruptly.
The embalming of the dead, a term taken from the
Latin word which is translated as “to put into aromatic
resins,” was called utby the Egyptians. The word mummy
is from the Persian, meaning pitch or bitumen, which
was used in embalming during the New Kingdom
(1550–1070 B.C.E.) and probably earlier. In later eras
corpses were coated or even filled with molten resin and
then dipped in bitumen, a natural mixture of solid and
semisolid hydrocarbons, such as asphalt, normally mixed
with drying oil to form a paint-like substance.
In the beginning, however, the processes were differ-
ent. Corpses dating to the Fourth Dynasty, those of
QUEENS HETEPHERES(2) and MERYSANKH(3), for example,
show indications of having been embalmed with the old
methods, which were cruder and less extensive. In order
to accomplish the desired preservation, the early priests
of Egypt turned to a natural resource readily available and
tested in other ways: NATRON, called net-jerytas it was
found in the Natron Valley (or WADI NATRUN), near mod-
ern Cairo. That substance was also called hesinen,after
the god of the valley, or heshernen tesher,when used in
the red form. Natron is a mixture of sodium bicarbonate
and sodium carbonate or sodium chloride. It absorbs
moisture called hygroscopic, and is also antiseptic. The
substance had been used as a cleansing agent from early
eras on the Nile and then was used as a steeping sub-
stance that preserved corpses.
The priests washed and purified the bodies and then
began to prepare the head of the corpse. The brain was
sometimes left intact in the skull but more often, the
priests inserted hooks into the nose, moving them in cir-
cular patterns until the ethmoid bones gave way and
allowed an entrance into the central cavity. A narrow rod
with a spoon tip scooped out the brains, which were
discarded.
In some eras the brain was surgically removed from
the bodies, a rather sophisticated operation because it
involved the atlas vertebrae and entrance through the
neck. Once cleared of brain matter, by use of the hook or
by surgical means, the skull was packed with linens,
spices, and Nile mud. On at least one occasion (as exem-
plified by a mummy available for modern forensic
research) the head was packed with too much material
and was swollen and split apart. The mouth was also
cleansed and padded with oil-soaked linens, and the face
was covered with a resinous paste. The eyes were some-
times filled with objects to maintain their shape and then
covered with linen, one pad on each eyeball, and the lids
closed over them. The corpse was then ready for the
“Ethiopian Stone,” a blade made out of obsidian.
Peculiarly enough, the mortuary priest who used the
blade called the “Ethiopian Stone” and performed surgi-
cal procedures on the corpses being embalmed was
reportedly shunned by his fellow priest and embalmers.
He was trained to cut from the left side of the abdomen in
order to expose the cavity there. Puncturing the
diaphragm he pulled out all of the internal organs except
the heart, an essential aspect of the embalming process in
all ages. The mortuary spells and rituals demanded a
union between the heart and the body. Care was taken to
preserve the heart from injuries and to keep it in its right-
ful place. When a heart was accidentally moved or dam-
aged, the priests stitched it carefully again. Mummies
studied have shown evidence of such surgical care. All of
the other organs in the abdomen (with the exception of
the kidney, which was normally left intact and in place)
were removed. The lungs were placed in a canopic jar
protected by HAPI. The stomach was placed in a canopic
jar protected by Duamutef, the intestines were given to
the care of QEBEHSENNUF, and the liver placed in the jar
assigned to IMSETY. These were the Sons of Horus, the
designated patrons of the organs of the deceased.
Each period of ancient Egypt witnessed an alteration
in the various organs preserved. The heart, for example,
was preserved separately in some eras, and during the
Ramessid dynasties the genitals were surgically removed
and placed in a special casket in the shapes of the god
Osiris. This was performed, perhaps, in commemoration
of the god’s loss of his own genitals as a result of the
attacks by the god SET, or as a mystical ceremony.
Throughout the nation’s history, however, the CANOPIC
JARS(so named by the Greeks of later eras) were under
the protection of the MESU-HERU, the Four Sons of
Horus. These jars and their contents, the organs soaked
in resin, were stored near the SARCOPHAGUSin the special
containers.
The reason that the priests cleansed the abdomens of
the corpses so quickly was that decay and putrefaction
started there instantly. With the organs removed, the cav-
ity could be cleansed and purified, handled without
infection, and embalmed with efficiency. The use of
natron was involved in the next step of the process. The
Greeks reported that the mummies of the ancient eras
were soaked in a bath of natron. It has been established,
however, that the liquid form of the crystals would not
only hinder the drying process but would add to the
bloating and decay. The bodies were thus buried in
mounds of natron in its dry crystal form. When the
natron bath had dried the corpse sufficiently, the nails
were tied on and finger stalls placed on the corpse. The
natron bath normally lasted 40 days or more, producing a
darkened, withered corpse. The temporary padding in the
cavities was removed and stored in containers for use in
the afterlife.
The corpse was washed, purified, and dried, and
then wads or pads of linen, packages of natron or saw-
dust, were used to fill the various empty portions of the
remains. Aromatic resins were also used to make themortuary rituals 253