The most fascinating legacy left to us by the ancient Egyptians is, in my opinion, the art of mummification.

Ancient mummies have been found in other parts of the world, but never before or since has there been a society so obsessed with preserving their dead. Ancient Egyptians lived their lives, in part planning for their death and new rebirth in the afterlife.

This is true in all parts of their society, but especially among their nobles. One of the first projects decreed by a new Pharoah was the design and construction of their own tomb. More importantly, however, was the assurance that their bodies would be completely preserved. For they believed not only in a spiritual afterlife, in which their ka or soul, would be resurrected, but that the ka would inhabit their physical body as well.

The actual mummification process is still, in part a mystery. While papyrus has been found describing some of the methods used,none fully explains the exact oils and preserves used, nor how some of the tools were actually implemented.

The entire mummification process took 70 days, during which time the mourning took place and a number of ceremonial rituals were performed. Thirty-six days was used to immerse the body in natron in order to completely dehydrate it. After the dehydration process, the brain was removed. This was done by first breaking the ethmoid bone which is located on the front part of the skull base, with a small hooked instrument. And then probing the skull and removing small pieces at a time through the nostrils. It is presumed that the brain was then disposed of since no traces of any have ever been found. The skull was then packed with aromatic spices. The linen strips, which were bandaged around the head, were affixed with a special resin that was obtained from the Aleppo pine tree in Syria.

All of the internal organs with the exception of the heart, were removed through a small incision made on the left side of the abdomen. This was done using a "sharp Ethiopian stone". Since metal was in use at the time, use of the stone may have had a ritual purpose. These organs were then prserved in oils, wrapped in linens and sealed inside "canoptic jars". These jars were then ceromoniously put inside of a chest and left in the tomb near the body. Each jar had a lid which depicted on of the four sons of Horus which the individual organ was entrusted to.

The heart was not removed because the ancient Egyptians believed the heart is what managed the body. Therefore it remained intact. It was also to be weighed in the afterlife by the Jackal headed God of death, Anubis. In order to determine if the deceased was worthy of immortality, Anubis, it was said, weighed the heart on a scale to see if the deceased lived their life doing more good than evil. If the scales did not balance, the deceased was then devoured and lost his or her chance of living in bissful immortality.

Linens and sometimes sawdust was used to stuff the cavity of the body. More oils were used during this process and then, finally the body was wrapped with strips of linen cloth. The linens used were considered sacred, and many of them had magical spells written on them.These strips of cloth were also painted with unguents, and as they were wrapped around the body, a number of religious amulets were placed in between the layers. Usually, a scarab was placed over the heart and other symbols all over the body. Each one had a specific purpose to ensure the deceased preservation and well being. Some mummies have been found, with literally hundreds of these amulets.

According to a papyrus that was discovered in the tomb of a noble, Montu-Sebef, two hundred and six jars of fat were boiled down in order to produce the base for some of the oils that were spread over the body. The head was annointed with frankincense and the rest of the body with a "sacred oil".

If the deceased was an important ruler, he was very carefully wrapped, fingers and toes individually, and in some cases, their fingers and toes were encased with gold stalls. Many of these mummies have also been found with beautiful death masks made of pure gold and precious jewels.

The mummies were often placed in coffins then sealed inside a stone sarcophagus to be protected for eternity.

Unfortunately, most of the mummies were not protected for very long. Their tombs were robbed in antiquity and their mummies desecrated in the search for treasures.

Although these ancients may not have achieved immortality in the way they believed, they nevertheless have left an everlasting impression on the modern world. For they have given us the rare opportunity to actually gaze into the faces of some of the most powerful rulers of the ancient world! We have been given the privelige to know them as human beings and not just a name written in stone.

The mummified arm of King Zer, of the First Dynasty which wore the oldest jewelry ever found in Egypt, was thrown away by a curator at the Beluga museum. Only a photo remains.

The mummy of a Fourth Dynasty nobleman, Nefermaat had its flesh removed before his body was wrapped.

Uopn x-raying the mummified body of Lady Teshat, a head was discovered lying in between her legs.

The mummy of an ancient prince has been discovered placed inside a model boat. His tomb was robbed so soon after his burial, that the oils and resins used in the embalming process were still liquid when he was removed from his coffin. This caused them to solidify and glued his mummy inside the boat, where it remains today.

When Queen Tiyes' mummy was first discovered, it was thought by some to belong to Ahkenaten, however uopn unwrapping it and showing it to be female, that theory was quickly disproven. Tiye was also one of the first Queens of Egypt to be discovered and still wore the golden vulture upon her head.

King Tuts' mummy was doused with so much unguent, that he was adhered to the inside of his coffin. His body had to be cut in half in order to be removed and examined. After his examination, he was returned to his tomb in the Valley of the Kings and still lies there inside his sarcophagus.

A total of 143 amulets were found inside the wrappings of King Tuts mummy.

When the French invaded Egypt, under Napoleon, two unknown mummies, a male and a female, were decapitated and their heads sent to Europe for study.

In the 18th century, Mummy "unwrappings" were a favorite party theme for the elite of Europe.

Amenhotep II's mummy showed that his teeth were in very poor condition and he suffered from a peridontal condition.

The word mummia was first used to describe a black resin that dripped from the mountains in Persia. This resin was said to heal wounds instantly and even to mend broken bones. Hence, when the Persians visited Egypt, they associated the black coating of resin on the mummies with mummia. This aslo began a desecration of hundreds of mummies that were grinded into mummy powder and sold as a "cure all.

An unidentified mummy (#1770) from the Greco-Roman period was discovered wearing both female nipple shields and a false phallus.

The mummy of Pharaoh of Tuthmose IV was the first ancient Egyptian to ever ride in a taxi cab! It was being transported to a hospital to be x-rayed.

The mummy of Ramses II still had his distinctive red hair.

X-rays of Ramses II shows he had a massive dental infection that was serious enough to have been the possible cause of his death.

The mummy of Ramses II, perhaps the greatest and powerful Pharaoh of all ancient Egypt, was discovered inside a simple wooden coffin.

Both the Princess Esemkhet and the Princess Mutenahet had their favorite pets mummified, a gazelle and a baboon.

In 1977, a scientist by the name of Svante Paabo, attempted to reproduce DNA from an ancient Egyptian mummy.

The mummy of Seqenere showed wounds to his head, possibly suffered during battle and his hands were distorted as though he died in agony.

The mummy of Siptah shows that his foot was deformed, possibly from polio.

In 1905, the mummy of Set II was unwrapped revealing that he wore two shirts etched with the cartouche of his father, Merneptah. They were embroidered in red and blue thread and were among the first embroidery examples ever found. During the unwrapping, they were handed to a curator, and have not been seen since!

The mummy of Ramses IV had artificial eyes made out of small onions. When the mummy was raised to photograph it, the onions fell to the lower lids and gave an eerie appearance to those present.

Small marks on the mummy of Ramses V indicate he may have suffered from smallpox.

Tutankhamens tomb contained the mummified remains of two fetuses.