Looking after Mummy

Press, 5 November 1983, Page 17

Looking after Mummy

Probably one of the most popular exhibits in the Canterbury Museum is the Egyptian mummy displayed in the Hall of Human History.

A question often asked about it is, “Why is it called a mummy?” This is the term applied to a body which has been preserved in some way. The word “mummy” comes from the Arabic word for "bitumen” and relates to a method for preserving bodies. So, in fact, mummy is the substance used in embalming and has come to mean the embalmed body itself. Knowledge of the way in which the ancient Egyptians mummified their dead, and their reasons for so doing, is obtained from the works of Greek historians and from an examination of mummies themselves.

The Egyptians believed in a life after death and thought that the soul, after performing various tasks and having passed through various transformations, would reinhabit the body. This meant that the relatives of thd deceased were obliged to preserve the body by the best means at their command and to deposit it in a secure resting place. According to Herodotus, three months were available. The most expensive was as follows: The brains were drawn out through the nostrils, partly with an iron hook and partly by an infusion of drugs. Then, with a sharp stone, an incision was made in the left side and the viscera removed. The abdomen was cleaned and rinsed with palm-wine, sprinkled with powdered perfumes, filled with myrrh, cassia, and other spices, and sewn up again. The body was then steeped in natron for up to 70 days. At the end of that time the body was removed, washed, and wrapped in linen bandages smeared with gum. The entrails were placed in a set of four Canopic jars made of stone, terra-

cotta or wood, each jar provided with a lid made in the shape of the deity to whom the contents were dedicated. These were the four children of Horus, the genii of the

dead. The stomach and large intestine were dedicated to Amset (manheaded), the small intestines to Hapi (dog-headed), the lungs and heart to Tuamautef (jackalheaded), and the liver ana gallbladder to Qebhsennuf (hawkheaded.) It was important to preserve the intestines intact; without them future life was impossible. In the second and cheaper method the abdomen was injected with cedar oil without making an incision and the body then steeped in natron for 70 days. The third method involved only rinsing the abdomen and then steeping in natron.

Other accounts agree with those of Herodotus in most respects, but some give other details. An examination of Egyptian mummies shows that these accounts are generally correct, for mummies are found with and without ventral incisions, some are preserved by means of balsams and gums and others by bitumen and resin. Skulls of mummies exist which contain absolutely nothing, proving that the embalmers were able to remove the brain and membranes without injuring the bridge of the nose. Where bitumen has been used it has penetrated the bones so completely that it is difficult to distinguish between bone and bitumen.

The mummy in the Museum is that of Ta-seps-pen-khonsu, a woman of high rank during the Ptolemaic period. It was obtained at Ekhmeen, Upper Egypt, by Mr John Tinline and presented by him in 1888.

Also displayed in the Hall of Human History are two mummified cats, a Canopic jar from a grave in Thebes, with a hawkheaded lid and a lid in the form of a human head.

By

S. E. BURRAGE