How did the Egyptians mummify a body

A. By using special processes, developed over 3,000 years, which removed all moisture from the body, leaving only a dried form that wouldn’t decay easily.

First, all internal parts that decay rapidly were removed. The brain was removed using special hooked instruments, inserted up through the nostrils. The embalmers then removed the chest and abdomen organs through a cut usually made on the left side of the body. The heart was left in place, as the Egyptians believed it was the centre of a person's being and intelligence. The organs were preserved in jars and buried with the mummy.

Then, the embalmers removed all moisture from the body using natron, a type of salt, which has great drying properties. The body was covered with natron and packets of it were placed inside the body.

Finally, the famous bandages were applied; each mummy needed hundreds of yards of linen. The priests carefully wound the long strips of linen around the body, at several points the mummy was coated with warm resin.

Q. Why doesn't a mummified body decompose

A. Normally a body starts to decompose within hours of death and is reduced to a skeleton after a few months by bacteria, which need heat and water to thrive.

The Egyptians realised that decomposition works from the inside out, and that by removing as much internal soft tissue as possible and then drying out the carcass with natron, they could replicate the natural preservative conditions of the arid desert, where the oldest Egyptian graves are found. These naturally produced mummies, desiccated by the sand, are thought to have inspired the Egyptian to develop their infamous burial technique.

Q. Where does the word 'mummy' come from

A. It was coined by early Arabic travellers visiting Egypt who thought that the black resin coating the wrapped bodies was bitumen. The Arabic word for bitumen is 'mummiya'.

Q. Are mummies always Egyptian

A. No, in the past bodies were embalmed in other parts of the world, notably in South America and China. Naturally preserved bodies are also found in the right environmental conditions: within cold and arid glaciers and in oxygen-depleted peat bogs.

There was also a mummification revival in the 19th and 20th centuries; famous modern mummies include Lenin and Eva Peron.

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by Lisa Cardy