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The
ancient Egyptians believed in reincarnation and eternity after the
demise of humans on earth. They have managed to preserve the human body,
due to that belief, for thousands of years through the process of
mummification. Mummies were discovered of both kings and common people
and those found still holds all features in an amazing way. When the
Greek arrived to Egypt, and despite their traditional exhuming of bodies
of the deceased, they also preserved and mummified their dead.
One of the most important sources on the mummification in ancient Egypt
is the famous Greek historian Herodotus who happened to visit Egypt
during the Persian era. He duly mentioned that there were three methods
of mummification in ancient Egypt. The families of the deceased were
usually asked to make a choice on the desired method according to their
financial means.
The first method of mummification was done by extracting the brain from
the skull through the nostrils, then cutting open the left side by an
Ethiopian knife and making a hole of 2-3 centimeter in length to extract
the intestines. The body was immersed in salt of Natroon for a period
not exceeding seventy days.
The second method was to inject the corpse with rice oil to dissolve the
intestines, then immersing the body in salt of Natroon.
The third method was mainly used by the poor and was mainly performed by
injecting the corpse by preservative potions and then delivered to the
family after being immersed in salt of Natroon.
It is noticed that mummification had reached its peak during the era of
the modern State then the process deteriorated in later periods. The
Greek and Roman eras witnessed such prosperity despite the fact that
they gave priority to preserving the outer features of the mummies,
mainly wrappings and caskets. They primarily concentrated on perfecting
the wrapping that took hundreds of meters of linen and forming them in
geometrical units, intermingled with knots and golden buttons. However,
the most impeccable achievement for the artists of the era was to
portray the deceased in a real picture made of melted colored wax on
planks of wood, known as the paintings of Fayoum.
Those paintings were affixed amidst the wrappings on the face of the
deceased and represent a link between the Egyptians who chose to add a
touch of presence and reality on the mummy, a certainly attractive way
to the family of the deceased during this pagan era, so as to give the
impression that their dead are still present among in this earthly
world.
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