Head of an Egyptian mummy still wrapped in its bandages • ISTOCKPHOTO For the ancient Egyptians, physical death was an ambiguous state, which could have two opposite consequences:bring about the "second death", that is to say total and irreversible annihilation, or be only a transitory phase in a process of transfiguration leading to survival. The second possibility – it is quite understandable! – was the most seductive. But access to survival, far from being automatic, required a minimum and imperative condition:that the body of the deceased be preserved in its anatomical coherence. It is this fundamental idea that explains the practices of mummification in Pharaonic Egypt. In the first place, dislocation of the body, in particular detachment, namely the separation of the head, must be avoided. The corpse, restored or maintained in its original organization, then undergoes a series of treatments to make it suitable for transfiguration through the rite and access to survival. Because a corpse is fundamentally subject to two contradictory tendencies:either it tends to putrefy, a process which leads to its disintegration, or it can dry out, which, under optimal conditions, leads to a state of conservation compatible with the requirements of the survival. Mummification plays on these two tendencies, fighting against the first and favoring the second. Brain porridge The organs that the ancient Egyptians considered most vulnerable to putrefaction were the brain and the viscera. Also, excerebration and evisceration were among the basic processes of mummification. Excerebration was generally practiced by extracting the brain through the nose using a hook. It had to be crushed by kneading it, before introducing a solvent and letting the resulting slurry flow out. Resin was then put in its place, mixed with vegetable tar and charcoal. Often, the brain was left in place, and the dura mater (the outer membrane) remained desiccated. Evisceration is an action of prime importance. Intestinal bacteria, in fact, are quick to spread and cause corruption. Also, the body was very often – but not always – eviscerated. There were two methods of evisceration. The first was the injection through the anus of a liquid that accelerated the decomposition of the viscera until they were evacuated. The second consisted in extracting the entrails through an incision made in the left flank, hence easier access to the intestines while avoiding the obstacle of the liver. The slit was closed afterwards with a metal plate, preferably gold, or a film of red wax, possibly decorated with the eye of Horus. Four gods for the viscera After their extraction, the viscera were bathed for some time in solutions of cooked wine and aromatics, or natron. They could then have two different spells. According to an ancient tradition, they were to be separated from the body. Gradually the custom spread of placing them in four vases, called canopic jars, placed near the mummy, often inside a chest. Each of these four vases was protected by one of the four sons of Horus, called Douamoutef (with the head of a canine), Qebehsenouf (with the head of a falcon), Imset (with a human head) and Hâpy (with the head of a monkey). From the XXI th dynasty (1069-945 BC), a different practice dictated that the viscera be replaced in the mummy, once the desiccation phase was completed. Also read:Mummies:traffic for entertainment and for science In the body cavity cleared of the viscera were introduced solvent products. After they had washed the interior, they were collected and mixed with aromatic substances to be kept apart, often in a separate pit from the tomb. Then, a stuffing was introduced in which all comers – moss, sawdust, lint, mud, ashes – mixed with resin, myrrh, aromatics (notably nicotine, found in the mummy of Ramses II, and which had nothing to do with the Cigars of the Pharaoh !). Often the phallus was mummified with the body, but it was sometimes detached from it. A mummified frog was then placed between the legs. The batrachian was considered the paragon of the sudden leap out of the inert, and therefore was not welcome to magically cause the erection post-mortem of the deceased? Only the heart remains in its place The ability to move in the afterlife was one of the many purposes of the rites. Hence the attention paid to the feet. These were often provided with sandals. The toes of royal mummies were protected by sheaths. In Greco-Roman times, the feet were covered with cardboard in the shape of boots. As for the head, it was placed on a support (piece of leather, oval of cane or fabric) called "hypocephalus". The face was often covered with a mask of wood, plaster, fabric, or even gold like that of Tutankhamun. Otherwise, it was painted with a layer of gold, considered divine flesh. The heart did not share the fate of the viscera. Seat of psychic and moral life, simultaneously consciousness, intellect, will and affect, it absolutely had to remain in its place, because it controlled the flow of blood and air ensuring the connection of the different parts. of the body during life and, by extension – it was hoped – after death. A beetle was placed on him, often bearing a formula of protection, and held on the mummy by strips or suspended from the neck of the deceased, or even inserted in a pectoral. A natron toilet This is how to fight against putrefaction. Here is now how to promote desiccation. The skin was very carefully washed by immersing the body. Then came the treatment with natron, a mixture of carbonate and baking soda, with traces of sodium sulphate. It was brought into contact with the flesh, both from the outside, by rubbing the skin with tampons, and from the inside, by stuffing the eviscerated body cavity with sachets which were filled with it. Late in time, ingredients with brutal effects were resorted to, such as cedar oil. Rather than drying out the flesh, these ingredients dissolved it, which explains the very poor condition of some late period mummies. Also read:The pharaohs, these infirm and sick gods Then, the body was wrapped in several superimposed layers of bandages, impregnated with various substances supposed to ensure impenetrability to possible attacks from the environment and mask foul odors. These balms were composed of oils, aromatic wines, pitch, myrrh, diterpene and triterpene resins, beeswax, labdanum and tannins. Late in time, bitumen from Sinai or the Dead Sea was used. Hence the black coloring of the mummies. Due to the substances with which the bandages were impregnated, mummies ground into a powder became an ingredient of choice in the pharmacopoeia of the Middle Ages, under the name of mumia . Finally, amulets representing deities or protective symbols were frequently inserted between these different envelopes. Open the seven holes So much care required made mummification a long and delicate undertaking when cared for. To carry out this noble task, corporations of specialists were formed. The ungratifying smell that escaped from their pharmacies was reminiscent of that of salted fish. The same Greek word "taricheute" also designated the specialist in embalming and that of salting! Once completed, the mummy was the subject of a long ritual, culminating in the rite of the opening of the mouth. It consisted of making the seven orifices of the face operative in the afterlife by touching them with an adze and other instruments, such as the snake-shaped one called ourthekaou . The mummy was then inserted into a coffin, then into a wooden sarcophagus, which, eventually, was placed in a stone basin. Thus ended the mummification, the process of which should theoretically take place in 70 days, an ideal figure representing seven times a decade, the basic duration in the periodicity of laborious activities. Find out more • Rites and beliefs of eternity, I. Franco, Pygmalion, 1993.• Death and Beyond in Ancient Egypt, J. Assmann, Editions du Rocher, 2003. Timeline 3000-2635 BC. AD Thinite period. The first pharaohs are buried in mastabas (mud brick tombs).2635-2140 BC. AD Old Kingdom. Pharaohs are buried in pyramids, and their corpses are processed for preservation.2022-1784 BC. AD Middle Kingdom. Mummification techniques are refined and diversified according to the social status of the deceased.1539-1069 BC. AD New Kingdom. The pharaohs are buried in Thebes (Valley of the Kings), after having benefited from a very elaborate mummification.650-30 BC. Late Period and Ptolemaic period. The practice of mummification affects sacred animals and their congeners.392 apr. AD Traditional religion and mummification are abandoned with the adoption of Christianity by the Roman emperors. Mummies displayed at banquets The Greek historian Herodotus, who visited Egypt in the middle of the 5th th century BC. J.-C., showed a particular interest in mummification techniques, which he described in great detail in his History . In this book, he tells a curious anecdote. At the end of banquets where high society gathered, a man would pass into a coffin a wooden effigy, perfectly carved and painted to imitate a mummy, and measuring in total one or two "cubits" (an Egyptian measurement of about 0.45 meters). He showed it to each participant saying:“Look and then drink and have fun, because when you die, you will be like that. » From Home to Grave Once the mummification was completed, the deceased was transported to his final resting place in the necropolis. A large procession left the house. At the head, servants loaded with food offerings, flowers and furniture for the tomb. The canopic jars containing the viscera were transported on one sledge, the coffin with the mummy on another. Arrived in front of the tomb, the procession was welcomed by groups of dancers and mourners, called mouou . The mummy was erected in front of the tomb. Then a priest called setem celebrated the rite of the opening of the mouth by pronouncing this formula:“Your mouth is at your disposal. Your mouth has been opened for you. Your eyes have been opened for you with the adze of meteoritic iron. » The destructive passion of unwrapping In the 19th th century, an Egyptomaniac fever spreads in Europe, and the unswaddling of mummies becomes a social event. On this occasion, experts gave lectures on the processes of mummification, while unwrapping mummies, which found themselves damaged beyond repair. Even the mummies of pharaohs suffered this fate. In 1881, Gaston Maspero, director of the Egyptian Antiquities service in Cairo, removed the bandages that wrapped the body of the pharaoh Thutmose III to exhibit it in front of a curious audience. Only these bandages had maintained the dislocated body in its coherence. Faced with this disaster, Maspero began to sew up the envelope and had the broken up remains stored in a store.
