This final procedure being the ‘mummification’ process. After a period of drying out of approximately 60 days the body would then be wrapped in cloth. The body would be left to dry and then coated in a substance called Natron which acts as a preservative (Sodium based chemical, not dissimilar from Salt in some respects). The space in which there had once been the vital organs would be stuffed and the body sewn back up. The brain was then thrown away (some Egyptian physicians believed that the brain was responsible for pumping blood and that the heart was the organ responsible for thought and emotion, hence it being discarded). The brain would be removed from the head by inserting a hook through the nostril and pulling it out through the nose. These would be placed in canopic jars close to the coffin (sarcophagus). The body would be cut open and the heart, lungs, liver and spleen removed. In general the following would form part of the process: A result of this dedication to ensuring safe passage to the afterlife is that it is impossible to describe a ‘typical’ mummification or embalming procedure as it changed gradually over the years. Embalming and mummification were intended solely to ensure a safe journey to the afterlife. It almost certainly was not the intention of the Egyptians to use the bodies to advance their knowledge of the human body. Religious belief was at the centre of the whole process. Such was the strength of this belief that much time and energy was put into experimentation with preservation techniques. The body HAD to be preserved to reach the afterlife.
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