Mummification

The mummification process took around 70 days and involved the following steps:

1. The body was washed

2. A cut was made on the left side of the abdomen and the internal organs – intestines, liver, lungs, stomach, were
removed. The heart, which the Ancient Egyptians believed to be the center of emotion and intelligence, was left in the
body for use in the next life.

3. A hooked instrument was used to remove the brain through the nose. The brain was not considered to be important
and was thrown away.

4. The body and the internal organs were packed with natron salt for forty days to remove all moisture.

5. The dried organs were wrapped in linen and placed in canopic jars. The lid of each jar was shaped to represent one of
Horus’ four sons. The picture (below shows from left to right –

Imsety, who had a human head – guardian of the liver

Hapy, who had the head of a baboon – guardian of the lungs

Qebehsenuf, who had the head of a falcon – guardian of the intestines

Duamatef, who had the head of a jackal – guardian of the stomach

6. The body was cleaned and the dried skin rubbed with oil.

7. The body was packed with sawdust and rags and the open cuts sealed with wax
8. The body was wrapped in linen bandages. About 20 layers were used and this took 15 to 20 days.

9. A death mask was placed over the bandages

10. The bandaged body was placed in a shroud (a large sheet of cloth) which was secured with linen strips.

11. The body was then placed in a decorated mummy case or coffin.

Through this process mummies were interred into their tombs. Archeologists continue to find them at excavation sites
throughout areas of ancient Egyptian settlement.

One of the most important amulets was the large, green, heart scarab. The scarab, or dung beetle, was an Egyptian
symbol of rebirth and the endurance of the human soul. The spell inscribed on the scarab amulet contained instructions
to the heart, considered the seat of a person's mind and emotions. By following these instructions, the heart would not
say anything bad about the deceased during the judgment of the soul.

The Egyptians believed the afterlife was a mirror-image of life on earth. When a person died their individual journey did
not end but was merely translated from the earthly plane to the eternal. The soul stood in judgement in the Hall of Truth
before the great god Osiris and the Forty-Two Judges and, in the weighing of the heart, if one's life on earth was found
worthy, that soul passed on to the paradise of the Field of Reeds. The soul was rowed with others who had also been
justified across Lily Lake (also known as The Lake of Flowers) to a land where one regained all which had been thought
lost. There one would find one's home, just as one had left it, and any loved ones who had passed on earlier. Every detail
one enjoyed during one's earthly travel, right down to one's favorite tree or most loved pet, would greet the soul upon
arrival. There was food and beer, gatherings with friends and family, and one could pursue whatever hobbies one had
enjoyed in life.

Work in the Afterlife

In keeping with this concept of the mirror-image, there was also work in the afterlife. The ancient Egyptians were very
industrious and one's work was highly valued by the community. People, naturally, held jobs to support themselves and
their family but also worked for the community. Community service was compulsory in `giving back' to the society which
provided one with everything. The religious and cultural value of ma'at (harmony) dictated that one should think of
others as highly as one's self and everyone should contribute to the benefit of the whole.

The great building projects of the kings, such as the pyramids, were constructed by skilled craftsmen, not slaves, who
were either paid for their skills or volunteered their time for the greater good. If, whether from sickness, personal
obligation or simply lack of desire to comply, one could not fulfill this obligation, one could send someone else to work
in one’s place - but could only do so once. On earth, one's place was filled by a friend, relative, or a person one paid to
take one's place; in the afterlife, however, one's place was taken by a shabti doll.

The Function of the Shabti

Shabti dolls (also known as shawbti and ushabti) were funerary figures in ancient Egypt who accompanied the deceased
to the after-life. Their name is derived from the Egyptian swb for stick but also corresponds to the word for `answer’
(wsb) and so the shabtis were known as `The Answerers’.

The figures, shaped as adult male or female mummies, appear in tombs early on (when they represented the deceased)
and, by the time of the New Kingdom (1570-1069 BCE) were made of stone or wood (in the Late Period they were
composed of faience) and represented an anonymous `worker’. Each doll was inscribed with a `spell’ (known as the
shabti formula) which specified the function of that particular figure. The most famous of these spells is Sp

As the Egyptians considered the after-life a continuation of one’s earthly existence (only better in that it included neither
sickness nor, of course, death) it was thought that the god of the dead, Osiris, would have his own public works projects
underway and the purpose of the shabti, then, was to `answer’ for the deceased when called upon for work. Their
function is made clear in the Egyptian Book of the Dead (also known as The Book of Coming Forth By Day) which is a kind
of manual (dated to c. 1550-1070 BCE) for the deceased providing guidance in the unfamiliar realm of the afterlife.