Mummification Research Paper

According to the lectures and “Gardner’s Art Through the Ages- The Western Perspective”, the Egyptians held many burial customs that changed throughout their time. The deceased were placed in mud-brick tombs called mastabas. Then the process of mummification was developed to preserved the bodies. Mummification was difficult and expensive, so it was reserved for the pharaohs. The pharaohs were buried in pyramids. The pharaohs went through a 70 day process for their burials. Their internal organs, except the heart, were removed & put in canonic jars. The brain was removed through the nose with a small pipe, but unlike the other organs it was not preserved. The body would be treated with natron, to draw out the moisture. The corpse would be washed

The Pharaoh’s Khufu, Khafre, & Menkaure were kept in the Great Pyramids in Gizeh, Egypt. The shape of the pyramid results from the powerful cult of RA, Heliopolis. There pyramids were built by ashlar masonry and required 75 years of construction. Gangs of 100,000 men worked for three months, they were treated rather well with housing and medical attention for a productive construction. Khufu’s burial chamber was in the middle of his pyramid. His sarcophagus was large & made of granite, the pyramid was built around it. There were other smaller chambers connected by maze passages, which held the queen, organs, and burial goods. His pyramid was robbed. The Pharaoh Tutankhamen had his body in three different coffins which were shaped as king as Osiris. Two of his coffins were made of wood and the other of gold; they all lay in large stone sarcophagus. The last coffin had lapis lazuli and enamel designs. He had a golden facial mask, to be recognized by ancestors in the afterlife. Unlike past pharaohs, he was buried in the Valley of Kings. So his tomb was untouched. In the Old Kingdom, they used mastabas then pyramids to keep the tombs of the Pharaohs. Mummification was reserved for royals. They focused more on preserving the body than anything else. While in the New Kingdom, Pharaohs no longer used pyramids as their burial places; instead they were buried in the Valley of the Kings. They were also able to perfect the