Freaky Facts About Ancient Egyptian Mummification That You Don’t Know

The ancient Egyptians believed that when they died they needed their bodies to carry their soul to the afterlife and so, their bodies needed to be preserved.

This fascinating process was by no means an easy task and was a crucial religious ritual for the ancient civilization. Prepare to be impressed by this 5,000 year old embalming ritual.

Only for the Rich

Mummification was generally practiced among royal families and members of high society. As the process was so expensive, not everyone availed but royal officials and members of the nobility did receive the mummification rituals as well as the royal family members themselves.

Priests in Masks Carried Out the Embalming

The lucky person and chief embalmer that got to carry out this grisly task was a high priest. During the process, the priest wore a mask of Anubis who was the jackal headed god of the dead.

Anubis was closely associated with mummification and embalming, hence priests wore the mask of this god while carrying out the whole mummification practice.

It Wasn’t Only the Egyptians Who Carried Out Mummification

Mummies have also been found in other regions of the world outside of Egypt, dating back thousands of years. Evidence of mummification has been discovered in Mexico and South America.

The oldest known mummies that archaeologists have found come from Chile, and some people in Papua New Guinea still practice their own form of mummification today.

It Was a Long and Tedious Process, Taking 70 Days for One Person

The whole mummification process took a whopping 70 days. The priests worked tiresomely on embalming the body, carrying out rituals and prayers to be performed at particular stages of the mummification.

The body needed to be both physically and spiritually prepared for the afterlife as well as being arranged for the funerary practices.