Things you didn’t know about mummies

We have all heard about mummies which reside in the Egyptian Pyramid. But let’s know certain facts about them. So next time you go to Egypt, you can boast of having a good knowledge of mummies and even explain it to people around.

The word ‘mummy’ was derived from the word ‘mumiya’, which means a black tar-like substance. It was actually given by the Arabs when they invaded Egypt. A mummy is a dead body or dead human preserved with the help of embalming. Embalming is a process where the body cavities are filled with resin and spice and then the bodies are immersed in a soda solution. Then the body is preservaed in a canopic jar. An embalmer’s job was considered to be a very respectable job by the Egyptians and was handed over from father to son. The heart, which was considered to be centered on intelligence and memory was removed from the body and mummified separately.

Though this process was banned by the Christians, the Egyptians still continued it for several centuries. Mummification was carried out with the belief that there is a life after death, and also thought that this method gave peace to the souls of the dead. And since it was concerned with life after death, bodies were stored along with valuable things in the tomb. So there were many people who broke in and tried to steal the valuables. They would break the mummy into pieces and run away with the jewellery.  They were called ‘tomb robbers’. Though originally started to preserve the bodies of kings and queens as a respect, this routine moved onto their retinue. Then later, even some sacred animals like dogs, cats, and cows were mummified.

Mummies in the upper Egypt that are more than 5000 years old still have bones, skin and hair present. Lower Egypt mummies perish very easily. Mummification was not just limited to Egyptians. Greeks and Romans who resided in Egypt were also mummified and the year1600-1700 saw many tourists who visited Egypt take away some mummies to treasure and display in their homes. The ancient Egyptian’s life was studied by certain doctors and scientists who tried to extract the DNA of the mummies to find specific patterns.

Now that you know things about mummies, you can go to The Pyramids with an open mind and know more about them with the knowledge already acquired.