Egyptian mummles. 대영박물관(The British Museum). 런던(London)

Egyptian mummles. 대영박물관(The British Museum).

런던(London). 영국(England)

britishmuseum.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roman Period, AD 100-120
Mummy of Artemidorus

The mummy of Artemidorus was discovered by Flinders Petrie in 1888, together with the mummies of another Artemidorus (probably the father) and a woman named Themoutharin (now in the Manchester and Cairo Museums respectively).

 

CAT scanning has revealed that the skeleton and soft tissues are well preserved. Radiating fractures on the rear of the skull indicate a heavy blow to the back of the head. If inflicted before death, this could have proved fatal; alternatevely it may have been caused by careless handling in the embalmers' workshop.

 

  

Radiographic images showing the mummy of Artemidorus within his coffin. The brain and internal organs have been removed.

Photos : Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, London.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preserving the body

Extraction of the internal organs

 

The internal organs are the parts of the body that decay most rapidly after death, and had to be removed quickly so that mummification would be successful.

From the early Old Kingdom (about 2,600 BC), extraction of the organs of the chest and abdomen was a standard element of Egyptian mummification.

In the most sophisticated technique of embalming, as described by the Greek author Herodotus, these organs were romoved through an incision made in the left flank using a stone blade. A less expensive process involved removal through the anus using a strong emetic which dissolved the organs. The use of both techniques has been confirmed through the examination of actual mummies.

 

Romoval of the brain was occasionally performed during the Middle Kingdom, but appears to have become standard only in the New Kingdom (from about 1,550 BC). The commonest technique was to insert a small chisel into the left nostril, perforating the bone at the top of the nose. A hooked metal rod was inserted into the skull cavity to break up the brain tissue, which was then extracted through the nose.

 

Computer generated image of the head of the mummy of Tjentmutengebtiu from Thebes (about 900 BC).

A mass of linen (here coloured purple) was inserted to fill the skull cavity after the extraction of the brain.

Photo : St. Thomas' Hospital, London.

 

Bronze probe

Probably Late Periiod. after 664 BC

Provenance unknown

 

The shape and dimensions of the rod sugest that it may have been used in mummification, to extract the brain via the nose

 

Bronze tweezers

Probably Late Period, after 664 BC

Provenance unknown

 

Tweezers in different sizes have been found among embalmers' tools.

 

Incision plates

From the New Kingdom (about 1550-1295 BC) onwards, it became customary to cover the incision which was made in the left flank to extract the internal organs. Early examples of these 'incision plates' were leaf-shaped and made of gold foil. In the Third Intermediate Period (about 1070-664 BC) the incision plate was usually rectangular and was often made of white metal or wax. It bore an image of the wedjat eye. This was the eye of the god Horus, which according to mythology, was injured and subsequently healed. The image of the eye acted as a powerful protection, and a means of 'healing' the wound unavoidably made in order to preserve the corpse.

 

Incision plate of red was

Third Intermediate Period, about 1070-664 BC

 

Three incision plates of white metal, perhaps tin

Third Intermediate Period, about 1070-664 BC.

 

Flint knife

Prehistoric period, before about 3100 BC

Provenance unknown

 

A stone knife was used to make the incision in the left flank, through which the internal organs were extracted.

 

Drying and anointing the body

The drying effect of the desert was responsible for the excellent preservation of predynastic bodies buried directly in the ground (see Room 64). With the introduction of stone-built tombs and coffins, it became necessary to find another method of extracting moisture from the body. To achieve this, the embalmers used a naturally occuring compound of sodium salts known as natron. Samples of ancient natron frequently contain a high proportion of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. Some samples, including those displayed here, consist almost entirely of sodium chloride (common salt).

 

The natron was used in powder form, and was packed inside and around the body. After about 35-40 days it was removed; experiments have shown that natron rich in sodium carbonate and bicarbonate dries a body in about 40 days and that sodium chloride is only slightly less efficient. The body was subsequently covered with conifer resin, beeswax and sometimes bitumen, to exclude moisture. The plant resin used in mummification is identical with the incense used in Egyptian ritual, and may have symbolically conferred divine status on the deceased.

 

Scenes of mummification painted on a coffin from El-Hibs, about 600 BC,

Photo: Pelizaeus-Museum, Hildesheim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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