Wrapping the dead

Speak My Name Investigating Egyptian Mummies Edited by James Fraser, Conni Lord and John Magnussen Sydney University Press Acknowledgement of Country We acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands on which Sydney University Press is located, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and we pay our respects to the knowledge embedded forever within the Aboriginal Custodianship of Country. Cultural safety Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this publication contains names and images of people who have died. It also features digital scans of human remains. Contents List of illustrations Director’s foreword Foreword 6 10 12 1 The Mummy Project at the Chau Chak Wing Museum 14 2 From Egypt to Australia: the Nicholson Collection at the University of Sydney 24 3 Wrapping the dead: mummification in ancient Egypt 36 4 Unwrapping the dead: changing attitudes to mummified remains 44 5 Radiocarbon dating the Nicholson mummies 54 6 The coffin of Meruah: Mistress of the House, Chantress of Amun 62 7 The mummy in the coffin of Meruah 74 8 The coffin of Padiashaikhet: Beloved of the God 84 9 The mummy inside the coffin of Padiashaikhet 92 10 The coffin of Mer-Neith-it-es: Justified 100 11 The mummy inside the coffin of Mer-Neith-it-es 126 12 Horus: a perfect burial 152 13 Creating The Mummy Room at the Chau Chak Wing Museum 174 About the contributors Acknowledgements References Index 190 198 201 204 3 Wrapping the dead: mummification in ancient Egypt Conni Lord and James Fraser Ancient Egyptians believed that death was the beginning of a new phase of life. The preservation of a person’s body by mummification was vital for a successful passage from the world of the living to the world of the dead. However, the physical body was considered only one of several intimately linked components that together comprised someone’s personhood, including their name (ren), their shadow (shwt), their life-force (ka) and their soul (ba). The moment of death violently broke the bond between these elements: the ka (represented by a pair of upstretched arms) was able to leave the burial chamber and consume food offerings in the tomb chapel, and the ba (depicted as a bird with the face of the deceased) was able to travel beyond the tomb itself. The ka and ba could only reunite in death inside the body of the deceased. Mummification was the primary way to preserve the body in a recognisable form so that a person’s ba and ka could find them again.1 Natural and artificial mummification In Egypt, the concept of an afterlife developed at least as early as the Predynastic period (5500–3100 BCE).2 Archaeologists have discovered bodies wrapped in resin-soaked linen and placed in shallow graves with padding to support the head, jaw and hands. Funerary offerings such as jars of food and drink were placed alongside the dead. These bodies were preserved by the hot, dry sand, which enabled the rapid evaporation of body fluids, halting decomposition. Such “natural” mummification was probably the inspiration for later artificial (intentional) mummification, which first appeared around 2600 BCE and was still practised during the Christian period, albeit in a cruder manner and not so widespread. It is possible that mummification, in some form, only ended with the Islamic conquest in 641 CE. However, during the pharaonic period, most Egyptians continued to rely on natural processes to preserve their dead,3 as the high costs of intentional mummification restricted the practice to the social elite.4 We have a good understanding of ancient mummification processes through the direct study of mummified remains, as well as from descriptions provided by classical writers such as Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus who visited Egypt from Greece in the 5th and 1st centuries BCE respectively. Surprisingly few accounts of mummification are known from Egypt itself, and these are mostly concerned with the anointing and wrapping of the body. However, our knowledge of mummification might soon be advanced by the recent translation of a text that gives details of the process, dated to around 1450 BCE, which is 1,000 years earlier than any other known text on the subject.5 Special embalmers performed the process of mummification in several stages over 70 days. Although their techniques varied across the 4,500 years that mummification was practised, they followed certain key steps. 37 Washing the body The body was washed soon after death, as decomposition would begin immediately in the hot Egyptian climate. The deceased was taken to a temporary structure called an ipu en wab (tent of purification) close to the Nile or other water source. Although washing the body was a practical necessity, it also held religious significance, as the life-giving qualities of the water purified the body and assisted rebirth in the afterlife. Removing the brain Internal organs were removed in another structure, called the wabet (pure place) or per-nefer (house of beauty). The brain was extracted by a process known as excerebration. Embalmers usually inserted a chisel through the nose to break the square ethmoid bone at the roof of the nasal passage, allowing them to insert a slim, hooked metal rod through the nose and into the skull. This rod was then agitated to liquefy the brains, and the debris was pulled or drained out through the nose. The brain was not preserved, unlike most other organs, because ancient Egyptians believed that it served little purpose, attributing its functions to the heart. The empty skull cavity was then often packed with cloth. In later periods, liquid resin was poured into the cranium, where it solidified into a mould (endocast) of the skull cavity. 3.1 Removing the lungs, liver, stomach and intestines Next, the embalmers removed the internal organs (viscera), which would otherwise rapidly decay. This process is called evisceration. Using a sharp stone knife, often made from black volcanic obsidian glass, the embalmers made an incision in the left side of the torso through which the liver, lungs, stomach and intestines were removed. The heart was usually left inside the body, as it was believed to shape a person’s intellect, emotions and memory, and would play an essential role when the deceased came to be judged before entering the afterlife. The liver, lungs, stomach and intestines were washed, dried and wrapped. Once preserved, they were placed in four stone or ceramic containers called canopic jars, whose human- or animal-shaped lids depicted the protective deities known as the Four Sons of Horus. The human-headed god Imsety guarded the liver; baboon-headed Hapy the lungs; jackal-headed Duamutef the stomach; and falcon-headed Qebehsenuef the intestines. The jars were then placed in the tomb to accompany the deceased in the afterlife. Scientists have detected traces of diseases by studying the preserved remains inside canopic jars, including parasitic worm infections (such as schistosomiasis and guinea worm) and lung diseases (such as anthracosis and pneumonia).6 38 Figure 3.1 Gold amulet. Ptolemaic period (c. 332–30 BCE). The Wadjet Eye (or Eye of Horus) was a powerful symbol of healing. This amulet was probably placed across the incision made in the torso for the extraction of the organs. It would magically make the body whole again. 1.8 cm long, 3 cm wide. NM65.66, Nicholson Collection, Chau Chak Wing Museum. Figure 3.2 Calcite canopic jar. Late period (c. 664–332 BCE). Inscribed with the name General Ptah-ir-dis, son of Ankh-nes-it-es. Its lid represents Imsety, the humanheaded son of Horus, who protected the liver. 30.2 cm high, 16 cm diameter. NMR.37, Nicholson Collection, Chau Chak Wing Museum. 3.2 39 Drying the body Packing and anointing Once the organs were removed, the body was dried internally and externally to arrest decomposition. This procedure, known as desiccation, was the most timeconsuming portion of the mummification process. The body was laid out on an embalming table that had channels along which the body fluids would drain. Linen bags filled with natural mineral natron salts were placed inside the abdominal cavity, before the body was laid supine (face upwards) and covered with natron to draw out and absorb moisture. The natron was removed after approximately 40 days, leaving the embalmers with a shrunken body covered in hard, dry skin. The embalmers then focused on stabilising the dried body and making it appear lifelike once again. A papyrus called The ritual of embalming attests to the religious significance of this stage of mummification, stating that it was vital for bestowing divine status on the deceased. The body cavities were rinsed, then packed through the evisceration cut with materials such as linen, Nile silt, sawdust or lichen to make the torso appear full again. In the 21st Dynasty (1069– 945 BCE), embalmers went to exceptional lengths to give the body a more lifelike appearance, including inserting packing material under the skin to give the impression of musculature, adding false plaits or hair extensions, and placing false eyes in the sockets. Indeed, the proficiency demonstrated by embalmers at this time is recognised as the pinnacle of mummification in ancient Egypt. The body was then anointed with oils and perfumes to make the hard, dry skin supple and to provide a pleasant fragrance. Wrapping The ankles were often tied in place before the body was wrapped for protection and to keep its form. In the pharaonic period, the head and limbs were bandaged separately, then the body wrapped as a whole with many layers of bandages, into which protective amulets were placed, made from materials such as faience, metal, stone, clay and wax. At several stages the wrappings were often covered with hot resin or mud, which would harden to form a preserving shell or carapace. Finally, the mummy was wrapped in a large shroud, often dyed red to represent the protection of the life-giving rays of the sun, and secured with linen ties. The mummy was now complete: a cocoon from which the deceased would emerge, transfigured and ready to spend eternity in the afterlife under the protection of Osiris, god of the dead. 3.3 40 3.4 Masks Sometimes in the pharaonic period the wrapped mummy was adorned with a mask, such as the famous gold mask of Tutankhamun. For private individuals, masks were most typically made of decorated plaster, or a material known as cartonnage, which was created by gluing together tightly fitting layers of linen or papyrus, usually for use in burial cases. The face of the mask was not an exact likeness of the individual, but rather an idealised image that could still be recognised by the non-physical elements of the deceased, such as their ba and ka. In the Ptolemaic period (332–30 BCE), masks became part of a set of cartonnage coverings, which included a breastplate and foot-case.7 Figure 3.3 Bronze statuette of Osiris in mummiform shape. 26th Dynasty (664–525 BCE). Excavated by Sir Flinders Petrie at Abydos, donated by the Egypt Exploration Society. 14.5 cm high, 3 cm wide. NM25.42.1, Nicholson Collection, Chau Chak Wing Museum. Figure 3.4 Section of cartonnage cover. Ptolemaic period (c. 332–30 BCE). Top panel depicts a mummy on a lion-headed bier (funerary table). The winged ba-bird hovers above, holding an ankh (breath of life), and four canopic jars are stacked below; the goddesses Isis and Nephthys stand at either end. The lower panel contains a central column of hieroglyphs giving a dedication to Osiris. 40 cm long, 13 cm wide. NMR.298, Nicholson Collection, Chau Chak Wing Museum. 41 3.5 3.6 Figure 3.5 Panel from the side of a painted coffin. Thebes, Roman period (c. 50–150 CE). 180 cm long, 25 cm wide. NMR.344, Nicholson Collection, Chau Chak Wing Museum. Read from right to left, it illustrates a successful journey to the afterlife: Mummification: The body is mummified by Anubis, the jackal-headed god of embalming and the dead. Hall of Judgement: Anubis escorts the mummy to the Hall of Judgement. Four deities carry offerings. The Devourer: Ammit the “Devourer” or “Eater of Souls” is ready to destroy the heart of those found unworthy. She is most often shown as part lion, crocodile and hippopotamus, but in this late version of the Judgement scene she is depicted with the body of a lioness and the jaws of a hippopotamus. Weighing of the heart: The heart is weighed against Maat, the goddess of cosmic order and justice. The heart is in a small pot on the right scale. Maat is the kneeling figure on the left scale; she was sometimes represented as the Feather of Truth. The afterlife: The deceased enters the afterlife. He is presented to Sokar-Osiris, god of the underworld, his wife Isis and their son Horus. Figure 3.6 Faience scarab. Late period to Roman period (c. 712 BCE–364 CE). This amulet was probably sewn into bandages, where it would protect the deceased during their journey into the afterlife. 1.2 cm long, 2.1 cm wide. NM2017.179, Nicholson Collection, Chau Chak Wing Museum. 42 Entering the afterlife Although the rituals of mummification preserved their physical remains, a person could only enter the afterlife if their metaphysical being was found worthy in a trial known as the judgement of the dead. This trial took place in the Hall of Two Truths in front of a tribunal of 42 gods, conducted by Anubis (the jackal-headed god of mummification) and presided over by Thoth (the ibisheaded god of writing and wisdom) in front of Osiris (god of the dead). After greeting each god by name, the deceased declared their innocence of the many sins that they may have committed during their life, known as the negative confession. The heart of the deceased was then weighed against a feather, which symbolised Maat, goddess of truth and cosmic order. This was a tense moment, as the heart could betray its owner by being heavier than the feather of Maat. If found unworthy, the deceased could not take their place in the afterlife, and their heart would be devoured by the monster Aamu (also Ammit) the “Devourer” or “Eater of Souls”, a hybrid goddess/demoness with the head of a crocodile, forequarters of a lion and hindquarters of a hippopotamus – three of the most dangerous creatures in the Egyptian world. Fortunately, an amulet known as a heart scarab could be placed on the chest of a mummy to prevent the heart from revealing any of its owner’s earthly misdeeds. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Shaw and Nicholson 2005. Jones, Higham et al. 2014. Jones, Higham et al. 2014. David 2008. Papyrus Louvre-Carlsberg. The mummification section of this text was translated in 2021 and is not yet published. University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Humanities 2021. David 2008. Taylor 2001. 43