![]() Recent scientific studies of mummies and pots used in mummification revealed how methods differed from place to place and weren’t standardised, as previously thought.Įach region had its own embalming workshops where mummies were produced in a complicated and closely guarded ritual. Scientists thought embalming was developed to keep bodies preserved inside coffins.īut chemical tests published in 20 showed that resins and perfumes were already being used to help preserve the skin of the dead over 6,000 years ago, before coffins were common and long before the Old Kingdom era. Mummies from before the Old Kingdom period were thought to have been created naturally by burying bodies in graves cut into the hot, dry sand. These mummies are rare, but they show signs of being specially prepared by embalmers. Mummification is older than archaeologists imaginedįor decades, the oldest known mummies came from the Old Kingdom era (c.2500-2100BC) around the time Egyptians started using coffins more. Here are five of the most important ones that have changed what we know about this ancient process. ![]() ![]() This has mostly been driven by new scientific discoveries. Over the last 10 years, I have seen a big change in our understanding of how, why and when mummies were created. But new discoveries keep challenging scientists’ perception of these ancient rites.Īs a biomedical Egyptologist, I study mummies to learn about life in ancient populations. Perhaps we’re awed by the grandeur of their rituals and tradition. Centuries after the first golden coffins were taken to Europe, ancient Egyptian mummies still vividly capture people’s imaginations.
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