History Embalmed

Death, Burial and the Afterlife

The Tutankhamun London exhibition includes information, housed in galleries, based on various themes including Death, Burial and the Afterlife. Comprehensive facts and information on Death, Burial and the Afterlife can be accessed by our sitemap. But this page details fast facts and info that we hope will 'wet your appetite' for Ancient Egyptian History and the Tutankhamun London Exhibition including Death, Burial and the Afterlife.

  • Death, Burial and the Afterlife
  • Interesting facts about King Tut with Key People and Events
  • Fast facts about Tutankhamun
  • Life in Ancient Egypt
  • Interesting Facts and History about King Tut
  • Facts, Information and important people

Death, Burial and the Afterlife

Fact 1

 

The Death Rituals practised by the Ancient Egyptians included embalming and mummification

Fact 2

 

Mummification was the process of preserving and embalming a dead body in the belief that the body would be necessary in the Ancient Egyptian afterlife

Fact 3

 

During mummification incisions were made into the body and the stomach, liver, lungs and intestines were removed. The organs were stored in special alabaster containers called canopic jars

Fact 4

 

Mummies were created by covering the body with layers with linen shrouds coated with resin. Linen bandages were used to bind the extremities

Fact 5

 

Removal of the brain - a hook was inserted into the nostrils and through the nose which punctured the brain. The corpse was turned on its side and the brain fluid drained out of the corpse

Fact 6

 

70 days following the death of a person an elaborate funeral procession headed towards the tomb of the deceased. The jackal masked impersonator of the god Anubis was a key figure in these death rituals

Fact 7

 

Opening of the Mouth Ceremony was one of the most important Death Rituals of the Ancient Egyptians. The believed that this ceremony revived the mummified senses of the deceased so that he could eat, drink and speak in the next world.

Fact 8

 

Death rituals often ended with a feast and a celebration as the deceased had started their journey into the glorious afterlife

Fact 9

 

The Underworld was a land of great dangers through which every Egyptian would need to pass through after death

Fact 10

 

The Ancient Egyptians believed that each person was thought to have three souls - the Ka, the Ba and the Akh

Fact 11

 

A 'guidebook', such as the Book of the Dead, contained spells and instructions to ensure safe passage through the dangers of the Underworld

Fact 12

 

The Book of the Dead contained nearly 200 different spells which were designed to help with the tests and trials that would be met in the Underworld.

Fact 13

 

The journey through the Underworld culminated in the day of judgement in the Hall of the Two Truths where the  deceased was led to a great set of scales where his heart, containing the deeds of their lifetime, was weighed against the feather of truth. The fate of the deceased would then be decided - either entrance into the perfect afterlife or to be sent to the Devourer of the Dead...

Fact 14

 

The fate of the deceased would then be decided - either entrance into the perfect afterlife or to be sent to the Devourer of the Dead

Fact 15

 

The Afterlife was referred to as the Field of Rushes or Field of Offerings

Fact 16

 

The Pharaoh would join the realms of the gods and all others would enter Everlasting Paradise in the Afterlife.

Fact 17

 

In the Afterlife the life of the deceased was mirrored but there were no problems there was only happiness. The afterlife was seen as a perfect existence in an ideal version of Egypt

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