When the linen was delivered, the embalmers selected the highest-quality material and stripped it into long 'bandages' measuring 3 to 8 inches across. The wealthy sometimes used material that had clothed sacred statues, while the lower classes collected old clothing and other household linen. meters) of linen and brought it in to the embalmers. While the deceased was drying in the desert, his or her family gathered roughly 4,000 square feet (372 sq. The body was then ready for the wrapping, or bandaging, procedure.īandaging was a very involved process, and it typically took a week or two to complete. When the body was fully stuffed, the embalmers sewed up the incisions and covered the skin with a resin layer in order to keep moisture out. In some eras, to make the desiccated body more lifelike, the embalmers also stuffed material under the skin in the arms, legs and head. After the 40 days were finished, the body was brought to the Wabet, the 'House of Purification.' The embalmers removed the incense and other stuffing from the body cavity and refilled it with natron, resin-soaked linen and various other materials.

During this waiting period, somebody had to stand guard, as the body's strong odor attracted desert scavengers.

The embalmers left the body in the powder for 35 to 40 days to allow enough time for the body to dry completely. Unlike the hot sand that dried the earliest Egyptian mummies, the salty natron absorbed moisture without severely darkening and hardening the skin. The Egyptians collected this powder, a mixture of sodium compounds, from the shores of Egyptian lakes in the desert west of the Nile Delta. As the Egyptian concept of the afterlife evolved, they began to use more and more elaborate coffins and tombs to protect and honor the dead.Īfter the embalmers removed the organs and re-stuffed the body, they laid the body down on a sloped board and covered it completely with natron powder.

What is a natron ancient egypt