HISTORY
Funerals and burial
Osiris Osiris, depicted as a mummified pharaoh, was god of the afterlife.
Egyptians departed this world with all their home comforts Long before their deaths, wealthy Egyptians would build their tombs and pile them high with things they would need in the afterlife. From tables and chairs to chariots, jewellery and mummified pets, they could guarantee that their spirit would never want for anything. Food was just as important in the afterlife as it had been in their worldly one, so copious amounts of wine, fruit and grains were also buried with the dead. Even meat was included, which was often salted or even mummified to prevent it from rotting. If the worst came to the worst, they could always paint food on the walls – the Ancient Egyptians believed that in the land of the dead, depictions were just as edible as the physical products.
Also placed in the tomb were shabtis. These were small figurines, often made from clay, wood or stone, which would act as servants in the afterlife. Some people were buried with just one or two, whereas others – like Pharaoh Taharqa – were buried with over a thousand. Poorer Egyptians had less elaborate tombs, while those at the very bottom of society were simply wrapped in cloth and buried in the desert with everyday objects like pots and perhaps a weapon of some kind. But everyone, rich or poor, was given a ceremony, as this was considered necessary in order for his or her spirit to pass to the underworld. Wealthy Egyptians were given an elaborate funeral, during which the body of the dead was
A funeral fit for a pharaoh
carried to the tomb accompanied by a procession of mourners and dancers. Two women called ‘kites’ were also present, whose job it was to mourn overtly. According to Ancient Egyptian religion, the greater a showing of grief, the better the soul would fare in the Hall of Judgement. At the tomb, a priest performed the ‘Opening of the Mouth’ ceremony, in which the mummy was propped upright and a ceremonial blade pressed against the mouth. This would enable them to breathe, talk and eat in the afterlife. The action was repeated on the eyes and limbs to allow the spirit to see and move. The coffin was placed in a sarcophagus, offerings left, prayers recited and the tomb sealed.
Death mask
These elaborate send-offs prepared the body for the lands of the living and the dead
A funerary mask resembling the deceased ensures that the spirit will be able to recognise its body.
Funeral procession
Into the coffin
A procession of mourners carries the coffin and grave goods to the tomb. Some of the mourners are paid to weep loudly throughout.
A painted ‘cartonnage’ case is attached to the mummy, then it is placed in a ‘suhet’ (coffin).
Sarcophogus
Opening of the Mouth
Sealed with a spell
The coffin is placed in a sarcophagus – an alabaster box designed to provide extra protection.
At the tomb, a priest performs the Opening of the Mouth ceremony, allowing the deceased to breathe and speak in the afterlife.
Both the sarcophagus and tomb are sealed before the priest casts a spell to protect them, known as the Curse of the Pharaohs.
Tutankhamun’s meteorite dagger In June, researchers announced that a dagger found by Howard Carter in the tomb of Tutankhamun appeared to be made with iron from a meteorite. The blade had puzzled archaeologists for
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decades, as ironwork was rare in Ancient Egypt and the metal had not rusted. An X-ray fluorescence spectrometer was used to discover its chemical composition. The high nickel content, as well as the presence
of cobalt “strongly suggests an extra-terrestrial origin,” and similar levels have in fact been found in a meteorite that crashed 240 kilometres west of Alexandria before or during the time of Tutankhamun.
The iron blade (right) is believed to be made from a meteorite
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