Ancient Egyptian mummification was a 70-day process that transformed a dead body into a preserved vessel for the afterlife. It involved removing internal organs, drying the body with natural salts, applying resins and oils, wrapping it in linen, and performing rituals to prepare the deceased for eternity. The process was carried out by specialized priests and embalmers, and the level of care varied dramatically based on what a family could afford.
The 70-Day Timeline
The full mummification procedure split roughly into two halves. The first 35 or so days focused on preparing and drying the body. The second half involved applying aromatic preservatives, wrapping the body in linen, and placing protective amulets. The 70-day period wasn’t arbitrary: it aligned with the cycle of the star Sirius disappearing from and returning to the night sky, which Egyptians tied to death and rebirth.
Removing the Brain
One of the earliest steps was extracting the brain, which Egyptians considered unimportant for the afterlife. The most common technique involved inserting a long metal tool up through the nose to break through the cribriform plate, a thin piece of bone separating the nasal cavity from the skull. Once punctured, embalmers used the tool to break up the brain tissue, then tipped the body forward to drain it out. CT scans of mummies consistently confirm this method: researchers can identify the telltale fracture in the ethmoid bone that the tool left behind.
A less common alternative involved removing the brain through the foramen magnum, the large opening at the base of the skull. Only a handful of mummies show evidence of this technique, and scholars still don’t fully understand when or why it was chosen. Some mummies show no sign of brain removal at all, with the brain left to shrink and harden inside the skull over time.
Organ Removal and the Canopic Jars
After the brain, embalmers made an incision along the left side of the abdomen to remove four organs: the liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines. Each organ was dried, treated with preservatives, and stored in its own canopic jar. The lids of these jars represented the four sons of Horus, each assigned as a guardian. Imsety, with a human head, protected the liver. Hapy, with an ape head, guarded the lungs. Dwamutef, jackal-headed, watched over the stomach. Qebhsenuef, falcon-headed, protected the intestines.
The heart was deliberately left in place. Egyptians believed it was the seat of intelligence and personality, and the deceased would need it for judgment in the afterlife. During the weighing of the heart ceremony, the god Anubis would place the heart on a scale against the feather of Ma’at, the goddess of truth. A heart heavier than the feather meant the soul was devoured; a balanced scale meant passage to eternal life.
Drying the Body With Natron
With the organs removed, embalmers packed and surrounded the body with natron, a naturally occurring mineral salt found in dried lake beds across Egypt. Natron is primarily sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate, with traces of regular salt and sodium sulfate mixed in. It works by pulling moisture out of tissue, and without moisture, the bacteria responsible for decomposition cannot survive.
The body sat packed in dry natron for roughly 35 to 40 days. There has been long-standing debate about whether the Egyptians used natron as a dry powder or dissolved it in a liquid bath. Modern experiments strongly favor the dry method. Submerging a body in liquid would be counterproductive to the goal of dehydration. By the end of the drying period, the body had lost most of its water weight, leaving skin leathery and taut against the bones.
Resins, Oils, and Preservatives
Once dried, the body was washed, and embalmers began applying a complex mixture of natural preservatives. These weren’t just symbolic. They had genuine antimicrobial properties that helped prevent further decay. The ingredients included coniferous resins from pine, cedar, and juniper trees, along with gum resins like myrrh and frankincense. Embalmers also used vegetable oils, animal fats, beeswax, mastic resin, and bitumen (a tar-like substance).
Recent chemical analysis of mummies has confirmed this inventory by identifying the specific compounds these materials leave behind. Researchers have detected terpenoids characteristic of juniper oil, myrrh, and frankincense, along with compounds tied to pine and cedar resin. Some analyses have even identified traces of thyme, lavender, and eucalyptus. The body cavities were stuffed with linen, sawdust, or dried plant material to restore a lifelike shape before the next stage began.
Wrapping and Placing Amulets
The wrapping stage was meticulous. Embalmers wound strips and sheets of linen around the body, starting with individual fingers and toes and working outward to the limbs, torso, and head. Multiple layers built up over days, with warm resin applied between layers to hold everything together and add another barrier against moisture and insects.
Amulets were tucked between the layers at specific locations, each carrying a distinct protective purpose. A CT scan of one well-preserved mummy (nicknamed the “Golden Boy”) revealed 49 amulets of 21 different types placed throughout the wrappings. These included the Eye of Horus for healing and protection, scarab beetles symbolizing rebirth, and the djed pillar representing stability and the spine of Osiris. Three amulets were placed inside the torso cavity itself. A gold tongue amulet was placed inside the mouth to ensure the deceased could speak in the afterlife. Artificial eyes made of stone were sometimes inserted into the eye sockets, a practice confirmed by CT scans of mummies from the 25th Dynasty (around 700 BCE).
The Opening of the Mouth
Before burial, priests performed the Opening of the Mouth ritual on the finished mummy or its coffin. The purpose was to symbolically reactivate the senses: to let the deceased eat, drink, breathe, and speak in the afterlife. Priests touched the mouth and eyes of the mummy with ritual instruments, including a chisel and a distinctive fishtail-shaped blade called the pesesh-kef. Ancient texts describe the chisel as the tool “by which is opened the mouth of the Gods.” The ritual transformed the mummy from a preserved body into what Egyptians saw as a living vessel for the soul, modeled after Osiris, the god of the dead.
How Social Class Changed the Process
The full 70-day procedure with organ removal, natron drying, expensive resins, and elaborate wrapping was reserved for royalty and the wealthy elite. The Greek historian Herodotus, writing around 450 BCE, described three tiers of mummification that embalmers offered to grieving families.
The most expensive option included everything described above: brain removal, careful extraction of organs into canopic jars, natron drying, imported resins, and fine linen wrapping. The middle tier skipped the abdominal incision entirely. Instead, embalmers injected cedar oil into the body cavity to dissolve the organs internally, then drained the liquid after the natron drying period. The cheapest option involved little more than rinsing out the intestines and packing the body in natron for the standard drying period, with minimal wrapping and no resins. The result was far less well-preserved, but it still reflected the deeply held belief that preserving the body mattered for the journey after death.
What Modern Scanning Has Revealed
CT scanning has become the primary tool for studying mummies without unwrapping or damaging them. These scans confirm many details from ancient texts while revealing surprises. Researchers can see the fractured ethmoid bone from brain removal, identify the density and material of amulets hidden under wrappings, and detect whether organs were removed or left in place. In some cases, scans reveal that the brain was never removed at all, with a hardened mass still visible inside the skull. The “Golden Boy” mummy’s 49 amulets were completely invisible from the outside and only discovered through imaging. Scans have also revealed practical details of the embalmers’ craft, like the way they packed eye sockets with material and placed stone or shell prosthetics to give the face a more lifelike appearance.