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		How to make a mummy

Updated 16 September 2002, 17.00

Ancient Egyptians often turned their dead into mummies.

This meant treating their bodies with special chemicals to preserve them for religious reasons.

They got so good at it, we can still see mummies in museums today which were made thousands of years ago.

A mummy of the Pharaoh Ramses III

The whole thing took 70 days. Here's how they did it:

Wash the body with water to purify it
Cut the body and remove the liver, lungs, intestine and stomach
Put these organs into four separate jars
Insert a hooked tool into the person's nose and pull out their brains. Throw the brains away
Cover the body with the salty mixture called "natron" to drain it. Let it drain for 40 days
Wrap the body in bandages from head to toe
Decorate the body with a mask and designs which are suitable for the person's life and social status

And the mummy is made!

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Web Links

National Geographic

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