The Beautiful Things

The Egyptians believed that when they died they went on to another, everlasting , life. To live happily in the after life ,they need their earthly bodies and great care was taken to ensure that they arrived in style. The dead bodies were preserved in a special way called mummification. To mummify a body took a long time, as much as 70 days. First, parts of the body were taken out and put in tightly sealed jars. Next, the body was dried out by covering it with natron, a white powder like salt.

It was left for 40 days, rubbed with sweet-smelling oils and then covered in molten resin. Finally, the body was wrapped in linen to make a neat parcel. The Egyptians believed in many different gods and goddesses, some of which took the form of animals. They mummified these creatures, as well as people. When treated, they made some odd shapes