1. ARCHITECTURE OF THE
AFTERLIFE
Embalming & Tombs in Ancient Egypt
Professor Will Adams

2. Ancient Egypt: Gift of the Nile
 The ancient Egyptians inhabited the
fertile valley of the Nile.
 The river's annual flood deposited a
fresh layer of silt, renewing the
fertility of the soil & ensuring that,
for the most part, the country was
prosperous & the population
sufficiently fed.
 For much of the year, most people
would be involved in agricultural
labor of some kind, but during the
Inundation (July – October) the
workforce was used by the state
for building & other major projects
such as "rehabilitation" of the land
following the flood.

3. Ancient Egyptian Mummification
Preserving Pharaohs for an Eternity

4. The Purpose of Egyptian Mummification
 The ancient Egyptians’ funerary
customs & beliefs called for the
preservation of the body & ample
provisions for the afterlife.
 This was envisioned as a continuation
of the mortal existence after death.
 An ancient Egyptian would provide
for the afterlife as best as his or her
economic abilities would allow.
 Today, this means that a huge
amount of information about daily
life in ancient Egypt can be found in
the tombs.
 Examination of mummies provides
information on health, diet & life-
expectancy.

5. The Purpose of Egyptian Mummification
 The body of a dead Egyptian would be
made into a mummy in order to
preserve the body for its immortal soul,
or ka.
 The word "mummy" comes from the
Arabic mumiyah (body preserved by
wax or bitumen)
 The process of mummification was
complicated, including removing organs
& wrapping the body in linen cloth.
 The body was treated with
preservatives which dried out the body
of the mummy.
 The ancient Egyptians believed that,
after death, their bodies would travel to
the world of the afterlife during the day
& return to their bodies at night.

6. The Purpose of Egyptian Mummification
 In order for the person’s
spirit, or ka, to live forever, it
had to be able to recognize &
return to the body.
 If a spirit could not recognize
the body it belonged to, it
would die.
 This is why the Egyptians
wanted to preserve the
bodies of the dead in as life-
like a state as possible.
 Mummification guaranteed
eternal life for the spirit.

7. The Mummification Process
 The entire process took 70
days to complete.
 Several embalmers
conducted the task in the
special embalming shop, or
per-nefer.
 The chief embalmer was
known as the hery sheshta.
 He wore a jackal mask to
represent Anubis, the god
of mummification.

8. The Mummification Process
 After the deceased’s body
was brought to the per-
nefer, it was washed with a
mixture of palm wine and
water from the Nile, then
shaved of its hair.
 Following that, all of the
body parts that might decay
or rot were removed.
 The embalmers first
removed the deceased’s
brain through his or her nose
using a long hook.

9. The Mummification Process
 The long hook was used to
stir up the brain until it was
liquefied.
 Then the embalmers would
turn the body face down to
allow the brain to ooze out
through the nostrils.
 The Egyptians were so rough
on the brain because they
didn’t realize its importance.
 They thought its sole
purpose was to produce
snot!

10. The Mummification Process
 Next, the embalmers
would remove the soft,
moist body parts that
would cause the body to
decay.
 A deep incision was made
in the left side of the
deceased’s abdomen to
remove his or her internal
organs, usually the lungs,
the stomach, the liver and
the intestines.

11. The Mummification Process
 In some cases they removed
the heart, but in the vast
majority of cases they left it.
 Unlike modern humans, the
ancient believed that the
heart, not the brain, was the
seat of the soul
 The Egyptians also believed
that the heart testified on
behalf of the deceased
during the Weighing of the
Heart Ceremony in the
afterlife.

12. The Mummification Process
 After the body’s organs had
been removed, it was stuffed
with bundles of a strong
drying salt called natron that
was meant to further
dehydrate the corpse.
 The deceased’s entire body
was then covered with natron
& placed on an inclined slab so
that any moisture the natron
pulled from the body would
run off the end, be collected &
buried with the body.

13. The Mummification Process
 While the body was drying, the
previously removed internal
organs were also dried &
preserved with natron.
 They were then wrapped in
strips of linen & put into
separate containers called
canopic jars.
 The Egyptians believed that all
body parts would be magically
reunited in the afterlife and
that the body would become
whole again, just like the god
Osiris’s had.

14. The Egyptian Myth of Osiris
 According to Egyptian
mythology, the god Osiris was
murdered by his jealous
brother Set, who hacked
Osiris’s body into pieces &
scattered them into the Nile.
 Heartbroken, Osiris’s wife, the
goddess Isis, reassembled the
pieces with the other gods’
assistance & Osiris was
magically restored.
 He then went on to become
the god of the afterlife.

15. The Mummification Process
 The stoppers of the canopic jars
were shaped like the heads of the
four sons of the god Horus (god of
the Egyptian kings).
 Each son protected the organ
placed inside his respective jar:
 Jackal-headed Duamutef guarded
the jar that contained the
stomach.
 Falcon-headed Qebehsenuf
watched over the intestines.
 The baboon-headed son of Horus,
Hapi, protected the lungs.
 Human-headed Imseti was in
charge of protecting the liver.

16. The Mummification Process
 Next, the canopic jars
were carefully stored in
a heavy, secure chest
that was later placed in
the tomb with the
mummy.
 The chest of canopic jars
on the left was found in
the tomb of the famous
King Tutankhamen.

17. The Mummification Process
 After 40 days, the body was
completely dehydrated.
 During that time the skin
became shrunken, wrinkled
& leathery.
 The bundles of natron were
then removed from the
body’s abdomen.
 Next, the mummy was
washed with wine & water
one more time & rubbed
with sacred oils to soften the
skin.

18. The Mummification Process
 The mummy’s head & body
were packed with herbs,
sawdust & linen soaked in
scented oil so that the body
could regain its shape, and to
deodorize the deceased’s body.
 Then, small stones or small
onions were placed under the
eyelids to restore a life-like
appearance.
 Once this was done, the
mummy could be covered with
necklaces, rings and bracelets
made of gold & gems.

19. The Mummification Process
 According to Egyptian myth,
the god Horus had his eye
miraculously restored after
losing it in a battle with the evil
god Set.
 As a result, The Eye of Horus,
called a wedjat, is associated
with healing & protection.
 During mummification, a wax
or bronze plate with a wedjat
carved on it was placed over
the embalming incision to
magically heal the wound in
the afterlife.

20. The Mummification Process
 Once the wedjat was in
place, the entire body was
then covered in shrouds &
bound with strips of linen
until the mummy had
returned to its original
size.
 This was a complicated
job, could take as long as a
week, and usually required
1,000 yards’ worth of 2 –
8” wide linen strips.

21. The Mummification Process
 As the mummy was being
wrapped, small, magical
carvings called amulets
were inserted between the
layers of linen to further
protect the mummy’s spirit
on its way to the afterlife.
 As each layer was added, it
was coated with resin to
hold the wrappings
together with a waterproof
seal.

22. The Mummification Process
 After the week of wrapping
was finished, the head of the
mummy was covered with a
portrait mask.
 This was designed to ensure
that the ka would recognize
the body in the afterlife.
 Finally, the wrapped, masked
mummy was placed into a
series of wooden & gilded
coffins which were
ultimately placed into a
stone sarcophagus.

23. The Mummification Process
 On the day of the funeral, the
mummy was brought to the
western bank of the Nile on a
barque.
 The mummy was next brought
to its tomb, where Osiris’s
priests performed the Opening
of the Mouth Ceremony by
touching the deceased’s eyes,
nose, and mouth of the
sarcophagus with a sacred tool.
 This ritual symbolically
reactivated these senses in the
afterlife.

24. The Mummification Process
 The deceased’s sarcophagus was
then placed inside the tomb’s
burial chamber, the entrance to
which would be sealed to prevent
looting or theft.
 Before the tomb was sealed, the
deceased’s family members
deposited food, clothes, furniture,
and dishes into the burial chamber.
 They did this because the
Egyptians believed the deceased
would need the same
accoutrements in the afterlife that
he or she had used in his or her
mortal life.

25. The Mummification Process
 If you still can’t get
enough of the Egyptian
mummification process,
then you might enjoy the
opportunity to act like a
virtual hery shesta, using
the Québec Museum of
Civilization’s online
embalming game at:
www.mcq.org/momies

26. Architecture of the Afterlife
Erecting A Pharaoh’s Eternal Home

27. Architecture of the Afterlife
Building Materials
 The 3 most common materials
for construction in Egypt were
plant materials, clay & stone.
 Plant materials consisted of
readily available materials like
reeds, papyrus, & palm tree ribs
& shafts.
 Timber was available in limited
quantity & used for roofing.
 Nile-sourced clay was used for
construction, either for frame
construction or as sun-dried
brick.
 Stone was not used much during
the early period of Egyptian
civilization, but became popular
later for tombs & temples.

28. Architecture of the Afterlife
The Socio-Cultural Context
 Ancient Egyptians viewed
earthly dwellings as
temporary, so they spent
very little emphasis on
house construction.
 Instead, tremendous
effort was exerted in
tomb construction.
 This stemmed from the
belief that the deceased’s
tomb was his or her true
permanent dwelling, as it
would be used for the
entirety of the afterlife.

29. Architecture of the Afterlife
The Socio-Cultural Context
 As previously stated,
Egyptians believed that a
dead person needed all her
or his worldly goods in the
afterlife.
 Subsequently, the tomb was
usually packed with all the
dead person’s treasures.
 If something could not be
provided, its image was
painted on the walls of the
tomb.

30. Architecture of the Afterlife
 During the Old Kingdom, the
pharaoh and his court lived in
Memphis.
 When they died, they were buried
at the necropolis at Saqqara.
 Today, very little of ancient
Memphis survives because its
structures were built from
inexpensive, locally-sourced
materials.
 Houses were built of materials
like wood and mud-brick, and
were only meant to last for 1
lifetime.

31. Architecture of the Afterlife
 The earliest method of burial in
ancient Egypt was actually in
shallow pits in the desert of the
Nile’s west bank.
 The desert sand dried the
bodies and preserved them.
 When animals preying on
bodies became a problem in
burial, the people dug their
graves deeper.
 In the end, to ensure the
preservation of their burials,
they built a bench-like structure
over graves to create the first
burial structure called a
mastaba.

32. Architecture of the Afterlife
 The name mastaba derived
from the name for the steps or
podiums found in the front of
traditional Egyptian houses.
 In the Old Kingdom, rich &
noble people built mastabas for
their burials in the necropolis.
 Above ground, the mastaba
looks like a large bench of
sunbaked bricks rising about 30
feet high, with a flat roof &
sloping walls.
 The earliest mastabas were
decorated with painted
patterns in brilliant colors.

33. Architecture of the Afterlife
 Internally, a mastaba
consists of three spaces: an
underground burial chamber
& an above ground serdab &
chapel.
 The burial chamber was
located 30 feet below
ground & was the place for
the deceased’s sarcophagus.
 It was connected to the
serdab & chapel above
ground through a shaft.

34. Architecture of the Afterlife
 The mastaba’s serdab &
chapel are located above-
ground.
 The serdab is a room where
the ka statue of the dead
person is kept.
 The ka statue would act as a
substitute for the
deceased’s body in case it
was destroyed and was also
the focus of worship by the
deceased’s family members.

35. Architecture of the Afterlife
 Some mastabas had
surrounding security
fences or walls, and some
even had chambers for
the burial of the
deceased’s servants or
pets.
 The design of the
mastaba is the
architectural embryo that
grew into the pyramids.

36. Architecture of the Afterlife:
The Step Pyramid of King Djoser

37. Architecture of the Afterlife:
The Step Pyramid of King Djoser
 Egyptian King Djoser was a
powerful pharaoh of the third
dynasty of the Old Kingdom.
 His tomb, known as the Step
Pyramid of King Djoser, was
designed by Imhotep (the
first named artist in history)
in 2,667 BCE.
 It was built as a funeral
complex at the necropolis of
Saqqara.
 Initially, Imhotep conceived
of the tomb as a large
mastaba of stone.

38. Architecture of the Afterlife:
The Step Pyramid of King Djoser
 Apparently, King Djoser did
not like Imhotep’s initial
idea, so instead Imhotep
designed a series of layered
mastaba “steps” instead.
 The result was a pyramid
with five sloping tiers set
upon a massive mastaba
base.
 As a result, this step pyramid
acts as the intermediate step
between the mastaba and a
true geometric pyramid.

39. Architecture of the Afterlife:
The Step Pyramid of King Djoser
 When it was complete, the
Step Pyramid stood 200’
high, with 6 giant steps.
 The pharaoh’s burial
chamber was entered from
north side & is 92’ below
ground level.
 On either side of chamber
are store rooms for the
pharaoh’s treasures

40. Architecture of the Afterlife:
The Step Pyramid of King Djoser

41. Architecture of the Afterlife:
Pyramid of King Huni at Meidum

42. Architecture of the Afterlife:
Snefru’s Bent Pyramid at Dahshur

43. Architecture of the Afterlife:
Snefru’s Bent Pyramid at Dahshur
 The later Pharaoh Snefru
made two attempts at
creating a true pyramid.
 His first attempt in 2,600
BCE, the Bent Pyramid at
Dahshur, had a square plan
with a height of 334’.
 Due to structural instability
during construction, the
pyramid’s sides changed
angle halfway up, which led
to its being nicknamed the
“Bent Pyramid”.

44. Architecture of the Afterlife:
The Pyramids at Giza

45. Architecture of the Afterlife:
The Pyramids at Giza
 Construction of a true
geometrical pyramid was
finally achieved during reign
of King Khufu, son of Snefru,
in 2,560 BCE.
 His pyramid is located, along
with the other most famous
true pyramids, on the Giza
Plateau on the west bank of
the Nile.
 The pyramid is 482’ high on a
plan of 760’ square.

46. Architecture of the Afterlife:
The Pyramids at Giza
 Eventually, two additional
pyramids were built at Giza
by Cheops’ successors.
 The second and largest, in
the center, was built by King
Khafre, King Cheops’s son.
 The third and smallest was
built by King Menkaure,
Chefren’s son.
 Collectively, the three are
referred to as the Pyramids
at Giza.

47. Architecture of the Afterlife:
The Pyramids at Giza
 The three are aligned
diagonally along the
axis set by the Great
Pyramid.
 The three small
pyramids located
close by were built
for the pharaohs’
queens.

48. Architecture of the Afterlife:
The Pyramids at Giza
 All the pyramids were
designed as part of a
dynastic funeral complex for
the burial of the pharaohs.
 Today, Khafre’s complex is
the best preserved example.
 His complex consist of three
interconnected units:
A valley temple by the
Nile where the pharaoh’s
body was embalmed
A pyramid mortuary
temple for rituals
A long narrow causeway
connecting the two

49. Architecture of the Afterlife:
The Pyramids at Giza
 How were the pyramids constructed?
 There is no completely certain knowledge about the
method of construction used to create the pyramids.
 That said, scholars estimate that roughly 100,000 men
worked 3-4 months each year for 30 years to build the
pyramids.
 The material used to construct the pyramids was limestone
quarried from nearby & transported by lever action.
 Pyramid construction workers were paid in food, clothing
& drinks.

50. Architecture of the Afterlife:
The Pyramids at Giza
 The Pyramids at Giza were
built to contrast the vast
Saharan desert landscape
that surrounds them.
 For structures to be visible in
the immense desert, they
had to be built on a huge
scale.
 The pyramids were a product
of the will to achieve
immortality by the pharaohs.
 The pyramids were built with
such monumentality because
they were the everlasting
homes of the pharaohs’ kas.

51. Architecture of the Afterlife:
The Great Sphinx
 Also located at Giza is the
Great Sphinx with the body
of a lion & the head of
Khafre.
 The reason for its
construction & its purpose
are unclear.
 A theory holds that it was
produced from leftover
pyramid materials that were
a applied to an existing
stone.
 It may also have been carved
to stand guard over the
temple & tomb of Khafre.

52. Architecture of the Afterlife:
The Period of Pyramids Passes
 With King Menkaure’s death, the era of the pyramid ended
for the most part.
 More pyramids were built by later pharaohs, but they
were smaller & less complex.
 Also, later pharaohs could not afford the cost of huge
pyramid construction.
 Of even greater concern, ancient grave robbers quickly
learned how to break into the pyramids & steal the goods
buried with pharaohs.
 The end of the Old Kingdom therefore marked the end of
the great era of Egyptian pyramid construction.

53. The End