Facts about the Ancient Egyptian Burial Customs

The ancient Egyptian burial customs focuses on improving the chances of the dead in his afterlife. One of the most important belief for this is that preserving the earthly remains of the deceased directly links his existence to afterlife. To keep the notch higher, let's add more discussion to add flavor to the topic!

Improving the Mummification Techniques

One of the first steps taken in the Egyptian burial customs is mummification. Preparations for the dead takes so long that it takes 70 days to finish one body!

In the history of mummification, preserving the body resulted from a lot of experiments. In one time, Egyptians used animal skin and pottery jars to preserve the body. None of these methods survived in ancient Egypt. However, through trial and error, they perfected the preservation method that became the standards of the Egyptian burial practices!

Treasures from the Dead

Treasures those tomb robbers plunder only exists on famous Egyptians. From the favorite objects of the deceased Egyptian used during their lifetime or just to aid them in the afterlife, these goodies are stored in the tomb.

Of the treasures found in these tombs, the most notable one are boats. In their religion, they believed boats act as the transportation medium for the Egyptian gods in the underworld. From this belief, Egyptians make sure that boats have their place in tombs.

Although you may not think of it as a treasure, embalmer's cache in tombs the equipment of Egyptian embalmers used as a means to mummify the dead body. For Egyptologists, it is one of the most useful clues on the hunting tombs waiting to be discovered!

If you want real treasures found on tombs, be prepared for the most important finds in our time. Egyptologists found Tutankhamen's tomb, containing treasures beyond our wildest expectations!

Leading the Dead in the Underworld

Following the Egyptian burial customs, you will find in between the wrappings of a mummy a lot of amulets. It protects the body from the evil spirits of the afterlife. Adding more protection in the deceased, the priests recite incantations to begin the ceremony called "Opening of the Mouth". They used this ceremony as the necessity of the dead to travel in the underworld. Without it, the journey is much more difficult.

A lot of ancient texts survived to this day that contains the essentials of guiding the dead. Ancient Egyptians place it inside tombs. It acts as the travel guide book for afterlife.

Among of these texts, the most famous one is the Book of the Dead. These texts contain 200 chapters of specific instructions and guidelines in the afterlife. With the length of this book, it may have freaked out the Egyptians themselves. For the record, not a single Egyptian tomb was ever found with the Book of the Dead containing all chapters.

Related Articles...

Mummification, A Passage to Eternity

Return To...

Return from Egyptian Burial Customs to Home Page