CAIRO, 6 March 2021 – The discovery in Egypt of a manual explaining the mummification process has been hailed as “more than a cool foot note”.
Scientists have just unearthed a 3,500-year-old manual detailing the process for embalming a face.
3,500-Year-Old Mummification Manual Found – Photo Curiosmos
It stands as “the oldest surviving manual on mummification” ever discovered.
Until recently, “only two texts on mummification had been identified” in total.
Anyone using this manual would have known the basics of the embalming process already, scientists at the University of Copenhagen said after the discovery.
They describe the manual as graduate work; not embalming 101.
The discovery provides more insight into the specific body preservation techniques used by Ancient Egyptians, according to the University’s Egyptologist Sofie Schiodt.
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According to the university, the process involved using a red linen lined with a specific liquid comprising many herbs.
The manual does not reveal everything about the techniques of mummification.
Using it would not have been enough to help someone who knew nothing more how to preserve a body in the same method.
It is clear, wrote one of the scientists, that Ancient Egyptians were not only good at burying the dead; they were especially good at keeping their methods buried, too.
