DOI issue:
Egypt
DOI article:Kaczmarek, Maria: Anthropological analysis of mummified burials from Saqqara
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41274#0121
WEST SAQQARA
EGYPT
METHODS OF MUMMIFICATION
A study of the material revealed two major
methods of embalming. One, as seen in
burial no. 75, consists of pouring a hot liq-
uid resin liberally over the body in many
stages. As a result, most of the wrappings
have been converted into a hard, solid
mass, which often cannot be removed oth-
erwise than with a hammer. However, it
was apparent that the anterior abdominal
wall had been cut out and removed. Inside
the abdominal and thoracic cavities there
were visceral packages dipped in hot resin
and wrapped in bandages. The packages
contained the liver, lungs and intestines.
The resin or bitumen-like substance has
tinged the bones black or dark brown and
has covered both the packages and the
floors of the thorax, abdomen and pelvis.
The brain was extracted from the head
through the nostrils and the head was
filled with resin or a bitumen-like sub-
stance.
The second method of mummification,
as observed in burial no. 80, consists of
dipping bandages in hot resin and using
them to wrap the body of the deceased.
About 10-12 layers of linen wrappings of
varying quality were noted, some second-
hand, some completely new. The outer lay-
ers were generally larger sheets or strips of
a fine weave. The big bandages (about
10 cm in width) were usually cut into sec-
tions, increasing the total length of the
bandages. For example, the head was
wrapped in a 6-m long linen bandage. The
head and neck, as well as arms and legs,
and even individual fingers and toes were
wrapped separately. It was found that
spaces between the neck and head, the
arms and legs and the body were filled
with linen wads. This enabled the body of
the deceased to be shaped appropriately.
The viscera were removed, then packed
back into the abdomen cavity. The brain
was either extracted from the head through
the nostrils or left in the skull and turned
into powder. Only in some cases the empty
skull was filled with resin. The color of the
bones has remained light and both the
bones and the several linen wrapping layers
are easily accessible for analysis.
These two methods of mummification
were the most common in our sample, but
variations have been noted, making each
body an individual case. Especially as the
bodies are frequently quite severely dam-
aged as a result of the tomb robbers' activ-
ity.
DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS
There were some problems in reconstruct-
ing the age and sex structure in our sam-
ple. The sex ratio estimated at 1.6 males to
1 female seems to follow from sample-size
bias rather than the actual demographic
situation. Individual data on sex and age of
the dead is presented in Table 1.
Obviously, the representation of children,
adult males and females is insufficient for
the application of a life table. Indeed, the
conclusions are hardly satisfying in view of
the small sample size.
119
EGYPT
METHODS OF MUMMIFICATION
A study of the material revealed two major
methods of embalming. One, as seen in
burial no. 75, consists of pouring a hot liq-
uid resin liberally over the body in many
stages. As a result, most of the wrappings
have been converted into a hard, solid
mass, which often cannot be removed oth-
erwise than with a hammer. However, it
was apparent that the anterior abdominal
wall had been cut out and removed. Inside
the abdominal and thoracic cavities there
were visceral packages dipped in hot resin
and wrapped in bandages. The packages
contained the liver, lungs and intestines.
The resin or bitumen-like substance has
tinged the bones black or dark brown and
has covered both the packages and the
floors of the thorax, abdomen and pelvis.
The brain was extracted from the head
through the nostrils and the head was
filled with resin or a bitumen-like sub-
stance.
The second method of mummification,
as observed in burial no. 80, consists of
dipping bandages in hot resin and using
them to wrap the body of the deceased.
About 10-12 layers of linen wrappings of
varying quality were noted, some second-
hand, some completely new. The outer lay-
ers were generally larger sheets or strips of
a fine weave. The big bandages (about
10 cm in width) were usually cut into sec-
tions, increasing the total length of the
bandages. For example, the head was
wrapped in a 6-m long linen bandage. The
head and neck, as well as arms and legs,
and even individual fingers and toes were
wrapped separately. It was found that
spaces between the neck and head, the
arms and legs and the body were filled
with linen wads. This enabled the body of
the deceased to be shaped appropriately.
The viscera were removed, then packed
back into the abdomen cavity. The brain
was either extracted from the head through
the nostrils or left in the skull and turned
into powder. Only in some cases the empty
skull was filled with resin. The color of the
bones has remained light and both the
bones and the several linen wrapping layers
are easily accessible for analysis.
These two methods of mummification
were the most common in our sample, but
variations have been noted, making each
body an individual case. Especially as the
bodies are frequently quite severely dam-
aged as a result of the tomb robbers' activ-
ity.
DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS
There were some problems in reconstruct-
ing the age and sex structure in our sam-
ple. The sex ratio estimated at 1.6 males to
1 female seems to follow from sample-size
bias rather than the actual demographic
situation. Individual data on sex and age of
the dead is presented in Table 1.
Obviously, the representation of children,
adult males and females is insufficient for
the application of a life table. Indeed, the
conclusions are hardly satisfying in view of
the small sample size.
119