Mummies and Mummification featuring Zahi Hawass: A New Heritage Key Video Clip

Heritage Key has posted a new video clip on the process of mummification. Mummification Featuring Zahi Hawass is a video by Nico Piazza, featuring still-photography by Sandro Vannini. In the video Dr. Hawass is examining an unidentified (in the video, at least) mummy found quite serendipitously in a tomb at Saqqara. Once the cover is removed, I can’t quite make out if we are looking at a mask and other protective covering, or if it is an internal coffin, but the paintwork is vivid and very beautiful.

Dr. Hawass treats us to a somewhat truncated explanation of the mummification process. The process sounds simple. Wash the body, remove all the viscera except the heart, and lay the viscera on natron (a special salt compound used to extract moisture during mummification). Once the viscera are dry, put the respective organs in their appropriate canopic jars and place these jars in their box for entombment.

Next, after removing the brain via the nose by use of long, thin tools just for this purpose (standard-issue bamboo cooking skewers are inappropriate for this task), the body is closed up—abdominal incisions, nostrils, everything. The body is then washed again with a wine made of dates. Thus endeth the lesson.

Sounds pretty easy, right? Maybe something you might consider doing for Uncle Chester when he kicks it? Well, not so fast, there. Unless you want the old fellow to get a bit oozy after a few months, there are a few more steps you might want to consider. For one, I would recommend reading this article on the Swiss Mummification Project. You are probably going to need a little more natron than this video clip implies! 

You may also want to check out this animation from the J. Paul Getty Museum. Of Course, Mummification Featuring Zahi Hawass is an enjoyable view by its own right. The animation is top notch, and any opportunity to view the videography of Nico Piazza and the photography of Sandro Vannini is a few minutes well spent. And let’s face it—Zahi Hawass could make a tutorial on cooking an omelet entertaining. But for Uncle Chester’s sake, invest a little more time researching mummification before you try this in the parlor. 

VIDEO: Dr. Zahi Hawass Explains The Ancient Mummy Recipe

Related Videos
Dr. Salima Ikram talks about Animal Mummification.


Dr. Hawass shows the new tombs at Dra Abu El Naga

And if you really want to get Chester’s debut to the afterlife started off right, you probably want to spend some time in the Heritage Key Virtual King Tutankhamun’s Tomb. Misplaced statuary, or coats stacked in the antechamber, are the sort of faux pas that are remembered by your guests long after the royal tomb is sealed.

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About The Author

Keith Payne (follow me: )

Last three pieces by this author:

The Riddle of KV63 - King Tut's mom? | Discovery of Abydos: Examining the Work of the Penn-Yale-IFA Joint Expedition | Exclusive Interview: Dr. Josef Wegner discusses Abydos, Senwosret III, and Egyptian Funerary Practices

Keith Payne is a freelance writer whose subject matter has ranged from Appalachian culture and history to Ancient Egypt. He holds a B.A. in Sociology and has completed the coursework for an M.A. in the same, specializing in sociology of religion and the nature of belief.