As we described in our recent handy guide to how to make a mummy, the ancient Egyptians went to great and grizzly lengths to ensure that every last bit of a body was efficiently preserved. The internal organs had to be removed in order to effectively dry out a corpse. They would then be individually wrapped and preserved separately in canopic vessels.
Dr Janice Kamrin takes us on a trip through the Egyptian Museum, Cairo and shows the spectacular Canopic Shrine - a golden and intricately decorated container flanked by four figures of gods. Inside this stunning shrine was the Canopic containers, which held the vital organs of the mummified body. Made from solid blocks of alabaster, the individual viscera containers were themselves protected inside gold coffinettes.
