Canopic Chests

Inside Out

During the mummification process, the internal organs would be removed from the body and stored inside the canopic chest, which would be placed in a canopic shrine close to the tomb. The ancient Egyptians believed that the deceased spirit may want to return to the body, so it was important to preserve it. For some burials, this meant an elaborate mummification process that took several days.   

Raw Materials

Canopic chests may date from as early as the 2nd Dynasty, and they continued to be used right up until the Ptolemaic period. During this time, the style and substance of the chests changed significantly.
The first proven canopic burials, dating from the 4th Dynasty, were discovered at the tomb of Queen Meresankh III at Giza, from the reign of Menkaure, and in tombs relating to the reign of Sneferu. In these early chests organs were placed inside wooden boxes, or in stone or pottery jars with flat or domed lids. The canopic chests which held the jars were cut from soft stone, or carved from the actual wall or floor of the tomb. In the 6th Dynasty they were made from granite, and during the 18th century canopic chests were made from calcite, limestone, pottery, wood and cartonnage.

From Jugs to Jackals

From the outside, the shrines look like a large solid box, but in fact, they have no bottom. Instead, there is a smaller chest which rests on a sledge inside the shrine, and contains the four canopic containers. The containers correspond to the four internal organs stored - the liver, the lungs, the stomach and the intestine. Each organ relates to a specific goddess, who is in turn associated with a son of Horus known as a ‘genius’. So the liver relates to the genius Imsety, who could claim protection from the goddess Isis; the lungs were related to the genius Hapy and the goddess Nephthys; the stomach related to Duamutef and the goddess Neith, and the intestines were associated with Kebehsenuef and the goddess Selket. At times it seems that the Eyptians were unsure whether the jars contained the essence of the dead body or that of the genius.

Animal Magic

Early in the eighteenth dynasty the lids of the jars were made in the image of the genii. Imsety had a human appearance, Hapy was a baboon, Duamutef a jackal and Kebehsenuef a hawk. These canopic shrines were often imposing and elaborate, covered with beautiful reliefs and engravings. Later shrines were commonly topped with a large jackal.
 
In the 21st Dynasty, a new method came into practice, and the canopic chests weren’t always all that they seemed.  During the mummification process, the internal organs would be removed - presumably while the body was cleaned - and then replaced inside the body cavity. Interestingly, the canopic chests were still used, but the jars were left empty.

By the time of the 22nd Dynasty, the chests contained jars that were solid to give the impression of being full, and at the tomb of Sheshonq II, the jars actually held fake packets of viscera. It’s not clear what these were made out of, or who they were meant to fool.

Image by Charlie Phillips at www.savingfutures.com. All rights reserved.

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Rebecca T

Last three pieces by this author:

Is Plastic Surgery Fan the Reincarnation of Nefertiti... or King Tut? | Did Michael Jackson Model Himself on This Egyptian Statue? | Hatshepsut Bust Fake Claim for Berlin

Rebecca has lived and travelled in Europe and the near east, and is fascinated by ancient sites and cultures. She has written a bit of everything, from performance poetry to serious journalism, and executively-produced a whole raft of stuff including mobile phone apps, web documentaries, websites, and a sexy Channel 4 teenage TV drama.