The British Museum of London,
England, has the largest and most comprehensive collection of ancient
Egyptian material outside of Cairo. Its spectacular collection consists
of more than 100,000 objects. Displays include a gallery of monumental
sculpture and the internationally famous collection of mummies and coffins.
Egyptian objects have formed
part of the collections of the British Museum since its beginning. The
original start of the Museum was to provide a home for objects left to
the nation by Sir Hans Sloane when he died in 1753, about 150 of which
were from Egypt.
European interest in Egypt began
to grow in earnest after the invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798, particularly
since Napoleon included scholars in his expedition who recorded a great
deal about the ancient and mysterious country. After the British defeated
the French in 1801, many antiquities which the French had collected were
confiscated by the British Army and presented to the British Museum in
the name of King George III in 1803. The most famous of these was the
After Napoleon, Egypt came under
the control of Mohammed Ali, who was determined to open the country to
foreigners. As a result, European officials residing in Egypt began collecting
antiquities. Britain's consul was Henry Salt, who amassed two collections
which eventually formed an important core of the British Museum collection,
and was supplemented by the purchase of a number of papyri.
Antiquities from excavations
also came into the Museum in the later 1800's as a result of the work
of the Egypt Exploration Fund (now Society). A major source of antiquities
came from the efforts of E.A. Wallis Budge (Keeper 1886 -1924), who regularly
visited Egypt and built up a wide-ranging collection of papyri and funerary
In May of 2003, the British
Museum signed a landmark five-year collaborative agreement with the Bowers
Museum of Santa Ana, California, to showcase its incredible collections
and to provide a service to visitors and especially students who arent
able to travel to Britain. In April 2005, the Bowers Museum thus presented
"Mummies: Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt" featuring
a spectacular collection of 140 objects from the British Museum. For your
enjoyment, The History Place presents a slide show highlighting 14 items
from the Bowers Museum exhibition.
Mummies are one of the most characteristic
aspects of ancient Egyptian culture. The preservation of the body was
an essential part of the Egyptian funerary belief and practice.
Mummification seems to have its origins in
the late Predynastic period (over 3000 BC) when specific parts of the
body were wrapped, such as the face and hands. It has been suggested that
the process developed to reproduce the desiccating (drying) effects of
the hot dry sand on a body buried within it.
The best literary account of the mummification
process is given by the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who says that
the entire process took 70 days. The internal organs, apart from the heart
and kidneys, were removed via a cut in the left side. The organs were
dried and wrapped, and placed in canopic jars, or later replaced inside
the body. The brain was removed, often through the nose, and discarded.
Bags of natron or salt were packed both inside and outside the body, and
left for forty days until all the moisture had been removed. The body
was then cleansed with aromatic oils and resins and wrapped with bandages,
often household linen torn into strips.
In recent times, scientific analysis of mummies,
by X-rays, CT scans, endoscopy and other processes has revealed a wealth
of information about how individuals lived and died. It has been possible
to identify medical conditions such as lung cancer, osteoarthritis and
tuberculosis, as well as parasitic disorders such as schistosomiasis (bilharzia).
The earliest ancient Egyptians
buried their dead in small pits in the desert. The heat and dryness of
the sand dehydrated the bodies quickly, creating lifelike and natural
'mummies' as seen here.
Later, the ancient Egyptians
began burying their dead in coffins to protect them from wild animals
in the desert.
However, they realized
that bodies placed in coffins decayed because they were not exposed
to the hot, dry sand of the desert.
Over many centuries, the
ancient Egyptians developed a method of preserving bodies so they
would remain lifelike.
The process included embalming
the bodies and wrapping them in strips of linen. Today, we call
this process mummification.
Egyptian amulets (ornamental
charms) were worn by both the living and the dead. Some protected the
wearer against specific dangers and others endowed him or her with special
characteristics, such as strength or fierceness.
Amulets were often in the shape
of animals, plants, sacred objects, or hieroglyphic symbols. The combination
of shape, color and material were important to the effectiveness of an
Papyri (Egyptian scrolls) show
that amulets were used in medicine, often in conjunction with poultices
(a medicated dressing, often applied hot) or other preparations, and the
recitation of spells. Sometimes, the papyri on which the spells were written
could also act as amulets, and were folded up and worn by the owner.
One of the most widely worn
protective amulets was the wedjat eye: the restored eye of Horus. It was
worn by the living, and often appeared on rings and as an element of necklaces.
It was also placed on the body of the deceased during the mummification
process to protect the incision through which the internal organs were
Several of the spells in the
Book of the Dead were intended to be spoken over specific amulets, which
were then placed in particular places on the body of the deceased.
The scarab (beetle) was an important
funerary amulet, associated with rebirth, and the heart scarab amulet
prevented the heart from speaking out against the deceased.
Goddesses of Ancient Egypt
The ancient Egyptians believed
in many different gods and goddesses -- each one with their own role to
play in maintaining peace and harmony across the land.
Some gods and goddesses took part in
creation, some brought the flood every year, some offered protection,
and some took care of people after they died.
Others were either local gods who represented towns, or minor gods
who represented plants or animals.
Ancient Egyptians believed that it
was important to recognize and worship these gods and goddesses
so that life continued smoothly.
Servants in the Afterlife
Shabti figures developed from
the servant figures common in tombs of the Middle Kingdom (about 2040-1782
BC). They were shown as mummified like the deceased, with their own coffin,
and were inscribed with a spell to provide food for their master or mistress
in the afterlife.
From the New Kingdom (about
1550-1070 BC) onward, the deceased was expected to take part in the maintenance
of the 'Field of Reeds,' where he or she would live for eternity. This
meant undertaking agricultural labor, such as plowing, sowing, and reaping
The shabti figure became regarded
as a servant figure that would carry out heavy work on behalf of the deceased.
The figures were still mummiform (in the shape of mummies), but now held
agricultural implements such as hoes. They were inscribed with a spell
which made them answer when the deceased was called to work. The name
'shabti' means 'answerer.'
From the end of the New Kingdom,
anyone who could afford to do so had a workman for every day of the year,
complete with an overseer figure for each gang of ten laborers. This gave
a total of 401 figures, though many individuals had several sets. These
vast collections of figures were often of extremely poor quality, uninscribed
and made of mud rather than the faience which had been popular in the
The History Place - Slide Show
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of the Trustees of the British Museum. Informational text provided by
the British Museum.
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