Funerary Archaeology

Grounded in new research from recent analyses of the mummified individuals
curated at the British Museum, this chapter provides an overview of the evolution
of mummification in the Nile valley. Featuring Ameniryirt, a Twenty-Sixth Dynasty Theban official who lived around 600 BC, it outlines the varying methods employed to preserve human remains in ancient Egypt, as well as the modern approaches used in their analysis. From the natural mummies of the Predynastic Period to those of medieval Nubia, advances in CT-scanning and three-dimensional visualization technology have allowed us to investigate their mummified remains without the need to unwrap them. Many are remarkably preserved and were embalmed with great care and expertise to ensure their survival in the afterlife. A range of approaches – spanning several thousand years – were successfully used to preserve their bodies, with organs treated in numerous ways and great variety in the use of unguents, packing, and wrappings. Bioarchaeological methods are employed to determine their approximate age-at death, confirm their sex, and provide new insights into their lives and state of health. Applying new analytical techniques to long-held collections continues to advance our understanding of ancient beliefs and practices, as well as provide a unique understanding of the lives of individuals from the distant past.