What are the most surprising facts about a mummy? Egyptian embalmers needed about 70 days to turn a body into an eternal home for the soul, discarding the brain, guarding the heart and drying the rest in salt. The result was so lifelike that CT scans still reveal clogged arteries thousands of years later.
Why Did Egyptians Preserve the Body at All?
Because the afterlife needed an address. The ka (life-force) and ba (personality) were believed to return to the body, so no body meant no eternity. Preservation became a national industry, from royal masterpieces to budget packages: the Greek historian Herodotus recorded three embalming price tiers.
Anubis, the jackal-headed god of embalmers, watched over every step, which is why he crouches beside so many painted coffins. Meet him and his fellow deities in our guide to Egyptian gods and goddesses.
Inside the 70-Day Process, Day by Day
The whole ritual took about 70 days from washing to burial, with roughly 40 of them spent drying the body in natron salt. Exact timings varied, but this is the schedule traditionally described, as outlined in the Ancient Egypt Online guide to mummification.
| Days | What happened | Why it mattered |
|---|---|---|
| 1–4 | Washing and purification; brain removed through the nose with a hooked tool | The brain was judged unimportant and discarded |
| 5–15 | Organs removed through a flank incision, dried and stored in canopic jars | Four jars sat under the sons of Horus; the heart stayed in place |
| 16–55 | Body packed and covered in natron salt | Drying was the true act of preservation |
| 56–68 | Anointing with oils and resins, packing to restore shape, wrapping in linen with amulets | Resin sealed the bandages; amulets guarded the journey |
| 69–70 | Mask fitted; Opening of the Mouth ceremony; burial | The senses were re-awakened for the afterlife |
Want the embalmers’ secrets told beside the real painted coffins? Explore our curated Luxor day tours and let an Egyptologist do the talking.
Why Did Embalmers Throw Away the Brain and Guard the Heart?
Egyptians believed thought and personality lived in the heart, so the brain was treated as stuffing. It was hooked out through the nose, while the heart stayed in the chest to face judgment against Ma’at’s feather. A heart scarab amulet was tucked in to stop it testifying against its owner.
- Natron: a natural salt blend from the Wadi Natrun lakes that dried the body without destroying its shape.
- Linen: poorer burials reused old clothing as bandages, while Tutankhamun’s was specially woven.
- Opening of the Mouth: the most important funerary ritual, believed to reanimate the mummy.
What Can Scientists Read From a Mummy Today?
Almost everything about how its owner lived and died. CT scans have revealed arthritis, dental abscesses and tattoos. In the Horus study, 20 of 52 Egyptian mummies scanned showed hardened arteries, as the American College of Cardiology summary reports.
The Pharaoh Who Flew to Paris
In 1976 the mummy of Ramses II flew to France for treatment against fungus and was welcomed at Le Bourget airport with military honours. Legend says he travelled on a passport listing his job as “King (deceased)”. Scans of the king, who lived to about 90, show arthritis, hardened arteries and a severe dental abscess.
Animal Mummies by the Million
Cats, ibises, fish and crocodiles were mummified in their millions as offerings to the gods. Luxor’s Mummification Museum displays cats, fish and crocodiles, and Kom Ombo keeps its own crocodile mummies beside the temple of Sobek.
Ready to sail the river of the gods? Book your Luxor to Aswan Dahabiya cruise and meet Sobek’s crocodiles at Kom Ombo Temple.
Where Can You Meet Real Mummies in Egypt?
Cairo, Luxor and Aswan hold the best trail, from royal mummies to sacred crocodiles. This is where to find them:
| Place | City | What you will see |
|---|---|---|
| National Museum of Egyptian Civilization | Cairo | The Royal Mummies Hall, where 22 royal mummies arrived in the 2021 Pharaohs’ Golden Parade |
| Luxor Museum | Luxor | The royal mummies of Ahmose I and Ramesses I, on display since 2004 |
| Mummification Museum | Luxor Corniche | Embalming tools, canopic jars, animal mummies and the mummy of Masaharta |
| Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62) | Valley of the Kings | Tutankhamun himself, still resting in his burial chamber |
| Kom Ombo Temple | Aswan region | Crocodile mummies of the god Sobek |
Field tip: visit Luxor’s Mummification Museum before the Valley of the Kings. Its tools and jars make the painted tomb walls far easier to read.
Ready to meet the pharaohs face to face? Start with our Cairo sightseeing tours, then head south to the Valley of the Kings and on to Aswan.
FAQs: Mummy Facts
What are the strangest facts about a mummy?
The brain was hooked out through the nose and thrown away, the heart was left inside, and CT scans have found clogged arteries in mummies thousands of years old.
Did every ancient Egyptian become a mummy?
No. Only those who could pay. Herodotus described three price tiers, and many ordinary people were buried in desert sand, which preserved some of them naturally.
Is the mummy’s curse real?
No. Lord Carnarvon died in 1923 after an infection from a mosquito bite, while Howard Carter lived until 1939 and died at 64 of natural causes.
Can tourists see real mummies in Egypt today?
Yes. Cairo’s Royal Mummies Hall, Luxor Museum, Luxor’s Mummification Museum and Tutankhamun’s tomb all display real mummies.
A mummy is Egypt’s most intimate time capsule: a body, a belief and a chemistry experiment sealed into one. Follow the trail from Cairo’s Royal Mummies Hall to Luxor’s tombs and Kom Ombo’s crocodiles, and every fact here becomes something you can stand beside. Ready to meet the mummies in person? Book your Egypt journey with El Sultan Travel.
