7 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

New Details on Mummification Techniques

In ancient Egypt, embalming was considered a sacred art, and knowledge of the process was restricted to a few. Egyptologists believe that most of the secrets of art were probably passed on orally from one embalmer to another, so written evidence is scarce; until recently, only two texts relating to mummification had been identified.

Therefore, Egyptologists were surprised to find a brief instruction on embalming in a medical text that deals mainly with herbal remedies and skin edema. The handbook was recently published by the Egyptologist at the University of Copenhagen, Sofie Schiødt:

– Many descriptions of embalming techniques that we find in this papyrus have been left out of the two later manuals, and the descriptions are extremely detailed. The text reads like a memory aid, so the intended readers must have been specialists who needed to be reminded of these details, such as unguent recipes and uses of various types of bandages. Some of the simpler processes, e.g. the drying of the body with natron, have been omitted from the text, Sofie Schiødt explains. She adds:

– One of the exciting new pieces of information the text provides us with concerns the procedure for embalming the dead person’s face. We get a list of ingredients for a remedy consisting largely of plant-based aromatic substances and binders that are cooked into a liquid, with which the embalmers coat a piece of red linen. The red linen is then applied to the dead person’s face in order to encase it in a protective cocoon of fragrant and anti-bacterial matter. This process was repeated at four-day intervals.

Although this procedure had not been identified previously, Egyptologists had previously examined several mummies from the same period as this manual whose faces were covered with cloth and resin. According to Sofie Schiødt, this would fit well with the red flax procedure described in this manuscript.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



The Papyrus Carlsberg Collection, University of Copenhagen
The Papyrus Carlsberg Collection, University of Copenhagen

The manuscript that Sofie Schiødt has been working on for his doctoral dissertation is Papyrus Louvre-Carlsberg-so called because half of the papyrus belongs to the Louvre Museum in Paris, and the Other Half is part of the collection of Papyrus Karlsberg of the University of Copenhagen. The two parts of papyrus originally belonged to two private collectors, and several of them are still missing. According to ancient philology (ie, symbolic form), the six-meter-long papyrus dates back to 1450 BC, which means that it is more than 1,000 years earlier than the only two other examples of embalming text.

Most papyrus, which is the second-largest medical papyrus that survives in ancient Egypt, relates to herbal medicine and skin diseases. In particular, it contains the earliest known herbal treatise, which describes the appearance, habitat, uses, and religious significance of the divine plant and its seeds, as well as an extensive treatise on skin edema, which is seen as diseases, sent on by the moon god Khonsu.

The embalming process?

The anti-corrosion treatment was carried out in a special workshop built near the tomb. It lasted 70 days and was divided into two main periods-35-day drying period and a 35-day wrapping period.

During the drying period, the body was treated with dry natron both inside and outside. Treatment with natron began on the fourth day of embalming after cleansing the body, removing the organs and brain, and collapsing the eyes.

The second 35-day period is dedicated to wrapping the deceased in bandages and aromatic substances. The embalming of the face described in Papyrus Louvre-Carlsberg belongs to this period.

The entire 70-day embalming process was divided into 4-day intervals, finishing the mummy on day 68 and placing it in a coffin, after which the last days were spent in ritual activities that allowed the deceased to live in the afterlife.

UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN – FACULTY OF HUMANITIES

Related Articles

World’s First Pregnant Ancient Egyptian Mummy has been Discovered

29 April 2021

29 April 2021

Experts from the Polish Academy of Sciences aim to research all mummies in museums as part of the Warsaw Mummy...

2,500-Year-Old Tombs Uncovered Of Unknown Persons With Gold Tongues in Egypt

6 December 2021

6 December 2021

The remains of two unknown persons with golden tongues were found inside tombs, dating back to the Saite Dynasty (664...

New Dead Sea Scrolls in The Horror Cave

16 March 2021

16 March 2021

On Tuesday, Israeli archaeologists revealed dozens of recently discovered fragments of Bible text, the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were based...

Egypt’s Lost city “Thonis-Heracleion”

6 September 2021

6 September 2021

Thonis-Heracleion (Egyptian and Greek names of the city) is a port city lost between myth and reality until 1999. Few...

Mummy of Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep ‘unwrapped’ for the first time in 3,500 years!

30 December 2021

30 December 2021

Egyptian scientists have digitally unwrapped the 3,500-year-old mummy of pharaoh Amenhotep I. For the first time, a team in Egypt...

World-first recreation of ancient Egyptian garden open

20 May 2022

20 May 2022

Have you ever wondered what an ancient Egyptian garden was like?  This is your opportunity to find out! The first...

1500-year-old Elite tombs were discovered vicinity of the ancient seaport of Berenice Troglodytica in Egypt

22 May 2022

22 May 2022

Polish archaeologists have discovered a tomb complex near the ancient port of Berenice Troglodytica in Egypt. Archaeologists from the University...

Archaeologists Uncover Upper Part Colossal Statue of Ramses II

4 March 2024

4 March 2024

The joint Egyptian-American Archaeological Mission unearthed the upper part of the colossal statue of Ramses II (Ramesses), the lower part...

Scientists reveal new discovery inside the Pyramid of Khufu

20 March 2023

20 March 2023

An Egyptian pyramid for 4,500 years is still spilling secrets. After a years-long project using modern technology to reveal the...

The historic Egyptian Palace is being demolished, it may hold a surprise underneath

27 August 2021

27 August 2021

The cause for the evacuation and demolition of the ancient Tawfiq Pasha Andraos Palace, located in the precincts of the...

The Tomb of Prince with a Monumental Pink Granite False Door Unearthed in Saqqara

23 April 2025

23 April 2025

In a remarkable archaeological discovery, an Egyptian team has unveiled the tomb of Prince Waser-If-Re, son of Pharaoh Userkaf, the...

World’s Oldest Customer Complaint “at 3800 Years Old”

4 February 2021

4 February 2021

When we are not satisfied with the product we receive, what almost all of us do is complain about the...

Archaeologists have uncovered the source of King Solomon’s wealth

31 August 2021

31 August 2021

An archeological team working in Israel’s Timna Valley believes they have discovered the reason behind King Solomon’s legendary wealth. The...

Golden Tongues and Nails discovered on mummies from the Ptolemaic Period in Egypt

18 December 2024

18 December 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered tombs decorated with colorful inscriptions and ritual scenes, as well as unusual mummies and unique funerary objects,...

A 4000-year-old Fabric Found in a Cave of Skulls in the Judean Desert is the Oldest Dyed with Insect Dye

15 July 2024

15 July 2024

Researchers discovered an ancient textile dyed with kermes (Kermes vermilio) in Israel’s Cave of Skulls that dates back to the...