Burial Customs

Mummy and Coffin of Meresamun

Cartonnage, pigment, human remains
Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 22, ca. 946-712 B.C.
Purchased in Luxor, 1920
OIM 10797

This colorful cartonnage mummy case, which still contains the mummy of an ancient Egyptian woman, is inscribed with the name Meresamun ("She lives for Amun"). Where Meresamun lived and died is unknown, although the style of the coffin suggests that she was originally from the Theban (modern Luxor) area. According to the inscription, she held the title "Singer in the Interior of the Temple of Amun," a high position in the bureaucracy of priestesses.

Her coffin is painted with scenes which were intended to ensure Meresamun’s successful rebirth into the afterlife. The head of the coffin is decorated with a headband of flower petals with wings of a protective vulture by each cheek, and a small vulture head on the forehead. This type of headgear was worn by queens, priestesses, and goddesses. Over the chest are layers of wide floral necklaces which were symbols of regeneration. Below the floral collars, right and left, are two pairs of gods who were entrusted with the protection of the internal organs that were removed during the mummification process. To the right are the hawk-headed god, Quebehsenuef, who guarded the intestines, and the jackal-headed Duamutef, who guarded the stomach. To the left is the human-form Imseti, who guarded the liver, and the ape-headed Hapy, who guarded the lungs. Between and slightly below these gods is a large representation of the falcon god Horus (or, perhaps, Re), with the sun’s disk on his head, clasping a round shen ("eternity") sign in each talon. A feather fan, a symbol of divinity emerges from each shen sign. The solar Horus, as a symbol of the eternally reborn sun, signified rebirth.

The Egyptians believed that each person had a ba, or soul, and a ka, an invisible twin of the deceased person, which were released from the body after death. The ba visited family and friends and the ka traveled back and forth from the body to the underworld. In order for a person to live on forever, the ba and the ka had to be able to recognize the body when they returned to it every night. The process of mummification was a crucial practice for the ancient Egyptians as it ensured the survival of a person's remains, thus promising eternal life.

You Might Also Like:

World History related image
Read More

World History

Welcome to our World History section, a vast treasure trove of historical knowledge that takes you on a captivating journey through the annals of human civilization. Our collection spans a wide spectrum of topics, providing an exhaustive resource for history enthusiasts, students, and curious minds ...
Read More

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt (epigraphy) Egypt attracted the special curiosity of the Greeks, and Herodotus (5th century BC) devoted an entire book to on-the-spot observations and fanciful tales about the land of the Nile. The lost Aigyptiaka (or Aegyptiaca) of Manetho (3rd century BC) contained the roster of 30 d...
Read More

Religions Of Egypt

Ancient Egypt, Religions Of Egypt Author: Foot Moore, GeorgeChapter II The Middle Kingdom And The Empire The Rise of Thebes - The Sun as Supreme God - Local Gods - Identifications - Enneads and Triads - The Dead - Judgment before Osiris - Moral Ideas - The Empire - Amon-Re the National God - Power o ...
Read More

Egyptian and Hittite Empires, 1279 BCE

Conquest by Hyksos and Egyptian Expansion to Ramses II Eventually, like previous dynasties, the Twelfth Dynasty fell. And the Thirteenth Dynasty, at Memphis, waned across its 150 years of rule and fell with what by now was an old phenomenon: invasion by a foreign army, around the year 1650 BCE. The ...
Read More

Ancient Egypt

Welcome to the ideal place to start exploring the wonders of the Ancient Egypt. Find out all about this amazing culture, and learn about the gods they worshiped, the Pharaohs that ruled and the tombs and statues they left behind. find out about Tutankhamun, Akhenaten and the other celebrities of t...
Read More

Maps of Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt had its origin in the course of the Nile River. It reached three periods of great pharaonic splendor: the Ancient Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom. Ancient Egypt map domain stretched from the delta of the Nile in the north, to Elephantine Island, where is the first catar...
Read More

King List

The Early Dynastic Period -0 : 1 : 2 : The Old Kingdom -3 : 4 : 5 : 6 : The First Intermediate Period -7+8 : 9+10 : The Middle Kingdom -11 : 12 : The Second Intermediate Period -13 : 14 : 15 : 16 : 17 : The New Kingdom -18 : 19 : 20 : The Third Intermediate Period -High Priests (Thebes) : 21 : 22 : ...
Read More

Mummy

Interesting facts and information about the mummification process. The mummy shown here dates from the Roman Period. It has a distinctive painting inlaid into the head part, and is intricately bandaged and studded. The feet are molded in gold painted plaster, which is typical of the period. ...
Read More

Thoth, the Egyptian God of Wisdom and Writing related image
Read More

Thoth, the Egyptian God of Wisdom and Writing

The god Thoth was worshiped in the form of an Ibis, and is often shown in human form with the unusual head of that bird. Thoth was primarily thought to be the god of wisdom. He was patron of arts and science and also the patron god of scribes. He was the inventor of the words of god, or Hieroglyphs...
Read More

Osiris And Isis

Osiris is perhaps the most famous of the gods of Ancient Egypt. Here he is shown in his typical guise as a mummified pharaoh holding the hook and flail, the traditional symbols of royal authority. Osiris is usually depicted wearing the feathered Atef crown. Osiris is a common feature in Egyptian fu...
Read More

Anubis related image
Read More

Anubis

The Ancient Egyptians held a great reverence for the Jackal headed god Anubis, who oversaw the embalming and mummification process as well as escorting the deceased through the procedures for entering the underworld.When the person arrived for judgment, they would first declare their purity before...
Read More

The 4 Sons of Horus

The Four Sons of Horus were traditionally the guardians of the internal organs of the deceased. Each was associated with a particular organ, and also with a different cardinal point on the compass. The Four Sons Of Horus GodProtectsHeadPointGoddessImsetyLiverHumanSouthIsisHapyLungsBaboonNorthNephthy...
Read More

The Mysteries of Akhenaten

Although we know a great deal about Akhenaten compared to some of the other Pharaohs, there are still some major mysteries concerning his reign. Various 'experts' have differing theories concerning this enigmatic ruler. On this page I will detail some of the various theories which have been presente...
Read More

Tutankhamun

King Nebkheperura Tutankhamun remains the most famous of all the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, but in fact he was a short lived and fairly insignificant ruler during a transitional period in history. Little was known of him prior to Howard Carters methodical detective work, but the discovery of his to...
Read More

Nefertiti

Famed throughout the ancient world for her outstanding beauty, Akhenaten's queen Nefertiti remains the one of the most well known of the queens of Egypt. The famous statue of Nefertiti, found in a sculptors workshop in Akhetaten, is one of the most immediately recognisable icons from this period of ...
Read More

Cat Mummies

One of the most popular cults to arise in Late Period Egypt was of the cat goddess Bast. At this time many thousands of Cats were mummified for sale to pilgrims, who presented them to the goddess as an offering. X-rays show that the cats were often killed by having their necks broken. The bodies we...
Read More