“The Story of Tutankhamun” is taken from the writings of Dr. David P. Silverman, exhibition curator, and the text of Dr. Zahi Hawass, as printed in Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, the companion book to the exhibition.	The Story of King Tut Tut’s Mummification
		Royalty and wealthy private citizens alike mummified the dead, a process that mirrored the myth of the Underworld god Osiris, whose body had been dismembered, reassembled, and reanimated. Since the ba, or soul of the person needed to return to the mummy every night to ensure its continued life, the body had to be preserved through an elaborate embalming process, which took at least 70 days. Preparing the Body Despite his early and unexpected death, Tutankhamun received traditional mummification. Embalmers laid the body in a bed of natron—a combination of salt and baking soda that naturally occurs in Egypt—to dry out the flesh. This material was also stuffed into the body cavity. Resins were then applied to soften the leathery skin. The brain was removed through the nostrils with a long metal hook. The heart was either left in place or removed, dried out, and put back into the chest cavity. Preserving the Internal Organs Embalmers removed the lungs, liver, stomach, and intestines through an incision in the left side of the body. Each was carefully dried in salts, anointed with oils, and then wrapped. Next these bundles were placed in canopic jars and stored in the burial chamber. Tutankhamun’s organs, however, were placed in solid gold miniature coffins rather than canopic jars. Protextive spells decorated these four coffinettes, which were topped with lids bearing portraits of the king. Each was then placed in a hollowed-out compartment in a stone chest. Wrapping the Mummy Tutankhamun’s limbs were wrapped in the finest linen bandages. Priests chanted special spells during the wrapping process and placed hundreds of beautiful amulets and pieces of jewelry between the layers of cloth. Golden cylinders covered the king’s fingers and toes and a magnificent golden funerary mask protected his face. Continue to Tut’s Funeral. >>