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Preserved for the afterlife

Nature volume 413, pages 783–784 (2001)Cite this article

Ancient Egyptians used sophisticated combinations of natural substances to embalm the human body. Over time, they modified their recipes to balance quality of preservation with cost and availability of materials.

On page 837 of this issue1, Buckley and Evershed show how a great deal can be learned from virtually non-destructive analyses of mummies. They reveal that Egyptian embalmers used a greater variety of natural materials than previously reported, and that cheap and readily available plant oils and animal fats were probably used as bases for more costly and exotic resins.

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Figure 1: Wrapped for eternity — a mummy from the Roman period with a face portrait.

BRITISH MUSEUM

Figure 2: Notable aspects of the embalmer's art listed by historical period.

References

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  1. Program on Ancient Technologies and Archaeological Materials, University of Illinois, 116 Observatory, 901 South Mathews, Urbana, 61801, Illinois, USA

    Sarah Wisseman

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  1. Sarah Wisseman
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Correspondence to Sarah Wisseman.

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Wisseman, S. Preserved for the afterlife. Nature 413, 783–784 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35101673

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