Cairo: The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said researchers have uncovered the secrets of the mummification process used in ancient Egypt.
A team of researchers from the Ludwig Maximilian and Tübingen Universities in Germany, in collaboration with the National Research Center in Cairo, set out to study the materials used by ancient Egyptian embalming.
Experts analyzed organic remains found inside pottery vessels discovered at a mummification workshop discovered in 2018 by the Egyptian-German archaeological mission led by the Egyptian-German Archaeological Mission in Saqqara.
His work was part of a mausoleum project centered on the El-Saui era between 664 and 525 BC.
The results of the research were published on February 1 in the scientific journal Nature, said Mustafa Waziri, secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.
The mission found the names of the organic remains used during the mummification process as well as the names of the organs and body parts on which the organic matter was applied during the mummification process, written in the ancient Egyptian language on the surface of the pottery. was used.
Experts study organic residues to determine their chemical properties and identify each material according to the target part of the body.
The research revealed three important pieces of information about the mummification process: the material itself, its name in the ancient Egyptian language, and the place of its use.
Vaziri said the discovery updates familiar texts about ancient Egyptian mummification techniques.
He said the team was able to accurately determine the material used to coat specific body parts for the first time after comparing the material identified with the material written on the utensils.
Research revealed that many of the materials used in the mummification process were imported from around the Mediterranean region and from Southeast Asia, indicating the existence of links and communication between those regions in that early period.
Susanna Beck, deputy head of the mission, said the research has contributed greatly to the understanding of several components of the fusion.
She said the remains found in the pots had been partially separated to determine their chemical constituents.
For example, a substance often mentioned in descriptions of mummification procedures was “antiu”—translated as “incense”, but study results showed that it was derived from cedar oil, juniper oil (cypress) and animal oils. Fat mixture.
Beck said the material discovered was studied using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.