7HISM mummification of King Tutankhamun

Coming to more historical matters, students from 7HISM created a reenactment of the mummification of King Tutankhamun and the 11 steps of the mummification process.

King Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh from 1332 to 1323 B.C., and became pharaoh at the age of 8 or 9, before any student can enter high school. During his reign, he restored ancient Egyptian style art, but unfortunately, this was cut short when Tutankhamun died at the age of 19 of malaria. He is most well known however, for the discovery of his tomb and mummy in 1922 by English archaeologist Howard Carter in the Valley of the Kings. This was significant because the tomb was left mostly untouched by grave robbers, so scientists, archaeologists, and historians alike could inspect the tomb and sarcophagus which has allowed us to gain a much deeper understanding of ancient Egyptian beliefs and lifestyle.

For this reason, our class of 7HISM decided to recreate the mummification of King Tutankhamun using toilet paper, red paper, cardboard, paint and some more toilet paper. First we had to remove king Tutankhamun’s brain through his nose. This is because at the time it was believed that the heart controlled the body and the brain was of no importance. Then all other organs were removed except for the heart which were then placed in canopic jars, the organs were recreated from scrunched up pieces of red paper. The body was then covered with salt and left to dry for 40 days to take out the moisture. After it was dried all the salt was removed, wine and spices were applied to the skin of king Tutankhamun and the body was then stuffed with linen to give the body a more lifelike appearance. Then king Tutankhamun’s body was fully wrapped from head to toe with bandages. Finally we placed king Tutankhamun’s body in his solid gold sarcophagus to finish preparing him for eternity. The sarcophagus was made with cardboard hot glued together which was then painted with the sarcophagus’s design.

Tilen & Chip

On Tuesday, August 8, my class (7 Mawson) replicated the death and mummification process of Tutankhamun. My pair aimed to portray the section of the process in which the organs (removed from the body and previously dried) were placed inside canopic jars. The lungs, intestines, stomach and liver are kept in these jars in an effort to preserve them, allowing the deceased to seamlessly move into the afterlife. To recreate this, we used homemade clay organs and brought in jars to store them. 

The highlight of this experience was watching and participating in this mummification process. It provided me with knowledge of how important figures were mummified in ancient Egypt and gave me a substantially clearer understanding of the steps themselves. It was astounding to see how much labour was required during the process, emphasising how significant mummification was as a part of ancient Egyptian culture. The overall activity was thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining, with an element of comedy as our class aimed to represent mummification with our makeshift organs and home-brought toilet paper. 

Evie

During the mummification, I really enjoyed crafting props and then later being able to showcase them and take silly (but historically accurate) photos with them. It was a really creative way to be educational while teaching and informing us about the process of mummification! I really enjoy hands-on activities that require crafting which is why I really enjoyed mummifying our classmates! Also it was funny to see Hayden attempting to walk (it failed) while wrapped in 12 rolls of toilet paper.

Rita