Mummy of Amenirdis
Photogallery
Mummy of Amenirdis
The practice of embalming the body reached its maximum diffusion, also among the middle and lower classes of Egyptian society, at the time of Dynasty XXI. The mummy displayed in the central display case of Room II provides evidence of this.
The body of this woman, probably named Amenirdis, was first subjected to a process of evisceration and drying, and was then wrapped in bandages and covered with a shroud. Various amulets were then positioned on the shroud, as well as a mesh made with tapered faïence beads, which are not however pertinent.
In general amulets for mummies were of different shapes and materials depending on their function, and could also be positioned among the bindings. They had a protective value but could also be used to substitute damaged parts of the body.
For the Egyptians, the prevention of the natural decomposition of the body and its destruction after death was indispensable to guarantee eternal life, and the process of mummification followed a precise ritual lasting 70 days.
The mummy of Amenirdis is displayed in what would have been its original painted wood sarcophagus, whose lid is also conserved.