The Ancient Egyptians believed in life after death, and they believed that they had to preserve their bodies so they could use them in the afterlife. A method of artificial preservation, called mummification, was developed by the ancient Egyptians. Mummification was a complicated and lengthy process which lasted up to seventy days, and the preserved body is called a mummy.
The process of mummification was done by priests. The body was first washed, and all the internal organs, except the heart, were removed. The body was then stuffed, and covered with a special substance that absorbed all the moisture in the body.
After 40-50 days, the stuffing was removed, and replaced with linen or sawdust. It was then wrapped in strands of linen, covered with a sheet called the shroud, and placed in a stone coffin called the sarcophagus. The mummy was now ready to journey into the afterlife.
The afterlife was a heavenly place, complete with a heavenly Nile River. To reach the afterlife, one had to board a magical boat, and only those who spent their life doing good things would get a seat. You would need all the things you used on Earth, and so, bodies were buried along with everything that a person might need for a comfortable life. This is why the pharaohs built elaborate tombs, and had food, clothes, jewellery, and even horses buried with them!
