Ancient Egypt: A beginner's guide
Death, mummies and the afterlife
Websites
Mummy: The inside story
www.britishmuseum.org/explore/
online_tours/egypt/mummy_the_inside_story/
mummy_the_inside_story.aspx
The virtual unwrapping of the mummy of the Egyptian priest Nesperennub, using the latest advances in computer technology.
The Theban Royal Mummy Project
http://anubis4_2000.tripod.com/
mummypages1/introduction.htm
This website attempts to bring archaeological data about New Kingdom
and Third Intermediate Period royal mummies from the Theban cache tombs
together in an easy-to-access, systematic fashion. Lots of information,
illustrations and even music, in a site created by an enthusiast.
Books
Egyptian Mummies by Carol Andrews (British Museum Press, 1998)
£8.99
An illustrated account of how mummies were made, the religious beliefs
that lay behind this practice, the ornate coffins and elaborate tombs
that housed the bodies and the grave goods that accompanied them.
Mummies: Myth and magic by Christine El Mahdy (Thames & Hudson,
1991) £10.95
This book describes the origins and purpose of mummification, clears up
misconceptions about mummies and looks at a number of scientific studies.
Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt by John H Taylor (British
Museum Press, 2001) £14.99
Drawing on the British Museum's world-famous collection of mummies and
funerary equipment, this book looks at embalming, coffins and sarcophagi,
shabti figures, magic and ritual, amulets and papyri, as well as the mummification
of sacred animals. It also investigates the evidence left by the physical
remains of ancient Egyptians, which reveal interesting details about their
environment, nutrition, life expectancy and general health and diseases.
