During the Old Kingdom (Dynasties III - VI, 2750 BC - 2180 BC) the pharaohs were revered as gods incarnate. It was during this time that the pharaohs constructed many pyramids throughout Egypt. A pyramid was the most monumental type of tomb. After all, if the pharaohs were actually gods, they deserved the biggest and best resting places possible.

The first known pyramid was built at the necropolis of Saqquara for King Zoser (Third Dynasty). It is a unique step pyramid that originally began construction as a mastaba tomb. Successive levels were then added to form the “steps.”

Of course, the most famous pyramids are those at Giza. The Great Pyramid of Khufu (or Cheops in Greek) is the largest of the three. Contrary to popular belief, it was not built by slaves. Teams of laborers were hired. Many of these laborers were farmers hired during the annual Nile flood when it was impossible to tend to the crops because they were under water.

Also built during this period were the aforementioned mastaba tombs. They were long, rectangular buildings that were usually the resting places of the upper middle class and noblemen. The body was lowered down a 40 to 80 foot shaft and placed in the burial chamber directly below the upper structure. The shaft was then filled with sand and stones to prevent the body from being disturbed. Scenes of daily life such as hunting, fishing, farming, music and dancing were inscribed on the walls of the mastabas. This was to ensure that the next world would be as happy and as bountiful as this one. Actual events in the life of the deceased as well as spiritual scenes were also inscribed.

One feature of a mastaba was a “false door” through which the Ka of the deceased could pass through. The false door was actually an inscribed stele. At its foot was a stone slab. The family of the deceased would leave offerings of meat, milk, wine, beer, fruit, vegetables, incense, etc. on this offering table for the deceased’s Ka to partake of when it passed through the false door because it was believed that the Ka needed nourishment in order to exist.

The practice of leaving offerings for the deceased was first carried out in pre-dynastic Egypt when the sepulchral offerings were laid inside below-ground graves with the bodies. When the Egyptians began to mummify their dead, stone sepulchers were built over the graves. Then the offerings were placed upon reed mats, and later, stone slabs were used.

Following the era known as the First Intermediate Period was the Middle Kingdom (Dynasties XI and XII, 2060 BC - 1785 BC) when there was an increasingly wealthy middle class. The ordinary man began to be able to afford elaborate funerary equipment whereas only members of the aristocracy could afford it in the past.

After a Second Intermediate Period was the New Kingdom (Dynasties XVIII - XX, 1580 BC - 1085 BC) in which the most famous pharaohs ruled Egypt and built some of mankind’s most impressive monuments. Burial of the pharaohs was moved to Thebes or, as we know it today, the Valley of the Kings. Thebes was located on the west bank of the Nile in the direction of the setting sun that represented death, as opposed to the east bank and the rising sun which represented birth. It was thought that having the tombs located together in a guarded area would prevent them from being robbed. This was, of course, not effective at all. It’s presumed that the guards were accomplices to thieves or that they did most of the looting themselves.

As a result, not much was found in these tombs until the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922 that had been only slightly disturbed. Hundreds of ordinary items, as well as those made of gold, were found in the tomb. Among them were chairs and beds; bread and grains; personal items such as walking sticks, cosmetic cases, flasks of anointing oils, mirrors and combs; mystical items such as scarabs and amulets; and even chariots and board games.

Shabtis are small figurines that were placed in tombs during the New Kingdom. Sometimes shabtis were inside their own tiny coffins. There were usually hundreds of them made to represent servants that could work for the pharaoh in the afterlife. Actual servants were not sealed alive inside the tombs of the ancient Egyptians as popular culture would have us believe.

The Book of the Dead is a series of magical texts and hymns that was used to guide the deceased in the world beyond. Passages were inscribed on the walls of tombs and on coffins. It was written on papyrus for those who could not afford large tombs with enough wall space to inscribe the entire text.

There were several different forms of mummification. The poor would preserve a body by injecting cedar oil into the bowels through the anus. The anus was then plugged and the body steeped in natron (a mixture of sodium carbonate, sulfate and potassium chloride). The contents of the abdomen would liquefy, and then the anus was unplugged and the contents came pouring out. The corpse was then bandaged and buried. Sometimes the body was only steeped in natron and buried.

Described here is the form of mummification that was the most expensive method used. An iron hook was used to remove the brain by sticking it up the nose of the corpse. After breaking through the cranial cavity, the hook was moved around inside the cranium in order to liquefy the brain which would then flow out through the nostrils. The Egyptians believed the soul resided in a person’s heart and that the brain served no purpose so it was thrown away. Next an incision was made with a sharp stone on the side of the body. The embalmer stuck his hand inside and removed the intestines, stomach, liver and spleen. After scraping out any remaining bits of tissue from the abdomen, it was cleansed with water and palm wine, filled with powdered perfumes and sewn up. The embalmer then cut through the diaphragm, plunged his arm in up to the armpit, and pulled out the lungs. The eyes were sometimes removed, and onions were placed in the eye sockets. However, occasionally, the eyes were left in place and were found shrunken at the backs of the sockets of some mummies.

Finally, the body was immersed in natron for approximately 70 days. The carcass was now dehydrated and stiff so the skin was massaged with oils to make it supple before bandaging. Resin was poured into the open cavities, and then the body was painted – red for men and yellow for women. The body was then wrapped in linen bandages and smeared with resin.

The principal organs that were removed from a body were also embalmed and wrapped in linen, and they were then placed in four Canopic Jars. Each jar was dedicated to one of the four sons of Horus the falcon god, who was the son of Isis and Osiris. The four lids were made in the shape of the head of the deity to whom it was dedicated: the jar of Imsety was man-headed and held the liver; the jar of Hapy was baboon-headed and held the lungs; the jar of Duamutef was jackal-headed and held the stomach; and the jar of Qebhsenuf was hawk-headed and held the intestines. The jars were usually made of alabaster or porcelain. The exception to this practice was the heart. It was bandaged and then replaced back inside the body.

On occasion, during the embalming process, there is evidence that someone would screw up and misplace the heart! Instead, a green or black basalt Heart Scarab was put inside the body in its place. On this scarab was inscribed the prayer that the deceased person was supposed to recite when his heart was weighed in the presence of Osiris when attempting to enter the netherworld. If his heart was light, he would gain passage.

For some reason, during the 21st Dynasty, the Egyptians still embalmed the organs, but they were all placed back inside the body. Regardless, they still put Canopic jars in the tombs. The jars were solid instead of hollow, which made them useless. Therefore, they were meant to be symbolic only. This shows that the Egyptians found it hard to break with tradition.

Royal mummies were decorated with elaborate jewelry made of gold and inlaid with semiprecious stones. Necklaces were often made of beads of various shapes and sizes. Interspersed with the beads were figures of the gods as well as amulets. If the amulets were made in certain shapes and of certain materials, they brought protection to their wearer.

Mummies of the New Kingdom were interred in several, nested, wooden coffins of human shape, and the coffins were placed inside a stone sarcophagus. Later during the Ptolemaic Period, the coffins were rectangular and made of wood. They were painted with figures of the favorite gods of the deceased. In the Roman Period, the coffin was often dispensed with, and the body was laid upon a flat rectangular board with a canopy vaulted over it. It was wrapped in bandages, and over the face was a portrait of the deceased painted on wood.

Today, people actually live in Cairo’s cemeteries, known collectively as “The City of the Dead.” The first people to start living there were caretakers who were needed to maintain the monuments that were built in medieval times. These caretakers built their houses amid the monuments, and soon communities sprang up around them. The terrible housing shortage in Cairo has also contributed to the use of the necropolis as residential space.

On Thursday evenings, Fridays and major feast days, the people of Cairo visit their family tombs and have picnics among the graves. While modern Egyptians do not construct grand monuments for their dead as did their ancestors, they still honor the deceased in their own way, as do we all.