Preparation

• To prepare the Pharoah's body for mummification, the Egyptians would clean it with water and natron.The body was cleaned and purified and all the hairs on the dead body were shaven off. They attached the nails by threading them onto the fingers and replaced the eyes with glass eyes.
  
  

Removals

• The embalmers removed all body organs except for the heart, which would remain in the body because the Egyptians believed it was needed in the afterlife. The brain was the first organ removed. They extracted the brain out of the nose with a hook after first macerating it into small pieces. They cut open the left side of the body to remove the rest of the organs, including the stomach, liver and intestines. These organs always had to be removed because they are the first ones to decompose.
  
  

Canopic Jars

• After removing the organs from the Pharoah's body, the embalmers washed the organs and packed them in natron to dry them out. Natrum was a chemical compound that consisted of sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate and salt. After dehydrating the organs, they put them into four jars they called "Canopic jars." These jars would eventually be buried along with the body.
  
  

Burial

• The body was wrapped in linen strands and covered in a sheet called a shroud. Bandaging the body would typically take 15 days. They used beeswax to cover the ears, eyes, nose and mouth. When it was time for burial, they stuffed the Pharoah's body with sawdust, leaves and linen. The embalmers rubbed oils, spices and perfumes on the body to maintain its freshness and smell. Finally, the body was placed in a coffin called a sarcophagus.