The Kingdom Inside a Mummy

The Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara, a part of the same complex as the embalming workshop. (Source: Encyclopædia Britannica)
Arthur C. Clarke once said “Magic is just science we don’t understand yet.” To the embalmers of the ancient Egyptian mummies, their work was spiritual. Their ritualistic preservation and anointing of a body allowed its soul to pass easily into the afterlife, but this task was not simply a religious ceremony. Embalming was a complicated scientific process, requiring an extensive knowledge of the body and preservatives. These funeral rites were a union between these two very different worlds of the scientific and the religious. Today, our own scientists are still discovering much from these mummies left behind.
Recent studies at the Saqqara workshop 20 miles outside of Cairo have given new insight into the embalming process of the ancient Egyptians. While the Egyptian names of the substances used in embalming had been known for some time, it was not clear what exactly they corresponded to. A careful examination of the residue left behind in clay pots and bowls has solved this lingering problem, providing new insights into the embalming process. Moreover, by tracing the origins of these substances, one can reconstruct the economy and trading routes of the 26th Dynasty, from 664-525 BCE.
Anubis, the Egyptian God of the Dead, practicing the traditional funeral rites. (Source: Canadian Museum of History)
The Saqqara workshop is divided into three parts: the wabet, where parts of the body would be eviscerated and cut in preparation for preservation; the ibu where the embalming work was done; and the communal burial spaces where the common people would be laid to rest. This was a religious site, but its organization was surprisingly bureaucratic, with clay jars labeled by their contents, where they were to be applied, and even the name of the workshop’s administrator. From these pots we get the ancient Egyptian names for the substances within. Tars, resins, oils, and even animal fats were all used in the embalming process.
With the use of mass spectrometric analysis, the study was able to pinpoint the exact compounds found within these substances, their use in the preservation process, and where they originated from. For example, bitumen, a form of petroleum, was found in two vessels within the complex. Its composition suggests it originated near the Dead Sea, hundreds of miles away. As such, one can begin to speculate on the trade routes and economy supporting the burial site. These substances wouldn’t be had easily, but would instead rely on trade, refineries and mines to create.
Through these studies, one can learn much about the individual mummies (their status, their wealth), but also the wider society they lived in. Mummies were often the remains of Egyptian royalty, their bodies preserved so that they could go on to become gods in the afterlife. Within these remains are the traces of the kingdoms these royals presided over, economies and trade networks manifesting themselves in their preserved bodies.
Featured Product
Martian Meteorite Pendant
Cool Things!

Scientists Find Evidence of a Real-Life Tatooine!
Probably the most recognizable landscape in the Star Wars universe is Tatooine, Luke Skywalker’s desolate home planet where his fate finds him in the form of two crash-landing rebellion droids. Twin suns illuminate the desert wasteland, and in a recent discovery right out of George Lucas’s scripts, scientists believe they have found a planet similar to the one Skywalker begrudgingly calls home.

Lyndon Johnson: Architect of the U.S. Space Program
The Space Race is an era etched in the mythos of the United States. The starting gun, fired October 4th, 1957, as the Soviet Union launched the first-ever artificial satellite into space, was quickly answered by President John F. Kennedy a month later. In a special session of Congress, he set forth the goal of landing a man on the moon before the decade was out. If Kennedy was Jason on this voyage to the stars, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was his Argus, constructing the means of transport long before this challenge was issued and long before his superior’s assassination tumbled the nation into darkness.

Scientists Film a Colossal Squid in its Natural Habitat!
One hundred years after its discovery, scientists have captured the elusive colossal squid on film in its natural habitat. The juvenile squid was found around 2,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean near the South Sandwich Islands. Measuring about one foot long, it drifts through the sea with translucent skin, pearly eyes and colorful tentacles.
Specimen Deep Dives

Returning to the Moon: The Apollo 14 Mission

The Secrets of the Space Shuttle: Learn about Mini Museum's Shuttle Tile Material!

Gondwana: When the Earth Was One
Long Form Articles

Can I Lick It? Yes You Can!
Have you ever been unable to tell if a fossil was really a fossil, but you were too embarrassed to admit it? Have you ever wanted to lick a fossil just because, but you didn’t want to risk judgment from your peers? Well, good news! You can kill two birds with one stone! Licking a fossil can actually help you determine if it’s the real deal or just another rock.

Is It Legal To Own a Meteorite: How to Start Your Outer Space Collection!
Meteorites are some of the rarest geological specimens to be found on Earth. Of course, since these stones are not of our world, purchasing them can sometimes be a confusing process. Is it legal to own a meteorite? In short, yes! Read on for help starting your cosmic collection!

Is It Legal To Own a Dinosaur Fossil? How to start your Dinosaur Collection!
So you want to start fossil collecting!? Amateur paleontology is a fascinating and fun hobby that can even nab you an award! Dinosaur bones are some of the most sought-after specimens in the world, so you may be wondering, is it even legal to own a dinosaur bone? In short, yes! Read on for more help starting your fossil collection!