THIS EDITION HAS BEEN REPLACED BY A NEWER EDITION..

Thirty centuries ago most of the mummified bodies now lying linen-wrapped in the British Museum were alive in ancient Egypt. Why did the Egyptians try to preserve their dead for eternity? How did they achieve it? Carol Andrews answers these questions in a fully illustrated survey of the techniques of mummification, the religious beliefs which lay behind the practice, the ornate coffins and elaborate tombs which housed the bodies and the grave goods which accompanied them. She explains how animals also came to be embalmed and relates the curious role assumed by Egyptian mummies in European culture and mythology.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science acquired two ancient Egyptian mummies and three coffins. The mummies are the remains of two women who lived in an unknown locale in ancient Egypt. They both died in their thirties and have now been subjected to a number of unpublished scientific and unscientific analyses over the years. In 2016, as DMNS prepared to update its Egyptian Hall, staff scientists decided to reexamine the mummies and coffins using innovative, inexpensive, and accessible techniques.

This interdisciplinary volume provides a history of the mummies’ discovery and relocation to Colorado. It guides the reader through various analytical techniques, detailing past research and introducing new data and best practices for future conservation efforts. The new analysis includes more accurate radiocarbon dating, fully comprehensive data from updated CT scans, examples of Egyptian blue and yellow pigments on the coffins uncovered by non-invasive x-ray fluorescence, unprecedented analysis of the coffin wood, updated translations and stylistic analysis of the text and imagery on the coffins, gas chromatography of the paints and resins, linen analysis, and much more.

The Egyptian Mummies and Coffins of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science provides replicable findings and consistent terminology for institutions performing holistic studies on extant museum collections of a range of material types. It will add substantially to what we know about the effective conservation of Egyptian mummies and coffins.
 
Contributors: Christopher H. Baisan, Hans Barnard, Bonnie Clark, Pearce Paul Creasman, Farrah Cundiff, Jessica M. Fletcher, Kari L. Hayes, Kathryn Howley, Stephen Humphries, Keith Miller, Vanessa Muros, Robyn Price, David Rubinstein, Judith Southward, Jason Weinman
 

Why did the Egyptians try to preserve their dead for eternity? How did they succeed? Carol Andrews answers these questions in a fully illustrated survey of the techniques of mummification, the religious beliefs that lay behind the practice, the ornate coffins and elaborate tombs that housed the bodies, and the grave goods that accompanied them. She explains how animals also came to be embalmed and relates the curious role assumed by Egyptian mummies in European culture and mythology. This book has long proved fascinating reading; it is now available in an updated format.