Mummy

(mum'me.) [Arab., from mum, wax.) (Antiq.) A dead body preserved by antiseptics, according to methods practised by the ancient Egyptians. The proce es for this purpose were very various: some of the mummies which have been opened having been dried by vegetable and balsamic substances, others by salt or natron. In the former case, aromatic gums or asphaltum were used; and those so treated are generally in good preservation. Those dried with saline substances are of a black, hard, smooth appearance; on exposure to the air they attract moisture, and become covered with a saline substance. The bodies are rolled up in bandages of silk and linen, which are sometimes 1,000 yards in length (Fig. 114). The coffin (Fig. 303) is usually of sycamore, cedar, or pasteboard; the case is in one piece, covered within and without by paintings representing funeral scenes, and a great variety of other subjects; the cover, which is also in one piece, is ornamented in the same manner, and contains, also, the face [s. 624]