Preserved for Eternity

Mummification was not reserved for pharaohs. The most elaborate process was expensive, but Egyptians across social classes preserved their dead in some form.

The wealthy received the full seventy-day treatment with the finest linen and amulets. The poor might get a simple drying in natron salt. This universal practice shows that beliefs about the afterlife were not elite propaganda but deeply held convictions shared across Egyptian society.

Animals were also mummified by the millions, but not simply as pets: some accompanied owners into the afterlife, while many cats, ibises, baboons, and other animals were votive offerings connected to particular gods.