Egyptians really had wrap on mummies

Associated Press

The ancient Egyptians prepared mummies in ways more complex than previously believed, using such embalming materials as plant oils, tree resin and beeswax, researchers say.

Richard Evershed and Stephen Buckley of the University of Bristol in England removed and analyzed tiny samples from 13 mummies at several British museums, and identified some of the substances used to preserve the dead.

The choice of embalming materials indicates the ancient Egyptians understood the value of antibacterial agents and different ways to dry the body before preserving it, Evershed said.

"I’m not suggesting they knew what bacteria were," he said, "but they had an understanding that water was part of bacterial decomposition."

The study discounted previous theories that embalmers used petroleum-based materials, which are relatively common in the oil-rich Middle East. Repeated tests found no traces of oil, Evershed said.

Sarah Wisseman of the University of Illinois-Urbana said the research shows that the embalming techniques were refined over time.

"What this is suggesting is these Egyptian embalmers had a very sophisticated knowledge about mummification," she said. "And over time, they had to adjust to shifting supplies of materials, plus shifting political conditions, such as when the Greeks and Romans took over."

The study, published in today’s issue of the journal Nature, tested samples from mummies ranging from nearly 4,000 years old — when ancient Egypt was reaching its peak — to less than 2,000 years old, when the Roman Empire controlled the region.

Some of the tree resins dried to a hard finish, much like the surface of an oil painting. The Middle East had a plentiful supply of cedar, cypress and pine during that era.

"One child mummy looks like it’s been varnished, like it’s been lacquered from head to toe," Evershed said.

Wisseman said mummification spread from the ruling class in Egypt to become a middle-class practice.

"As the Greek historian Herodotus tells us, the quality of mummification came down to the size of your pocketbook," she said. "So you could get expensive or very cut-rate treatments, or anything in between. Sometimes they’d just coat the body and wash it off later."

She noted that the procedure used by Evershed and Buckley required samples of less than a few millionths of an ounce — an important consideration for museums that work hard to preserve the mummies.

"Museum curators know they can offer just a tiny, tiny bit of material to provide something useful for future studies," she said.