Wednesday 10 November 2010

Canopic Jar


Here is a picture of the model sheet for Musty's canopic jar (Duamutef).
When a body was preserved as a mummy, the internal organs were taken out quickly after death, as they would rot. All the same, the ancient Egyptians believed that it was important to preserve them alongside the mummified body. The heart, the 'seat of understanding', was left in place. The liver, lungs, stomach and intestines were placed in four different containers.
The wooden lids of these jars represent the Sons of Horus, four minor gods who protected the organs that they contained. They are: the falcon-headed Qebhsenuef (intestines); the jackal-headed Duamutef (the stomach); the baboon-headed Hapy (the lungs), and the human-headed Imsety (the liver). These were named 'canopic' jars by modern Egyptologists.
There, bet you didn't think you were going to get a bout of knowledge today did you?

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