 |   |  |  | Aspirations To The Afterlife
Mummification museum gives a peek into the Ancient Egyptian underworld | |
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Just north of the Luxor Temple, the Mummification Museum is easy to miss. The entrance on the Corniche is simply marked with a sign near a set of stairs leading to the netherworld — or at least below the sidewalk to the river level and the museum’s front door. Dedicated to the cult of mummification, this one-room museum is small but well organized. You first follow a ramp around the edge of the room past line-art drawings that show the process of mummification and burial, copied from two 13th-century BC papyri. The famous scenes of jackal-headed Anubis, god of embalming who also guided the dead through the underworld, are here, as well as a portrayal of a burial procession taking the mummified body to the tomb.  | Dana Smillie | | Animals, like this crocodiles, were mummified as part of religious practices. |
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The ramp curves around to the far end of the room, where the displays of physical artifacts start. The museum’s purpose is to educate rather than to awe, so those looking for an army of the undead will be disappointed. There is only one human mummy, a discreetly covered 21st-dynasty high priest of Amun-Re by the name of Maserharti. The ramp passes behind Maserharti’s head, so the less squeamish can look death in the face. The high priest is a local boy, found near Deir-El Bahri (also known as Hatshepsut’s Temple) on the Nile’s West Bank. Of more interest are the mummified animals. Some, like the goose and a goat leg, were part of the offerings left for the deceased. Other animal mummies were used in cult worship: the crocodile representing the god Sobek and the baboon left for the god Thoth, for instance. The mummified cat, dedicated to the goddess Bastet, has its own cat-shaped painted sarcophagus.  | Dana Smillie | | Animals, like baboons, were mummified as part of religious practices. |
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No self-respecting mummy would be caught dead without a coffin, and you’ll find several examples of elaborately painted coffin covers and mummy boards near the exit, including those found with Maserharti. As befitting a display dedicated to death, the room’s decor is basic black, with the glass-cased exhibits tastefully illuminated in warm yellow-white spotlights. Some showcase cult items found in tombs, others feature the instruments and substances used during the actual mummification process, such as natron, which was used to dry out the body. The displays have clear, informative labels in English and Arabic, detailing each item’s significance in the Ancient Egyptian funerary practices.  | Dana Smillie | | Maserharti, high priest of Amun-Re |
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In all, this air-conditioned museum offers a nice, quick break on a hot day of temple-hopping. The Mummification Museum is open from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. all year round, with winter evening hours of 4 – 9 p.m. and summer evening hours of 5 – 10 p.m. tt |
