Through the Eras

Religionbe left plain, or be decorated with scenes from daily life,offering scenes, or scenes of the deceased in the afterlife.CHAPEL. The chapel could also take different forms.It could be as simple as a stele erected above the burial;wealthier individuals could have a chapel of many rooms,usually—but not necessarily—above the burial chamber.The focal point of the chapel was a stele called a “falsedoor” by Egyptologists, since it represented a door carvedin stone. This door, usually located directly above theburial chamber, was thought to be the place where theba of the deceased could leave and enter the burial chamber.In front of the door could be found a stone tableon which offerings could be left. The sides of the doorwere frequently engraved with the text of the offeringformula, and it was thought that if any passersby wouldstop and recite the formula on behalf of the deceased,he would be magically provided with nourishment.Painted relief of a god, in Egyptian tomb, Valley of the Kings,Luxor, Egypt. © BOJAN BRECELJ/CORBIS. REPRODUCED BY PERMIS-SION.these two functions. The burial chamber, usually locatedbelow ground, housed and protected the body. Aboveground was the superstructure, the chapel, which servedas the public part of the tomb and was accessible topriests and visitors.BURIAL CHAMBER. The burial chamber frequentlycontained the equipment necessary for a proper burialand a pleasant afterlife. Inside the burial chamber wasthe coffin, four canopic jars (containing the liver, lungs,stomach, and intestines, which were removed at mummification),shawabti figures (figurines designed to actas stand-ins whenever the deceased was called upon todo any work in the afterlife), amulets, and texts. Objectsof daily life that were thought necessary for the comfortof the deceased were also included in the burial chamber.These objects included food containers, furniture,tools, games, clothing, and any other object the deceasedcould have used. The walls of the burial chamber couldCHAPEL DECORATIONS. The walls of the chapelcould be decorated with many types of scenes. Somescenes depicted activities associated with agriculture,such as plowing, planting, and harvesting of crops, andthe herding of animals. Scenes showing the processingof foodstuffs include those of brewing beer and makingbread. Scenes of daily life include such activities as fishingand fowling, boating and boat-jousting matches, andthe manufacturing of goods such as jewelry, chairs, beds,coffins, pottery, or cloth. Other tombs have representationsof the funeral procession with mourners. Duringthe First Intermediate Period, chapel walls were rarelydecorated with such scenes. Rather, small wooden modelsdepicting the same types of activities were includedin the burials. The purpose of the scenes and models wasthe same: to ensure the deceased a steady supply of thosegoods he would need in the afterlife.MUMMY. The focus of all this effort and activity wasthe mummy (embalmed remains) of the deceased. TheEnglish word derives from the Persian word mumia,meaning pitch or bitumen. The word was used at leastsince the Renaissance to describe the embalmed remainsof the Egyptians because they appeared to be coveredwith pitch. The practice of mummification may havearisen because of the natural drying property of theEgyptian sand. The earliest Egyptian burials, from thePredynastic Period, were simply shallow pits on thedesert’s edge. The heat combined with the sand servedto dry out the body’s tissues before they could decompose,leaving a considerably lifelike appearance. With theintroduction of more elaborate tombs, however, thebody was no longer buried in the sand, and as a resultquickly decomposed. Consequently, various attempts240 Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.)