Mummification was just one sequence in an ancient Egyptian's
journey to the afterlife. Mummification was vital because the body had to
remain intact in order for it to be recognized by its Ka, thus allowing the Ka to
return "home" at night. If a person was to exist in the afterlife they had
to be prepared and usually they desired to exist in a manner similar to that of when
they were alive.
Pharaoh, upon his death, would become a god and required to exist
with the same comforts and belongings he had during his life. This meant
that he required food and drink to continue to exist, he required items for
leisure such as books (made of papyrus) and games, he needed a bed to sleep in,
chairs to sit on, chariots and boats to ride in, and slaves to serve him.
Being dead, Pharaoh naturally could not do any of that until he got his
senses back.
The
Egyptians, thinking of everything since the Afterlife was of major import,
developed a ceremony called the "opening the mouth" ceremony in which the
mummy's mouth was "opened" restoring all of its senses. Priests performed
the ceremony and purified the mummy by burning incense, anointing the body, and
saying incantations.
Originally
the ceremony was done to statues of the mummy but later on the Priests performed
the ceremony on the mummy or the mummy case using a setep, adze, and Pesesh-kef
knife.
The mummy used a boat to travel through the underworld in order
to protect itself from dangerous reptiles with five heads, serpents with
long knives and fire breathing dragons. After the dangerous journey the
mummy finally arrived at the Hall of Osiris where another ceremony was
performed.
Known as the "weighing of the heart" ceremony, the heart of the
mummy was weighed on a scale against one of Maat's (goddess of truth and
justice) feathers to determine if during life the mummy performed good deeds and
was virtuous. The jackal headed god, Anubis (who guards the Annex of King
Tutankhamen's tomb),
performed the ceremony while the ibis headed god, Thoth, recorded the decision.
The best outcome (for the mummy) was for the heart and the feather to weigh the
same. If that occurred the dead Pharaoh become a god, traveled to paradise
and attained everlasting life. If, however, the heart and the feather were
not of equal weight then the goddess, Amemet devoured it and the Pharaoh ceased
to exist in the afterlife. Prior to this ceremony the individual had to
recite the "Negative Confession" stating they were
free of sin and thus worthy of entering the afterlife. The "weighing of
the heart" ceremony proved whether the person spoke the truth or not.
Although the mummy may be in paradise (enjoying everlasting
life) those still living had to care for and maintain it. When it was
buried a magnitude of items went with it such as offering tables to put food
and drink for its soul; miniatures of everything from soldiers to protect it,
slaves to serve it, and a boat to send it through the underworld safely;
jewelry to wear, chairs to sit on, beds to sleep in, and information about the
deceased. King Tut's tomb provides the best picture of what a royal tomb
looked like.
Although
Tut was not a great or long-reigning leader such as Seti I or Ramses II his
"treasure" is vast and one can only imagine what the great kings had in their
burial chambers.
The walls of the burial chambers tell all about the deceased
through the language of the ancient Egyptians, Hieroglyphics. This language
speaks in pictures instead of letters and words. For ages scientists could
not read the writing but due to Napoleon, they now can.
During
his campaigns Napoleon found the Rosetta stone, which makes a declaration in
three languages with one of them being known to scientists and one of them being
Hieroglyphics.
The
Egyptians, thinking of everything since the Afterlife was of major import,
developed a ceremony called the "opening the mouth" ceremony in which the
mummy's mouth was "opened" restoring all of its senses. Priests performed
the ceremony and purified the mummy by burning incense, anointing the body, and
saying incantations.
Originally
the ceremony was done to statues of the mummy but later on the Priests performed
the ceremony on the mummy or the mummy case using a setep, adze, and Pesesh-kef
knife.
performed the ceremony while the ibis headed god, Thoth, recorded the decision.
The best outcome (for the mummy) was for the heart and the feather to weigh the
same. If that occurred the dead Pharaoh become a god, traveled to paradise
and attained everlasting life. If, however, the heart and the feather were
not of equal weight then the goddess, Amemet devoured it and the Pharaoh ceased
to exist in the afterlife. Prior to this ceremony the individual had to
recite the 
Although
Tut was not a great or long-reigning leader such as Seti I or Ramses II his
"treasure" is vast and one can only imagine what the great kings had in their
burial chambers. 
During
his campaigns Napoleon found the Rosetta stone, which makes a declaration in
three languages with one of them being known to scientists and one of them being
Hieroglyphics.