The Organs and Canopic Jars - A Step-By-Step Guide To Egyptian Mummification For Kids - Part 7 of 12
Updated: Nov 4
Welcome to the next part of our Step-By-Step Guide To Egyptian Mummification For Kids. You can find out what's happened so far in our Mummification journey, here.
Phew! I didn't realise when our Pharoah died (mourn, blubber, tear) that we'd have so much work to do mummifying their body! We put in a lot of work to preserve the Pharaoh's heart (I was so exhausted, I had to take a nap!). Luckily, there’s not a whole bunch of other organs to have to deal with too.
Oh wait…
Step 7 – A Whole Bunch of Other Organs:
You’ll be glad to know there’s a lot less work with the Pharaoh’s remaining four organs. That’s the stomach, the intestines, the lungs and the liver. They may be a lot larger than the heart, but all you need to do is dry them out (again, you can use natron salt if you’d like) and pop them in fancy jars. No, I’m afraid you can’t just pop the organs in any old fancy jar (though I’m sure the lungs would look lovely in your mum’s favourite ornate vase). They need to be placed into four Canopic Jars.
Canopic Jars
“What’s a Canopic Jar?” I hear you exclaim loudly at the screen of your computer, laptop, tablet, mobular device or wherever it is you’re reading this article. A Canopic Jar is a special container used to keep the organs of the Pharaoh safe. You can see some real life examples in the photo above. Each of the four jars has a lid designed to look like one of the four sons of Horus. That’s right, the organs get protected by ancient Egyptian gods. Cool, huh?
Here’s where things get a bit tricky. Each organ has to be placed in the right jar with the right lid. So pay close attention to this next bit:
The Stomach
The stomach needs to be popped in the Canopic Jar with the lid that looks like a Jackal’s head. That’s the head of Duamutef. He’s probably the coolest of all the jar-heads.
The Intestines
The intestines need to be put inside the jar with the Falcon head on the lid. This is the head of Qebehsenuef. You’ll probably need to (gently!) squidge it all down because there’s an awful lot of intestines and not a lot of room in those jars.
The Lungs
The lungs get plonked into the baboon headed jar. That baboon head on the lid belongs to Hapy. Remember, the Pharaoh has two lungs! They don’t get a jar each. They both have to go in the same jar. Don’t go forgetting one and leaving it hanging around on the embalming room floor. This could attract all sorts of pests. And your Pharaoh will probably come back from the dead to give you a good severe talking to for discarding one of their beloved air sacks where somebody could tread on it.
The Liver
And finally, the liver goes in the Canopic Jar with the human head on the lid. This is the head of Imseti. I know. A human head? How boring compared to baboons, falcons and jackals right? But there’s always got to be a boring brother. And with the Four Sons of Horus, that boring brother is Imseti.
Where to pop the Canopic Jars
Keep these Canopic jars safe, they’ll need to be placed around the tomb when the time comes. You may go old-school and place them with the dead body in or near the sarcophagus. Or if you’d like, you could place them in the four corners of the tomb facing North, South, East and West.
But for now, you’re done with the organs and can take a quick breather before the lengthiest section of work in the Egyptian Mummification process; the wrapping. But don't let the length of the task put you off, after all, the wrapping does involve lots of old underwear! Wait. That might put you off more.