An important part of the embalming procedure is the removal of the brain from the skull. The embalmers introduced a strong 30 to 40 cm long bronze hook into the nose, pierced through the ethmoid bone, and thus had access to the interior of the skull. The brain then poured out by itself. Unlike the organs of the abdomen, the brain was not kept in Canopic jars, because it did not have any significance for the Egyptians.
The embalmers then liquefied ointment by heating and filled it into the empty skull. The ointment was made of coniferous resins, beeswax, aromatic oils, and bitumen. It should act as a bactericide, and also had magical and ritual significance. While cooling down, the ointment hardened and formed a pool at the back of the mummy’s skull.
Described parts of the mummy’s head: mask, crown of justification, linen wrapping, skull, ointment, fixation stick, coffin.
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