“Mummies were people,” Dr. Bob Brier indicates. “They are not like other artifacts such as pots and statues. There is a more direct connection to them than other antiquities.”
For many people, that’s true. That “direct connection” is another way archaeologists often get themselves in trouble. For example, the wreck of the Titanic is almost a sacred site for the survivors and relatives and descendants of some of the passengers who perished on board. Archaeologists, divers and treasure seekers visiting the wreck take pictures of the decks, the glass in the windows, the bathtubs in the cabins, the shoes, the glasses, the dishes, and we feel a very direct connection to these people. We are not supposed to be there, this is their final resting place. Perhaps somewhere along the way we forgot what R.I.P. really means.
That direct connection is also why people now strive to understand the process involved in making mummies, in preserving humans and maybe humanity, for as long as possible. So, what’s the big difference between the ancient Egyptian mummification process and modern day embalming? Maybe it’s religion.
“Ancient Egyptian embalming involved dehydration to permanently preserve the body,” Brier stated recently via e-mail. “Modern embalming uses chemicals to temporarily preserve the body.”
The ancient Egyptians' religious beliefs led them to believe their dead would rise again and walk in their bodies in the afterlife. Today, few religions still believe in an “afterlife” per se. Almost every religion has some theory of “Heaven and Hell”, but for most, they believe the only part of them to travel from this life to the next will be their soul – some sort of ethereal body, as opposed to the corporeal one.
Still some mummies have been made in modern times – some mummies other than the one made by Dr. Brier. You may just not realize that’s what you were looking at or reading about – but they are mummies. Consider Eva Peron, subject of the movie “Evita” starring Madonna, and Russian leader Vladimir Lenin. Both bodies were embalmed with the intent that they would be preserved forever. In fact, even though Lenin died in the late 1920s, his mummy is still on public display in an elaborate marble tomb in Red Square in Moscow.
The Russian people still very much revere Lenin. His mummy and his tomb are treated with great respect. During the time Lenin’s tomb is open, general public access to Red Square is restricted and armed guards barricade the entryways. In 1998, I had the privilege to visit Russia, Lenin’s tomb, Red Square and many other parts of Moscow and surrounding areas. We were asked to leave any large packages outside the barricades. No cameras were allowed. Hats and sunglasses were to be removed, and you were asked to walk through the tomb in silence – single file. I think they were not only trying to eliminate the possibility that anyone might try to damage Lenin’s mummy in any way, but also to show their respect for this man.
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