The embalmers preserved the organs as well as the body. Both were then placed in containers that protected them and gave them meaning.
Key idea
The organs went into four canopic jars guarded by the Four Sons of Horus; the body lay in nested coffins, sometimes with a mask over the face.
| Son of Horus | Head on the lid | Organ |
|---|---|---|
| Imsety | human | liver |
| Hapy | baboon | lungs |
| Duamutef | jackal | stomach |
| Qebehsenuef | falcon | intestines |
Why it works
Each organ was part of the person and had to be kept for the new life, so each received a guardian. The four sons were also linked with the four directions, wrapping the person in protection on every side. In the Middle Kingdom and early New Kingdom, all four lids usually had human heads; the four different heads became the rule later in the New Kingdom.
Coffins and masks
- Old and Middle Kingdom coffins were often rectangular boxes, with a pair of eyes painted on one side so the dead, lying on their side, could look out toward the east and the rising sun.
- From the Middle Kingdom on, coffins shaped like a wrapped body, with an idealized face, became common. The coffin was a second, perfect body.
- Coffins could be nested one inside another, and the whole set placed in a stone sarcophagus.
- A mask over the mummy’s face gave it a lasting, divine face. Gold was used because it never tarnishes, like the flesh of the gods.
Tutankhamun’s burial shows the system at its richest: four gilded shrines, a stone sarcophagus, three nested coffins (the innermost of solid gold) and the famous gold mask inlaid with glass and stones.
Worked example: Matching a lid
A canopic jar has a lid shaped like a jackal’s head. What did it hold, and who guarded it?
- A jackal head is Duamutef.
- Duamutef guarded the stomach.
Answer: The stomach, guarded by Duamutef.
Worked example: Reading a coffin
A rectangular Middle Kingdom coffin has two eyes painted on one long side. Which way did the mummy face?
- The eyes were placed where the face was.
- The body lay on its left side.
- It faced the eyes, toward the east.
Answer: Toward the painted eyes, to the east.
Common mistake
Mixing up the canopic jars’ lids. The Four Sons of Horus have human (Imsety), baboon (Hapy), jackal (Duamutef) and falcon (Qebehsenuef) heads. Quick check: "Imsety is the only human."