Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1921-10-27
What Mummies Mean,

'ohe STATUE that has no, re-
ceived the attention due il rbi.
statue Of King Sahure OF the s,,h =.
nasty (2750-2625 B. c., and is
derfui state Of preservation. in sn;,. :,
the fact that it had been buried 70, 80.
turtles in the ruins Of Sahure's ,v,au,,
temple, under tons of sand and ear,h
The mummy of Sahure was uneartb.d
oy German archaeologists prior to N.
discovery OF the statue now at the NJ.
ropolitan, but it was retained nv ~.
Egyptians for their own museum 7.
is thought by many scholars to be The
best preserved mummy yet found Tbs
face of the mummy and the face O, n.
diorite statue are So startlingly alik,
that their probably likeness to the king
himself cannot be doubted
The sculptors OF ancient Epypt mad.
all the statues, the face masks and
coffins OF the dead as nearly like the
subject as was possible. A man had
all his statues arranged before death
and a very rich man took no chancs,
on having poor work done. There were
religious reasons for this. So power.
full king as Sahure Individually en-
ployed one or more Of the famou,
sculptors of his time
In 5000 and 1000 B. C. the Egyptian,
believed in life after death and in a
day of resurrectipn-a belief broueh,
out OF Egypt by the Children of Israel
and handed down to them by the sub
sequent Christians. No Biblical scholar
now wholly disbelieves this. But the
Egyptian belief was materialistic rath.,
than spiritual; a tenet that took little
or no account to the soul. The body
was the thing. Hence mummies and
statues in tombs.
The earliest race OF Egyptians lived
in the Nile Valley about 4OOO-37OO
B. c.. Men have found their cemeter.
les in numbers, although most traces
OF their villages and their art have dis
appeared. In thai era mummies had
not yet come into fashion, although
some idea Of hereafter was theirs, IS
is in every primitive, people.
Their earliest burials are reminis.
cent OF Indian finds in our own country.
The dead were laid in contracted Do
sition in the grave with pottery and
stone vessels containing OBVIOUSLY
bod and drink, and lint and stone i'm
plements Of the chase; they are found
upon the left side; with head toward
the south and knees drawn up-"in an
embryonic position ready to be born
into a new world"
The whole cost OF a good mummy
was ST ,200-a sum that undoubtedly
represented small fortune in that day.
The body lay in brine for 80 days, after
which different preservatives we're en-
ployed. A mixture Of balsams and
gums and spices were finally found
most satisfactory, although bitumen,
pitch and other ingredients all had their
vogue. Nile mud and sawdust were
first injected beneath the skin to pre-
vent shrinking.
Egyptians who were not rich we're
but indifferently preserved; and the
very poor made shift to get to heaven
without their bodies.
And Egypt had pyramids because Of
the mummies. These were Simply
great stones Of intricate interiors in
which the dead might be kept safely
FOR the last day. They were designed
to be as palatial and comfortable a. the
wealth Of the dead one permitted; &C.
eurity was essential, for robbing the
graveyard was favorite pastime in
ancient Egypt.
A mummy might decay; it might be
stolen or so mutilated and defaced that
the risen dead could not occupy it.
Therefore, man had his mummy won
oerful incaSed and entombed The
body was placed hrst in a stucco and
linen coffin, its face sometimes merely
swarthed in mummy cloth; this comm
was set in another or wooden case, the
wood being a statue OF the deceased
made true to life, only larger into
which the first case fitted.
Cases were sometimes multiplied,
as In the tombs Of great princes OF GER
eras, and as many as six and eight have
oeen found, one WITHIN the other. The
outer covering was huge box of wood
or granite, according to the period.
They deAed ghouls!
NOW, the mummy and its whole
series OF encompassing cases might
conceivably be destroyed. The Egyp-