PROCESS 

To complete this assignment you must follow the steps below:

1. Find two other explorers to help you with this exciting project.

2. Research each mission below, one by one, and complete the assigned tasks.  Click on the web site links to find useful information. 

3. Use your completed charts, diagrams and reports as the basis of your presentation to Mr Ramesos.  For practice, you and your group members will present the report to your own class first.

(Hint: Click on the Evaluation icon above to view the marking scheme for this project).

Click on mission one to begin....
 

Mission One - The Mummification Process

Mission Two - Coffin Art

Mission Three - The Journey  to the Afterlife

MISSION ONE : 
THE MUMMIFICATION PROCESS

The following questions will help to guide your research: 
What are the steps of the mummification process? 
How and why were the internal organs removed? 
What were the canopic jars used for? 
How long did the mummification process take? 
What is a shabtis?
(Hint: Keep pen and paper handy to write down important facts). 
 

You will find lots of information in the web sites below, but you are encouraged to carry out your own research in the local library where there will be lots of information available.

Mission One : Task 
Construct a chart detailing the steps of the mummification process. Make sure to include suitable drawings and photographs on your chart. 
(Hint: You can draw or download images from the web). 

Remember - the accuracy and design of this chart is very important.  It will be used during your presentation to Mr Ramesos.

(Ask your teacher for materials for the chart when you have completed your research).
 
 

RESOURCES:  To learn about mummies, please click on these web sites How to make a Mummy (Explore this easy to follow web site. Step-by-step descriptions with useful photos and images). You wouldn't want to be an Egyptian Mummy (Explore this interesting site about making a mummy). Clickable mummy (click on the different body parts to find out about the mummification process). Mummification Process (Easy to follow site. Worth a look). Watch a modern day Mummification (Step-by-step description and images).

For your second mission, you must research the Coffin Art of the ancient Egyptians.

Once the mummification process is complete, Mr Ramesos will need a decorated wooden coffin. In ancient Egypt wealthy people could have as many as three coffins all fitting snugly inside one another. 

With the mummy inside them, the nest of coffins will be placed in a tomb inside a large stone coffin called a sarcophagus.

To protect the mummy on his or her dangerous journey to the afterlife, pictures of the Gods and spells were written on coffins and the walls of tombs. 

A burial mask was used to cover the head of the mummy.  Masks were a very important aspect of ancient Egyptian burials. They provided the dead with a face in the afterlife. The masks were often covered with gold and jewels. 

Mission Two: Task
Research the coffin art of the ancient Egyptians using the web links below.
(Hint: Keep pen and paper handy to write down facts and make some sketches).

Your second task is to design the coffin of Mr Ramesos using traditional designs. 
Draw and colour the front and back of the coffin.
Include the name Mr Ramesos in hieroglyphics on the coffin. 
Make sure the coffin has pictures of the Gods and spells painted on it to protect Mr Ramesos in the afterlife.
Finally, write about three of the traditional symbols or pictures of the Gods chosen for your coffin based on your research.  Why were these symbols important to the ancient Egyptians? 

Remember - the design of this coffin is very important.  It will be used during your presentation to Mr Ramesos.

(Ask your teacher for materials when you have completed your research)
 

RESOURCES:  To learn about Egyptian coffin art, click on the following sites.  Please make some sketches, you may want to use these symbols on your coffin: Coffin Art (Lots of information and images of Gods and Goddesses). More Coffin Art (Easy to read text. Beautiful coffin symbols and photographs). Even more Coffin Art (Photographs of Egyptian coffins. Easy to follow text). Egyptian Gods (Easy to use site.  Provides images of Gods and Goddesses, click on image for information about him or her).  Mummy Art (Clickable mummy art - provides information about the figures and symbolism according to Egyptian Mythology).  Hieroglyphic Translator (Converts English text into hieroglyphics).

For your third mission, you must research the journey to the afterlife of the ancient Egyptian Pharoahs.

All ancient Egyptians believed in the afterlife and spent their lives preparing for it. Pharaohs built the finest tombs, collected beautiful funerary equipment, and were mummified in the most expensive way.  The ancient Egyptians expected the afterlife to be a idealised version of their time on earth. 

When the Phaorah died, the body was mummified so the soul would return to the body, giving it breath and life.  Household equipment and food and drink were placed on offering tables outside the tomb's burial chamber to provide for the person's needs in the afterworld. Written funerary texts consisting of spells or prayers were also included to help the dead on their way to the afterlife. To prepare the mummy for the journey to the afterlife, the "opening of the mouth" ceremony was performed on the mummy and the mummy coffin by priests. 

The final step in moving to the afterlife was the Judgment of the Dead by Osiris, god of the underworld, in a ritual known as the Weighing of the Heart.  The following scene shows the 'Weighing of the Heart against the Feather' ritual. 

If a person had led a decent life, he or she would be judged worthy of eternal life.  If not, the heart would be eaten by the goddess Ammut.  Many spells and rituals were designed to ensure a favorable judgment and were written in the papyrus or linen "Book of the Dead." 

Mission Three: Task
Research the Journey to the Afterlife of the ancient Egyptians.
(Hint: Keep pen and paper handy to write down important facts).

Your third task is to write a report on the Journey to the Afterlife.

The following questions will help to guide your research: 
What is the "opening of the mouth" ceremony? 
Where is the realm of the Duat?
What is the function of a solar bark?
Describe the steps of the "weighing of the heart" ceremony ? 
Identify the function of the Gods in the Judgement of the Dead ceremony?

You will find lots of information in the web sites below, but we also encourage you to carry out your own research in the local library where there will be lots of information available. 

Remember - the accuracy of this report is very important.  It will be used during your presentation to Mr Ramesos.

(Ask your teacher for materials when you have completed your research)
 

RESOURCES:  To learn about to Journey to the Afterlife, please click on these web sites: The Afterlife (Clearly explains the funerary scene above, lots of useful information).  Life after Death (Easy to follow site. Worth a look). Weighing of the Heart (Useful information). The Judgement of the Dead (This labelled illustration provides information about the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony).