The Mummy: A Handbook of Egyptian Funerary Archaeology

Museum officials tell us that mummies get more attention from museum-goers than any other ancient objects. Although many Egyptian customs and practices were to be found in other parts of Africa, mummification is unique to Egypt, and the scale on which it was practiced is found nowhere else in the world. Its uniqueness is only the beginning of its fascinating story. It was practiced in Egpyt for the four thousand years of the Dynastic Period. For four thousand years the preservation of the embalmed body, or mummy, was the chief end and aim of every Egyptian! The greater part of the wealth of Egypt during this time was devoted to mummification and what went along with it. - Jacket flap.