Human Mummification Practices at Ismant El-Kharab *

Abstract

An estimated 169 inhumations were identified in 15 tomb chambers of the west cemetery at the Roman Period site of Ismant el-Kharab (Kellis) in Egypt's Dakhleh Oasis in the western desert. Of these, 50 were in the form of mummified human remains, about half of which represented deliberate, anthropogenic (‘artificial’) mummification. Comparison of mortuary practices with contemporary ones of the Nile Valley revealed some general similarities but also some exceptional differences. The most spectacular of these involved the production of composite mummies, prepared by using parts from multiple, different bodies, lashing them to a wood rack and wrapping the whole in such a manner as to resemble the external appearance of a traditional, single, mummified adult cadaver.