Upon their death, ancient Egyptian pharaohs were mummified and entombed in pyramids, which were built to protect them in the afterlife. Today, millions visit the Great Pyramids near the Egyptian capital of Cairo. Egypt is fuming over a competition to choose the world's "new seven wonders," deriding it as a marketing stunt that demeans the pyramids of Giza, the only surviving ancient wonder. The pyramids are also surrounded by statues, the largest of which is up next.
Image Credit: Patrick Hertzog/AFP/Getty Images
Some believe that the ancient Sphinx, seen with the Great Pyramids of Giza in Cairo, Egypt, may actually predate the pyramids. The Sphinx has the body of a lion, the head of a man and the headdress of a pharaoh, and it's said to be the embodiment of the pharaoh Khafre as the god Horus. Next up, see what real mummies look like.
Image Credit: Hugh Sitton/Photographer's Choice/Getty Images
A mummy is a body that sticks around long after a person has died. After death, the human body will start to decompose, but in mummies, the body's soft tissue remains, whether through deliberate preservation or through certain environmental conditions, as you'll see on the next page.
Image Credit: Three lions/Getty Images
Sometimes those environmental conditions can include ice. That's where the Iceman, a famous, approximately 5,000-year-old mummy, was found -- in an Alpine glacier. The Iceman is thought to be a hunter from the Bronze Age.
Image Credit: AP Images/HO
You might also stumble across a mummy in the depths of oxygen-depleted peat bogs. This head from an Iron Age man was found by peat cutters in the ancient peat bog at Lindow Moss in Cheshire, England. He was nicknamed "Pete Marsh" and was estimated to be around 2,300 years old. Learn a little more about Egyptian mummies next.
Image Credit: Mike Lawn/Evening Standard/Getty Images
Ancient Egyptians are the acknowledged mummy masters. They owe that distinction partially to their desert lands, which mummified bodies naturally after they were buried in hot sand. Those natural specimens gave Egyptians the idea to try their hand at artificial mummification. Next, see part of the mummification process.
Image Credit: Adam Jones/Photodisc/Getty Images
The bandages typically associated with mummies don't necessarily stop decomposition. Removing internal organs and liberally applying some natron, a drying agent, however, can work wonders. What happens to a body's fingernails? You'll see on the next page.
Image Credit: Express Newspapers/Getty Images
If nails on the body were loose, they might be tied back on with string or protected with golden sheaths. The nails on this mummy's hands are just ornamented with simple rings that appear to be gold. See what happens after this on the next page.
Image Credit: Patrick Landmann/Getty Images
After the several-week bandaging process was complete, the body could be placed in still more protective and decorative layers, such as King Tut's famous face mask. Next, see where King Tut was laid to rest.
Image Credit: Hisham Imbrahim/Getty Images
After all those layers were added on, the body might be enshrined in a tomb. Pharaohs' tombs were filled with objects that they might need in the afterlife. King Tut's tomb, shown here, was pretty deluxe, with lots of room for treasures. See a female mummy next.
Image Credit: HowStuffWorks.com
Mummification wasn't just for men. Here lies Queen Nodjmet, the wife of High Priest Herihor (1080-945 B.C.), at Egypt's Cairo Museum in April 2006. She died many years after her husband and carried the title "Mother of the King." Check out her hair! Beware: The next picture is a little scary.
Image Credit: Patrick Landmann/Getty Images
Mummies have been unearthed all over the world. This Inca mummy was one of many found in the Temple of the Sun in Macchu Picchu, Peru. Mummies were brought out on feast days for the reigning Inca to view. A more modern mummy is up next.
Image Credit: Three Lions/Getty Images
Mummies aren't just for ancient peoples. Over the course of a year, Dr. Pedro Ara embalmed the corpse of Eva Peron, or Evita, the wildly popular former first lady of Argentina. Finally buried 26 years after her death, Evita was laid to rest in a glass-covered coffin in a family tomb and is thought to be perfectly preserved. Next up is a Russian mummy.
Image Credit: Keystone/Getty Images
Why not go see Moscow's most famous mummy in the Red Square? Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union, lies embalmed in his tomb, shown here six days before his 127th birthday. Lenin's body gets a makeover every year. Our next mummy is a little less realistic.
Image Credit: AP Photo/Sergei Karpukhin
Hollywood loves a good mummy story. Just ask Arnold Vosloo and Brendan Fraser, stars of "Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride." They don't seem scared of this walking mummy! Our next mummies were auctioned off to some Star Trek fans.
Image Credit: Mathew Imaging/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Trekkies might recognize these Klingon mummies. They were auctioned off during "40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection" at Christie's auction house on Sept. 29, 2006, in New York City. The auction showed some 4,000 pieces of memorabilia, including dozens of spaceship models and hundreds of costumes. Next, see an author whose stories sometimes included mummies.
Image Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, was also a sucker for a good mummy tale. Doyle's short story "Lot No. 249," published in the collection "Round the Red Lamp" in 1894, prominently featured a mummy. See some unearthed bodies on the next page.
Image Credit: Keystone/Getty Images
An archaeologist dusts the plastered bodies of a woman and her companion, discovered with several other unearthed skeletons in Pompeii, Italy, on Sept. 6, 1991. Next up, we return to the world of Egyptian mummies.
Image Credit: AP Photo
As we've seen, mummy wrapping was an involved process, usually lasting one to two weeks. Once it was bandaged, the body was placed in a rigid cartonnage cage and funerary mask, like the ones shown here. Supposedly, the mask, which was either a likeness of the deceased or of an Egyptian god, was placed on the body so the deceased could find the right body among the tombs. Check out some more pyramids on the next page.
Image Credit: HSW
These three pyramids at Giza, Egypt, were built for Chephren, Mycerinus and Cheops. The Great Pyramid of Cheops is the largest of the three, comprised of about 2.5 million limestone blocks. A little different from the tombs of today! See one last mummy picture up next.
Image Credit: Sami Sarkis/Photographer's Choice RF/Getty Images
These mummified infants, probably from the early 1900s, are actually where they're supposed to be: in the vault of the Panteon Cemetery in Guanajuato, Mexico. There is some controversy over whether infant mummies should be displayed, as some are in Guanajuato's mummy museum.
Now that you've looked through our mummy pictures, watch our top 5 mummy videos.
Image Credit: Three Lions/Getty Images
Comments ( )