Hello and welcome to Here you can find information on Ancient Egypt as well as some graphics that I have done over the past few months. Enjoy your stay

Hello and welcome to my site. I'm not sure what made me do make this site (other then the constant pressure my sister was putting on me..) but here it is.

Graphic Design is my biggest hobby. My sister and I have been hoping to be able to start our own web design and computer tutoring company. So far the only thing we have for it right now is a domain but we're not even sure if we're going to keep that name yet..

Ok, now I'll tell you a lil bit 'bout myself. I'm 18 and working my way through college to become a Graphic Design Artist. Currently I'm working as a receptionist to get myself through school. (Believe me, if you don't have to have a job to pay for school DON'T... talk 'bout your stress here.)

Ok now you know about this site, about me and my sister's imaginary company as well as a little bit about me! Aren't you proud? Ok, now leave this page and go lose yourself in my site. I hope you enjoy your visit and thanks for coming!


Sincerely and Best Wishes,

Lostris

Ancient Egypt, the land of the Nile Delta was the most fertile and powerful land in the ancient times. Ancient Egyptian's prepared for death in every way they could think to. One of the first things the Egyptians did to prepare for death was to save money to buy a tomb for their bodies to rest for the afterlife. (Ancient Egyptian's believed that the afterlife was in the west.. or where no man dared traveled) After an Egyptian died they were sent to be mummified. Mummification varied depending on how much the embalmers were paid. If the embalmers were paid a lot to be embalmed then the deceased Egyptian would be mummified as well as was expected for the amount paid.

The first attempts of artificial preservation of the dead occurred as early as 3000 BC. Herodotus, a Greek historian, wrote in the fifth century bc saying that there were three steps to mummification:

"The most perfect practice is to extract as much of the brain as possible with an iron hook cannot reach is rinsed out with "drugs". Next the flank is laid open with a flint knife and the whole contents of abdomen removed. The cavity is the thoroughly cleansed and washed out with palm wine and again an infusion of pounded spices. After that it is filled with pure bruised myrrh, cassia and every other aromatic substance with the exception of frankincense, and sewn up again, after which the body is placed in natron, covered over entirely for seventy days - never longer.

"When, for reasons of expense, the second quality is called for, the treatment is different; no incision is made and the intestines are not removed but oil of cedar injected into the body with a syringe through the anus which is then stopped to prevent the liquid from escaping. The body is then dry-salted in natron for the prescribed number of days, on the last of which the oil itself is drained off. The effect of it is so powerful that as it leaves the body, it brings with it the stomach and intestines in a liquid state.

"The third method, used for embalming the bodies of the poor, is simply to clean out the intestines with a purge and keep the body seventy days in natron."

The incision that the internal organs were removed varied throughout Egyptian History. One of the major changes happened in the eighteenth century when the incision moved from one running vertically down the side of the body to one slanting from the hip bone to the pubic area.

The purification of the deceased was carried out in the ibu, "the tent of purification". As soon as the person died, the embalmers were called in by a family member to carry the dead person to the ibu. At the ibu, a rather lengthy ceremony took place; this ceremony took up to seventy days. The chief or head embalmer was called the "Controller of the Mysteries" and represented Anubis (Anubis was worshipped as the inventor of embalming, who had embalmed the dead Osiris, and in this way helping to preserve him so he was able to live again.) The chief embalmer was assisted by the "God's Seal Bearer". The reader of the lessons was presented to read the appropriate spells throughout the procedure. Also, there were a number of wtw, minor priests who carried out ordinary tasks such as bandaging.

While the body was at the ibu, it was cleansed thoroughly with water containing the purifying agent natron. The ritual of cleansing may have symbolized the rebirth of the deceased. Many depictions survive, including one on the Late Period coffin of Djed-bast-iuef-ankh in the Hildesheim Museum, West Germany, showing the deceased being cleansed as a blackened corpse.

The removal of the organs happened after the cleansing of the body. First the body was taken to the wabet, or "place of embalming", for the removal of the internal organs. The operation, or the placing of the incision, was done by a scribe (or they were sometimes called the slicer, or ripper up) with a flint knife. As part of the ritual, the priest who performed this was chased away with abuse and the throwing of stones. But once the incision was made, the stomach intestines, lungs and liver were removed. The kidneys were usually left in place or overlooked as if they were of little importance. After the removal of the organs, the cavity may have been cleansed and then filled with temporary stuffing.

The brain was also regularly removed which may have been done at the ibu. They removed the brain by either a hole that was punched in the thin bone at the top of the nostrils (the ethmoid bone), or through an incision at the nape of the neck. At this time a coating of resin was also applied to the face.

Not many mummies still had their internal organs intact in the body, especially in the Late Period, which had to do with keeping with the least expensive method of mummification.

About the sixteenth day after the death, (after the cleansing, removal of organs, and temporary stuffing of the body cavity) desiccation (drying, preserving.) began. The drying agent used was natron. Natron is a hydrated native sodium carbonate. A further analysis of several embalmer's caches, natron has been identified as a natural salt of sodium carbonate and seventeen percent sodium bicarbonate, with some additional sodium sulfate and sodium chloride, it occurs mainly in the western delta in the Wadi Natrun, some 40 miles northwest of Cairo. One of the greatest debates in Egyptology came over just how the natron was inserted into the body of the deceased. On one of the sides were those who believed that it was used wet, in solution; on the other, those who thought it was used dry in a bed.

"The accepted view of the desiccation now is that the body was laid on a bed which sloped gently towards the foot, where a basin caught anything draining from the body. The finest versions of the bed itself may have been made of stone with lions carved down the sides, as in the embalming tables of the Apis bulls at Memphis; or wood; or, in the case of the poor, perhaps simple mats laid on ' the ground. The thoracic (chest) and abdominal cavities were cleansed, and then were filled with natron so that the drying process acted from within as well as from without. Finally, the corpse was totally covered in piles of dry natron."


-'Mummies, Myth and Magic' by Christine El Mahdy-


The length of the desiccation took about seventy days to be completed.

The internal organs were also taken out and treated with resin and anointed with oils and then were wrapped separately with linen and placed in the tomb. Where exactly the organs were placed in the tomb depended on the period of time of the embalming. During the Twenty-First Dynasty, they began to be wrapped in linen and replaced inside the body cavity. During the Late period they wrapped the viscera and placed it between the legs of the mummies.

After the body was preserved it was then removed from the natron and removed from all traces of salt, dried and taken to yet another area. The body was taken to the per nefer, "the house of beauty". Here, it was re-stuffed with materials such as resin-soaked linen, more natron, lichen, onion, mud or even sawdust mixed with other substances. The stuffing that was first put into the mummy was taken out and kept aside while the body was re-stuffed.

In the house of beauty (per nefer) the a mixture of beeswax, spices and natron, milk, wine, and juniper oil were put onto the rubbery skin of the mummy, the quantity and quality of the oils and perfumes depended on mostly how much the embalmers were paid by the family. The incision that the organs came out of was not sewn or stitched very often, usually, it was sealed with wax or had a metal plate placed over it. The metal plate was decorated with a magical symbol for protection. The nostrils and the mouth were plugged with wax or linen. Later in history, the body was stuffed with to fit the natural contours of the body. Usually there were pads under the eyes... in the cheeks, etc.

After the body was completely anointed with the perfumes and oils and new stuffing and pads in the right places, the body was then often colored. The bodies of men were often colored with red, the women with yellow. The embalmers then applied henna to the feet. During the Graeco-Roman period a gold leaf was placed over certain parts of the body, and female mummies began to have their faces painted with rouged and had their eyes painted. The basic colors that ancient Egyptians used were red, yellow, blue, and black. To my knowledge those were the main colors if they are wrong please correct me. Also, the family began to give the embalmers jewelry to place on the mummy before the bandaging began.

Next came the wrapping of the mummy. Every part of the mummy was wrapped separately. For instance, the hands, head, arms, feet, legs were all wrapped separately from the rest of the body. Here is a more detail description:

"The head was first tied in place, with one band around the face holding the jaw firm, and another wrapped around the head and shoulders to fix the neck. Then the toes and fingers - and genitals, in the case of men - were wrapped individually using narrow fabric strips. The arms and legs would be bandaged next, each limb separately. The torso followed this. Over this and every subsequent layer of wrappings, amulets or pieces of jewelry would be and then brushed over with melted resins. Resin protected the mummy by making it stronger and rendering it virtually waterproof. When first applied, the resins would have varied in colored from gold to dark brown, but after drying and hardening, they became black and pitch-like. Interaction between residues of salt on the body and the resins resulted in a brittle glass-like material that produced rock-hard flesh beneath the bandages. The resins penetrated right through to the body tissues themselves, and the glassy substances has been identified within many of the body tissues.

"Now the prepared remains were bandaged from head to foot in layer upon layer of linen, the arms and legs wrapped close to the body to form the usual mummy shape. The position of the arms varied greatly from period to period. Sometimes those of men were extended and the hands placed over the genitals while women's arms might be straight along the sides of the body or crossed over the chest. Strips either running from head to foot, or crossed around the shoulders and hips in a figure of eight arrangement secured each layer of bandages. Smaller strips were bound around the legs and arms. (Many of the coffin lids were painted with what appeared to be simulated mummy bands.) At each stage, pads of linen were inserted to ensure that the finished shape would be satisfactory. Often, the final layer was wrapped around the body and secured in place by yet more linen bands. From the New Kingdom this final shroud was sometimes dyed red. During the Twenty-first Dynasty, red leather straps crossed over the shoulders of the mummy. In the Late period, the body was covered by a net of tubular blue faience beads."


-"Mummies Myth and Magic" by Christine El Mahdy-


The next and just about last step to mummification is to make the mask for the mummy. The mask was made out of cartonnage, which is made out of linen or papyrus reinforced with plaster or resin. It was shaped to fit all the different contours of the mummy's face so that when it dried it out look and have the shape of the mummy. The embalmer's then painted and decorated the mask. After the mask was placed over the mummy's head and shoulders the mummy was put into a series of coffins, sometimes the inner most coffin was richly decorated and sometimes the outer. After the mummy is placed in the coffin it is then placed into its tomb where it's most prized and needed possessions were with him/her. Ancient Egyptians believed that the spirit had to be prepared for life in the afterworld. Mostly armor, sometimes servants, and pets, gold, and silver were buried in with the deceased.


-For More Information on the Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddess they believed in please visit my "Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddess' Page"-

Queen Lostris, The Daughter of the waters, was a undocumented Queen that ruled between 1797-1790 bc. Just before the Hykos invaded Egypt. Her tomb was opened in 1988 by Dr. Al Simma and the writer Wilbur Smith was invited to help translate the scrolls that were found hidden behind a piece of plaster. The scrolls were written by her slave "Taita" who was in fact in love with the Lostris but Lostris loved another, Tanus who was a warrior for the Pharaoh. I do not have much more information that I am completely sure is true. However I do know that the names, Lostris, Tanus, and Taita may or maynot be the real names of these people. The Queen was not previously recorded because during the 1700's bc was a time of chaos for Egypt. I would like to point out that the Hykos did not completely change Egypt by themselves. On the contrary, the Hykos adopted the Egyptian way of life. They worshipped their gods, adopted their customs and ways of life. The fact that other countries attacked Egypt and changed the customs of Egypt was why the Ancient Egyptians became extinct to the world and their culture disappeared with them. For information backing up what I have written of Queen Lostris, please see the following webpage. Please e-mail me with you commments and question about her and what happened during her time of rein. Thanks :)

Ancient Egypt is the Land of the Pharaoh's. The Pharaoh's were said to have kept Egypt alive and were the gods in the form of humans. Below I have created a list of the Pharaoh’s and Queen's and the time of their ruling.





4500-3150 BC Predynastic Period

4500-4000 BC Badarian

4000-3500 BC Naqarada I (Amratian)

3500-3300 BC Naqarada II (Gerzean A)

3300-3150 BC Naqarada III (Gerzean B)

3150-2700 BC Thinite Period

3150-2925 BC Dynasty I

3150-3125 BC Narmer-Menes

3125-3100 BC Aha

3100-3055 BC Djer

3055-3050 BC Wadjit ('Serpent')/Djet

3050-2995 BC Den/Udimu

2995- Anedjib/Andyjyeb/Enezib

2950 BC Semerkhet

2960-2926 BC Ka'a

2925-2700 BC Dynasty II

Hetepsekhemwy

Reneb

Nynetjer/Nutjeren

Weneg

Sened

Peribsen

Sekhemib

Shasekem/Khasekhemwy

2700-2190 BC Old Kingdom

2700-2625 BC Dynasty III

Nebka(= Sanakht?)

Djoser

Sekhemkhet

Khaba

Neferka(re)?

Huni

2625-2510 BC Dynasty IV

Snofru

Cheops

Djederfre

Chephren

Baefre (?)

Mycerinus

Shepsekaf

2510-2460 BC Dynasty V

Userkaf

Sahure

Nefrirkar-Kakai

Shepseskare

Neuserre

Menkauhor

Djedkare-Isesi

Wenis

2460-2200 BC Dynasty VI

Teti

Userkare

Pepy I

Merenre I

Pepy II

Merenre II

Nitocris

2200-2040 BC First Intermediate Period

2200-c.2160 BC Dynasties VII and VIII

Many Short-Lived Kings Including Qakare

Iby and Khuy.

2160-c.2040 BC Dynasties IX and X (Herakleopolis)

Meribre Khety I

Neferkare

Nebkaure (?) Khety II

Neferkare Meribre

Wahkare Khety III

Merikare

2160-2040 BC Dynasty XI (Thebes)

Mentuhtope (I)

Seherutawy Inyotef I

2118-2069 BC Wahankh Inyotef II

2069-2061 BC Nakhtnebtepnefer Inyotef III

S'Ankhiebtawy Mentuhotpe II



2040-1674 BC Middle Kingdom

2040-1991 BC Dynasty XI (all Egypt)

2040-2009 BC Nebhepetre Mentuhotpe II

2009-1997 BC S'Ankhkare Mentuhotpe III

1997-1991 BC Nebtawyre Mentuhotpe IV

1991-1785 BC Dynasty XII

1991-1962 BC Ammenemes I

1962-1928 BC Sesostris I

1928-1895 BC Ammenemes II

1895-1878 BC Sesostris II

1878-1842 BC Sesostris III

1842-1797 BC Ammenemes III

1797-1790 BC Ammenemes IV

1790-1785 BC Sobkneferu

Dynasties XIII and XIV

Sekhemre-Khutawy

Ammenemes V

Sehetepibre (II)

Ammenemes VI ('Ameny The Asiatic')

Hornedjheritef "The Asiatic"

c.1750 BC Sobkhotep I

Reniseneb

Hor I

Ammenemes VII

Ugaf

Sesostris IV

Khendjer

Smenkhkare

Sobkemsaf I

c.1745 BC Sobekhotep III

c.1741-1730 BC Neferhotep I

Sahathor

Sobkhotep IV

c.1720-1715 BC Sobkhotep V

Neferhotep II

Neferhotep III

Iaib

c.1704-1690 BC Iy

Ini

Dedumesiu I

1674-1553 BC Second Intermediate Period

Dynasty XIV Dynasty XV and XVI Dynasty XVII

(Hykos) (Thebes)

1674 BC Dedumesiu I

Salitis

Dedumesiu II

Senebmiu

Djedkare

Monthuemsaf

1650 BC Yaqub-Har

Rahotep

Inyotef V

Sobkemsaf II

Khyan Djehuty

1633 BC End of Dynasty XIV Mentuphotpe VII

Apophis

Senakhtenre Ta'a I

Senakhtenre Ta'a II

1578 BC Kamose

1552-1069 BC New Kingdom

1552-1314 or 1295 BC Dynasty XVIII

1552-1526 BC Ahmose

1526-1506 BC Amenophis I

1506-1493 BC Tuthmosis I

1493-1479 BC Tuthmosis II

1479-1425 BC Tuthmosis III

1478-1458 BC Hatshepsut

1425-1401 BC Amenophis II

1401-1390 BC Tuthmosis IV

1390-1352 BC Amenophis III

1352-1348 BC Amenophis IV

1348-1338 BC Akhenaten

1338-1336 BC Smenkhkare (?)

1336-1327 BC Tutankhaten/Tutankhamun

1327-1323 BC Ay

1323-1295 BC Horemheb

1295-1188 BC Dynasty XIX

1295-1294 BC Ramesses I

1294-1279 BC Sethos I

1279-1212 BC Ramesses II

1212-1202 BC Merneptah

1202-1199 BC Amenmesse

1202-1196 BC Sethos II

1196-1190 BC Siptah

1196-1188 BC Twosre

1188-1069 BC Dynasty XX

1188-1186 BC Sethnakhte

1186-1154 BC Ramesses III

1154-1148 BC Ramesses IV

1148-1144 BC Ramesses V

1144-1136 BC Ramesses VI

1136-1128 BC Ramesses VII

1128-1125 BC Ramesses VIII

1125-1107 BC Ramesses IX

1107-1098 BC Ramesses X

1098-1069 BC ?

1069-702 BC Third Intermediate Period

1069-945 BC Dynasty XXI Theban Chief Priests

1070-1055 BC Pindujem I (as chief priest)

1069-1043 BC Smendes

1054-1032 BC Pinudjem I (as King)

1054-1046 BC Masaharta

1045-922 BC Menkheperre

1043-1039 BC Amenemope

1039-993 BC Psusennes I

993-984 BC Amenemope

992-990 BC Smenedes

990-969 BC Pinudjem II

984-978 BC Osorkon The Elder

978-959 BC Siamun

969-945 BC Psusennes

959-945 BC Psusennes II

945-715 BC Dynasty XXII Theban Chief Priests

945-924 BC Shoshenq I Iuput

924-889 BC Osorkon I Shoshenq

890-889 BC Shoshenq II Smendes

889-874 BC Takelot I Iuwelot

Harsiese

870-860 BC Hariese

874-850 BC Osorkon II Nimlot

850-825 BC Takelot II Osorkon

Dynasty XXIII

825-773 BC Shoshenq III Pedubastis I

787-759 BC Osorkon III

773-767 BC Pimay

764-757 BC Takelot III

767-754 BC Shoshenq V

757-754 BC Rudamon

754-715 BC Iuput II

747-525 BC Late Period

747-656 BC Dynasty XXV Dynasty XXIV

747-716 BC Piankhy

727-716 BC Tefakht

716-715 BC Bocchoris

716-702 BC Shabaka

702-690 BC Shebitku

690-664 BC Taharqa

672-525 BC Dynasty XXVI

727-716 BC Necho I

664- Tantamani Osammetichus

-656 BC End of Kushite Rule

610-595 BC Necho II

595-589 BC Psammetichus II

589-570 BC Apries

570-526 BC Amasis

526-525 BC Psammetichus III

525-404 BC Dynasty XXVII (First Perisan Period)

525-522 BC Cambyses II

522-486 BC Darius I

486-465 BC Xerxes I

465-424 BC Artaxerxes I

424-405 BC Darius II

405-359 BC Artaxerxes II

404-343 BC Dynasties XXCIII-XXX

Dynasty XXVIII

404-399 BC Amyrataeus

399-380 BC Dynasty XXIX

399-393 BC Nephertites I

393 BC Psammuthis

393-380 BC Achoris

380 BC Nepherites II

380-343 BC Dynasty XXX

380-362 BC Nectanebo I

342-360 BC Tachos

360-343 BC Nectanebo II

343-332 BC Second Persian Period

343-338 BC Artaxerxes III Ochos

338-336 BC Ares

336-332 BC Darius III Codoman

333 BC Khababash (Last known Egyptian Indigenous Egypt Ruler)

332 BC-AD 395 Greco-Roman Period

332-304 BC Macedonian Dynasty

332-323 BC Alexander the Great

323-316 BC Philip Arrhidaeus

316-304 BC Alexander IV

304-30 BC Ptolemaic Period

30 BC-AD 395 Roman Period

 

Ancient Egypt the land of the Pharaoh's has caught the attention of thousands of generations throughout the years. Here is information that I have collected on mummification, the Book of the Dead, Gods and Goddess', hymns as well as mythology.