The mystery behind the ritual

You believe, the corpses often have their teeth broken and removed before they become mummies.

The solution behind the ancient "open mouth mummy" ritual of the ancient Egyptians

According to a new study published at the International Conference on Egypt held in Florence (Italy), the ancient Egyptians before becoming mummies may have lost some teeth to be forced to open. mouth.

This process is done before the mummy is wrapped in bandages, but after the brain withdrawal steps and removal of the mummy's organs. Using knives and a perforated iron tree, ancient Egyptian priests will cut their teeth, cut and break joints to make the mummy open his mouth.

Opening the mummy mouth is one of the rituals performed before embalming the mummy

The researchers said that the process is the exact opposite of the embalming process that is judged to be delicate and careful.

The process of "forcing open mummies" is an important ritual of ancient Egyptians. According to Egyptians, this process was done to restore the senses of the dead after they passed through the afterlife.

Mariam Ayad, an Associate Professor of Egypt at the University of America in Cairo (Egypt), said: ' Leaving mummies to open their mouths, combining with some other rituals to restore all five senses to the dead, to they may exist in the afterlife '.

However, according to mummy expert Frank Rühli, director of the Institute of Medical Development at the University of Zurich, these procedures are sometimes quite brutal and horrifying.

Rühli said: ' The chisel and crack of the mummy's teeth are the first evidence of the effects on the ancient Egyptian's body structure before embalming.'

Rühli and dentist Roger Seiler studied 51 mummies, along with 100 skull skeletons preserved at the Zurich Archaeological Museum. They found that some mummies had their teeth broken after death, and scans of mummies showed broken teeth placed deep in the throat.

Based on what is written in the old documents, for those with high status when they die, their jaws are forced to expand. Accordingly, the priest will put his hand into the corpse of the corpse 'until it is no longer possible to enter '.

To be able to clean the oral cavity with oil and sap, the priests will use 4 pieces of cloth, 2 pieces placed in the throat, one piece in the lower jaw and one piece inside the oral cavity. Ruhli said: ' These effects have broken teeth and dislocations of many ancient Egyptian mummies'.