00:00Mummification preserved bodies for millennia, but what was the actual biological secret?
00:06Egyptians believed a completely intact physical body was required to enter eternity.
00:12Take a newly deceased Egyptian official arriving at the embalmer's workshop.
00:17The embalmer's primary enemy was moisture, because water allows bacteria to rapidly destroy soft tissue.
00:24So first, they surgically extracted the water-heavy internal organs, and pulled the brain out through the nose.
00:32But they intentionally left the heart inside, believing it was required for final judgment in the afterlife.
00:39Next came the crux of the process, chemically dehydrating the remaining flesh.
00:44They packed the body with a naturally occurring salt mixture that aggressively draws out moisture, a substance called natron.
00:51But this chemical desiccation is incredibly slow.
00:54The body had to remain buried in the salt for 40 days, ensuring every trace of deep cellular moisture was
01:01fully extracted.
01:03Finally, the now dehydrated body was coated in protective plant extracts to treat the skin, and tightly wrapped in long
01:10strips of lemon, permanently locking out environmental moisture.
01:14And that official from the beginning?
01:16Safely dried and permanently sealed, their body becomes a biological time capsule, perfectly preserved for millennia.
01:24So that the body is composed of people who are supposed to keep the body from afar, but they also
01:26have a composite chemical reaction.
01:26So that they can help them to keep the body from afar.
01:26They will now become a biological system, and have a holistic approach.
