Death chamber
We open the doors to the eerie and mysterious world of the embalming chamber to explain exactly how the process was performed
Although the House of the Dead was occupied by priests and their servants, it was also regarded as a place of dread. The sight or smell of the embalming chamber was a source of fear and repulsion.
Inside the House of the Dead there would often be a long queue of bodies waiting to be embalmed; they would be placed on sloping beds so that bodily fluids and blood would drain into vats. Insects, inexperienced workers and the heat could make the work difficult. The embalming process was an urgent and bloody activity – when rushed the embalmers often lost or severed limbs.
The morality of the morticians was also regarded with suspicion; they were often associated with robbery and corruption. However, morticians were also viewed as mystics and magicians, and a sense of secrecy surrounded their art of preparing the dead.