Why do so many people have an endless fascination with mummies for thousands of years? The worldwide curiosity about mummification is an age-old phenomenon as enduring as mummies themselves. 

Millions of mummies were literally made in ancient Egypt, as the people believed that the body needed to be preserved in order to prepare for eternal life. In the Omnimax Show “Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs”, viewers will have a journey thousands of years back to the age of the great pharaohs, and explore why mummification was so vital to ancient Egyptian life. The show unravels some of the mysteries enshrouding the ancient royal mummies such as their embalmment and hidden burial places. Featuring scientists, the show also embarks on a genetic analysis of mummies that may have great significance to the study of human diseases.

Let us brush back the sands of time, and explore the power of ancient Egypt through “Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs”!

We have found records made by ancient Egyptians describing their wars, myths and legends, but no literature detailing the method of creating a mummy has been discovered yet, making mummification a mystery for thousands of years. Egyptologists and historians studying ancient Egypt consider that natural preservatives and dryers are crucial factors to embalmment of human remains. The ancient Egyptians embalmed a body by using sodium lye (a mixture of soda and salt), frankincense, myrrh, beeswax, pine resin and honey. They would first remove the viscera, the more vulnerable parts to decomposition, from the body. Remaining at its original place was the heart, which was thought to be the cache of keeping a man’s consciousness. Religious rituals conducted by priests would follow so as to ensure that the mummy would come to life again during afterlife.

In the last two decades, scientists have had countless unsuccessful attempts to extract useful DNA from the Egyptian mummies. Many ancient Egyptians died of malaria, for example, which caused hundreds of thousands of casualties even nowadays. From the time of ancient Egyptian Pharaohs to now, it is possible that DNA of plasmodium (the parasite that causes malaria) might still remain in some mummies for several thousand years. A body donated to scientific research was mummified according to the ancient Egyptian way by scientists. Dr. Bob Brier and Dr. Angelique Corthals extracted DNA from that “modern mummy,” If we can extract DNA of parasites from the Egyptian mummies, scientists can have a better understanding on how diseases evolving over time.

Rameses the Great’s wood coffin

Rameses II, also known as Rameses the Great, was one of the three most powerful Pharaohs in ancient Egypt. He believed that his mummy would come to life again in paradise. He also thought that people would remember him as long as his name was mentioned, and so he built the famous temple Abu Simbel to himself and his queen Nefertari.

Abu Simbel

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