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EMBALMING. THE EGYPTIAN TOMB.
= Mummy = is the name given to the body of a human being, or creature, which has been preserved from decay by means of spices, gums, natron, bitumen, etc.; strictly speaking it should only be given to the body preserved by _bitumen_, for "mummy" is derived from a word which appears in Arabic under the form _mûmîâ_, and means "bitumen. " The oldest preserved bodies known were prepared with salt and soda, and bitumen was certainly not used on a large scale for embalming purposes before the XXIInd dynasty, about B. C. 900. The embalmed body, swathed in linen, was called by the Egyptians _qes_ 𓈎𓊃𓀾, 𓈎𓊃𓌟𓍱, or _qesȧu_ 𓈎𓊃𓇋𓅱𓀿𓑀𓍱, which has passed into Coptic under the form _kôs_. The word "mummy" is not of Egyptian origin.