Incredible facts
If you don't want to be buried in the ground after you die, or you're not excited about cremation, why don't you become a mummy?
For centuries, ancient Egyptians turned their pharaohs into mummies, and later other noble people became mummies after death.
The Egyptians believed that in this way they would not only preserve bodies, but also give the deceased an easy way to the afterlife.
Such rituals have finally faded into oblivion, but SUMMUM, a Utah-based company, has been working for the past 30 years to bring back the mummification technology of ancient Egyptians.
More than 1500 people from all over the world have already applied to SUMMUM, wanting to become a mummy after death.
It should be noted that the company's clients include not only people. The Salt Lake City-based organization also mummifies animals.
Dogs, cats, finches, peacocks and rats have already been buried in Egypt using an improved method.
This is how the procedure took place in ancient Egypt. According to tradition, immediately after death, the body was washed with water taken from the Nile and mixed with wine. This was considered a symbol of purification. After that, internal organs were removed: the stomach, liver, intestines and lungs.
The heart was left in a person, because eternal life without him, as the Egyptians believed, would be impossible. Then both the body and the removed organs were kept in a special tank with specific chemicals for 70 days.
Later, each organ was wrapped in linen cloth and returned to the body, and the mummy itself was then smeared with salt and dried for 40 days. After this time, the cleansing was performed a second time, after which the body was covered with oil to keep the skin elastic.
At the final stage, a layer of lanolin and wax was applied to the body, and it was wrapped in cotton gauze. It was then placed in a bronze or steel box.
Modern mummification
Today, Summum uses similar materials and similar technology, but everything has been modified for a modern process that takes a total of 90 days.
The body ends up in a bronze sarcophagus, which is filled with amber resin: it isolates and protects the mummy.
The seams of the sarcophagus are welded, and the sarcophagus itself is located in a sanctuary or buried in a cemetery. Many people have already signed up for mummification in the future, because, according to company representatives, this is extremely important for cloning, because the genetic material of the deceased is preserved for for a long time.
It should be added that mummification is not cheap. To become a mummy after death, you'll have to pay $67,000. At the same time, mummifying a dog costs $25,000 and a cat $6,000.