Expert unravels ancient art of mummification

Mummification expert Dr. Bob Brier, who embalmed a cadaver in Egyptian style, was in Idaho Falls on Thursday to describe the experience.

This project was an academic experiment and tookmore thantwo years to complete. Brier and his students used the exact techniques the ancient Egyptians used to mummify bodies.

The Museum of Idaho, which is hosting a King Tut display until mid-November, said Brier was the first person in 2,000 years to mummify a human cadaver using the exact techniques of the ancient Egyptians.

According to the museum, Brier has examined the mummies ofKing Tut, Ramses the Great,Vladimir Lenin, Eva Peron (Evita), and the Medici family of Renaissance.

The mummification project was no easy task. Brier and his students had to travel the world to find the original materials. They found untreated linen in Ireland, tools in Yemen and volcanic glass rock to use for incisions. Brier’s team also used ancient copper tools to remove organs from the human cadaver.

“We did indeed put in a long hook through the nose, but then we used it like a kitchen whisk and we liquefied the brain, we rotated it and turned the cadaver upside down, and the brain came out through the nose,” said Brier.

The mummification process takes 35 days.

Brier was in town to speak at Idaho State University’s Bennion Student Center on Thursday night.