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Egyptian sacred spiritualism

Tidbits add up to ancient Egyptian archeological history

In a one-hour crunch, about 130 UA students and faculty members learned about the ancient Egyptian archaeology, preservation of the dead and the magic behind it.

Lanny Bell, Egyptology professor emeritus of at the University of Chicago, presented his speech, "Mummies, Magic and Medicine: Egyptian Funerary Beliefs and Practices," yesterday in the University of Arizona Franklin building.

Bell's speech - sponsored by the Tucson Society chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America - drew a crowd so large that several students had to sit on the floor.

Dressed with humor and witticism, his speech often drew laughter from the auditorium's audience.

He promised to speak about why the Egyptians spend a considerate amount of time, effort and money on such elaborate funerary furnishings, when they would later be stolen by "tomb robbers and archaeologists, which in the 19th century meant the same thing."

With colorful slides of elegant tombs, funeral furniture and the great pyramids of Giza - one of the seven wonders of the ancient world - Bell began by asking, "What roles did the Martians have in this?"

His answer - absolutely nothing.

"It is ridiculous to attribute ancient Egyptian cultural context to Martians because they had a strong organization and put it to work," Bell said.

"The Martians are a red herring," he said, adding that today's society has become so dependent on technology and mechanics that people have come to forget what power humans possess.

The complicated and intricate process that went into the construction of great pyramids was a process that took thousands of years to master, beginning with open burial tombs.

"They were dealing with the problem of death, but they never thought about cremation, exposing the body so birds could eat it or throwing it into the river to dispose of it," he said.

Instead, the bodies were placed in the fetal position in an open hole in the ground where constant exposure to the sun would preserve the body by dehydrating the skin and viscera, he added.

Later, the viscera was removed and stored in canopic jars - sacred containers. He said the liver, lungs, stomach and the intestines were stored, the brain was not because they believed it served no purpose.

After the movement where ancient Egyptians used the open burials came the construction of superstructures over the open burials in the form of a mud brick enclosure wall, he said.

"This was just a more elaborate hole with the superstructure on top," he said of "mastaba-style" burial tombs. "Mastaba," which means "bench" in Arabic, were rectangular structures built over the open burial chamber.

Still, Bell added that tombs were being robbed, so that the Egyptians had to devise a plan that would better protect their dead.

Therefore, following the use of "mastabas" came the first sight of pyramidal-shaped burial tombs, one of the first being the Great Pyramid of Zoser, "the greatest monumental stone building in the whole world," Bell said.

This pyramid - a type of step-pyramid - was a symbolic staircase to the heavens so that the pharaoh could "step" his way up to heaven, Bell said.

Consequent pharaohs would embrace this technique, master it and surpass the efforts of the ancestors in the sacred cities of Meidum, Saqqara and Giza, he said.

Offering educational tidbits into the magic behind the mummification process, Bell said the "ba" and the "ka" are two different concepts yet wholly important human elements.

"The 'ba' is represented as a bird of an individual person giving it a tie to the body," he said. "The 'ka' is the spirit of your ancestry, it represents your family's ancestry."

As a result, ancient Egyptians built a series of structures that would allow the "ba" and "ka" to move between the realm of life and death in a form of communication with their relatives.

The "false door" - an area where food offerings are placed - is one example of such communication.

Laurel Alexander, a family and consumer science education freshman, said "he's a really good speaker, and he did well in conveying a lot in a short amount of time."

Alexander added that Bell "was funny, unlike some people who try to pull it off," and even though she had no previous urge to enroll in an ancient Egyptian course, she was compelled by the information he presented.

Jennifer Harshman, anthropology senior, also noted his strengths.

"He's a well-respected Egyptologist that we managed to get here with a new perspective," she said.

Although Harshman said she was not shocked or amazed by anything Bell presented, she said all of his information was presented in both an efficient and effective educational manner.

Classics professor Mary Voyatzis said she learned a considerable amount of valuable information during the speech.

"It was well-pitched, and he connected a lot of information with good slides - and there was a wonderful turnout," she said.

Voyatzis, who is also the president of the Tucson chapter of AIA, said the institute brings prominent speakers from various parts of the country, like Bell.