Canopic jar with human head

During mummification, the internal organs were removed and placed in a set of jars to be buried near the coffin. In the Ramesside period (Dynasties 19-20) and later, the lids of these jars usually took the shape of the four Sons of Horus, divine beings who protected the body parts under their care. The liver, stomach, lungs, and intestines merited separate containers, while the heart, considered the seat of intelligence, was returned to the body. The brain was discarded as unimportant.

2016