Page 20 - British Museum: Mummies Unwrapped

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What happened to the mummies next?
Many tombs were made up of two parts – a burial chamber for the mummy and a place for people to leave their offerings. It was the duty of the family to bring food and drink to the tomb forever so the mummy’s spirit could live on, but, if this didn’t happen, the walls of the tomb were painted with magical spells to help.
On the way to the afterlife, the mummy had to pass a ‘Weighing of the Heart’ ceremony. They believed Anubis, the jackal-headed god, would weigh the heart of their soul against the ‘feather of truth’. If the heart was heavier, it would be eaten by a hippopotamus-lion- crocodile creature, but if the heart was lighter, they could continue on their journey.
Once the mummy was inside the tomb, the burial chamber was meant to stay sealed for ever, but that wasn’t always the case . . .