First Session of Mummy Preservation Course Begins in Bahariya

Did you know that in the cellars of the museum at the Bahariya oasis, there's hundreds of mummies that never get displayed? Most of the cadavers and coffins are kept down there to be preserved, in conditions that are much safer than the ones found on most museum floors. But even in those circumstances, you'd still need to learn how to take care of them. Give them that deluxe corpse treatment they used to get back in the day, back when you'd be lucky to have your brain pulled out your nostrils and have your organs placed in special, individual jars.

Perhaps understandably, not every Egyptian has learned about the practicalities of being an ancient undertaker. We're not going to see it on our school curriculum any time soon (which is a shame since kids are ALL ABOUT the brain-out-the-nose thing). Society’s just not ready for that, we suppose. But in Bahariya, conservationists are getting a crash course with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities' Department of Mummies Restoration on the restoration and maintenance of mummies. The session serves as an initial run for a programme that is planned to be used across Egypt's governorates, and will help museum officials better take care of the mummies that they've been entrusted with.

The lessons come with an education on first aid and the precautionary measures to take against the Coronavirus, because really, is there ever a bad time to learn those things?