Mummification Museum

Corniche museum dedicated entirely to the art and science of ancient Egyptian mummification

The Mummification Museum on Luxor's East Bank Corniche is one of the more unusual museums in Egypt, dedicated entirely to the process by which the ancient Egyptians preserved their dead. It covers the practical and ritual aspects of mummification in detail, with actual mummies, the tools used, the resins and natron salts involved, and the religious beliefs that made preservation of the body so important.

The exhibits are well-labelled and the museum is a manageable size — allow an hour. It fills a gap that the Luxor Museum and the Valley of the Kings don't cover directly. If you have seen the tombs and the temples and want to understand more about what ancient Egyptians actually believed about death and the afterlife, this is the place. The museum is on the Corniche, easy to combine with a visit to Luxor Temple a few minutes' walk away.

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The museum displays not only human mummies but also the mummified remains of sacred animals — cats, baboons, a crocodile, and various birds — reflecting the range of Egyptian mummification practice. One of the star exhibits is the mummified body of Masaharta, a High Priest of Amun from around 1000 BC, whose wrappings are unusually intact. The museum also shows the full range of canopic jars, amulets, and ritual equipment that accompanied the mummification process.