History - mummification in action

This week year 4 got hands on with their learning so far and had a go at the longest stage of the mummification process- drying out the body in natron.

We started by mixing salt and baking soda to create natron, a naturally occurring desiccant used by the ancient Egyptians. In pairs the children each took an apple and gave it a face before removing the brain (taking the stem off ). We then completely covered the apples in natron. The ancient Egyptians would have left a body drying in natron for forty days but we will check back on our apples in two weeks to see if they are ready for wrapping before embarking on their journey to the afterlife!