An important part of the embalming procedure is the removal of the brain from the skull. The embalmers inserted a strong 30 to 40 cm long bronze hook into the nose, pierced the ethmoid bone, and thus gained access to the interior of the skull. The brain then poured out by itself. However, it was not kept in canopic jars like the organs of the abdominal cavity, since it was meaningless to the Egyptians.
The embalmers then liquefied balm by heating and filled it into the empty skull. The balm was made of coniferous resins, beeswax, aromatic oils, and bitumen. It should act as a bactericide, and also had magical and ritual significance. While cooling down, the balm hardened and formed a pool at the back of the mummy’s skull.
Described parts of the mummy’s head: mask, crown of justification, linen wrapping, skull, balm, stabilizing stick, wooden coffin base.
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