Abstract
In the course of the exploration of the shaft tomb of Menekhibnekau (a high-ranking official who lived at the turn of the 26th and 27th Dynasties) at Abusir, one of the largest preserved embalmer's deposits was discovered in 2003. The deposit (marked as Shaft S1) has an inverted E-shaped ground plan and contained, besides a few other things, over 300 large amphorae.
These contained above all sand and straw, some of these large amphorae contained one or more smaller vessels - drop-shaped jars, beakers and cooking-pots - some broken, some still intact. 20 of the large amphorae and 30 of the smaller jars bore short inscriptions in late hieratic or demotic script, one imported Phoenician amphora bears several different texts in Phoenician and Aramaic. It is, however, the late hieratic corpus of inscriptions that concerns us here, as it is directly connected with the mummification process.
The texts identify a number of embalming materials, and in some cases connect these with a day-number. As these go beyond "day 60", they cannot be days of the month, but represent, given the context, the days of the mummification process.
The embalmer's deposit of Menekhibnekau thus contains a unique "cookbook" for making mummies.