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[千奇百怪] Modern day mummies

Modern day mummies: The craze that is attracting celebrities and pet owners keen on preserving their bodies when they die

These are the modern day mummies.


Already, more than 1500 people across the world have contacted Summum, the world’s only mummification company, to be mummified after they die.


The company based in Salt Lake City, Utah have revealed that their clientele includes celebrities, from all over the world, including Britain, and added that they also cater to requests from pet owners.



Nine lives: Summum mummifies pet dogs and cats and puts them into steel or bronze caskets

Dozens of pets, including everything from dogs and cats, to peacocks, finches and even rats have undergone the traditional Egyptian burial routine..


The process takes 90 days. The organs are taken out and cleansed, then the body is hydrated for more than 70 days, submerged in a tank.


Then it is covered with lanolin and wax, followed by layers of cotton gauze and a fibre glass finish. The body is then encased in a steel or bronze casket.


Ron Temu, who works at Summum’s appropriately pyramid-shaped building as a counsellor for clients, said: ‘The chemicals we use are so permeable that if a drop was put on the hand, just seconds later it can be tasted in the mouth.


‘The olden day mummies look very dry and that’s because it was believed the best way to preserve them for the afterlife was to completely dehydrate them. We do the opposite and believe that hydrating the body fully is the best way to preserve it.


‘That's why the bodies will still look like the day they died - even thousands of years later.’



90-day process: A cat is suspended (left) prior to being carefully wrapped in bandages during the mummification process (right)


For posterity: Company president Corky Ra with his two mummified pets - dog Buster who died in 1986 and cat Oscar who died in 1985. Both caskets are covered in gold leaf. On the right Ron Temu with a mummified cat

But the process isn’t cheap. Cats cost £3,600 and dogs at £15,000. Human mummification costs approximately £40,000.


‘As we have clients from all around the world, including the UK, if a pet dies, then a vet packs it in ice and it is transported to us straight away.’

Some people do like having their mummified pets in their own homes - even animals as small as a rat or finch.’

‘What is amazing is that these animals, like everything else we mummify, just looks exactly like the day it died.

‘We test some of the pets after they have been mummified for years and they are perfect.’


Encased canine: This dog is now fully wrapped in bandages of cotton gauze and will soon be placed in a steel or bronze casket


Rest in peace: Al Greco with a mummified peacock (left). The head is bent round in order to simulate the sleeping position and a mummifed pet rat


Egyptian-inspired: Corky Ra and Ron Temu in front of the pyramid

Summum have already mummified human beings but their progress has been checked after 18 months and then state law says that as they have been opened, they must be incinerated.

But many are signed up to be mummified in the future - and the company says it has tremendous implications for cloning.

It is feasible that DNA could be removed at a later date by drilling into the casket.


Mr Temu said: ‘Being able to take out DNA at a later date has real appeal for people. People like the idea of being able to clone themselves.


‘We have a lot of people signed up to be mummified. They signed up in their 30’s and 40’s, and are now in their 50’s and 60’s, so we have a lot of work ahead of us.’



A wooden coffin containing linen-wrapped mummy was found near the Illahun Pyramid in Faiyum south-west of Cairo

WHY MUMMIFICATION?
The Ancient Egyptians mummified bodies because they believed in the afterlife and thus by preserving their bodies, they would stand the best possible chance of living in the eternal world.


The process involved washing the dead body as a symbol of purification with wine and water from the River Nile.


An incision was then made before removing all of the organs. These included the liver, lungs, stomach and intestines but the heart was left as it was integral to the life eternal.


The body was then stuffed and covered with salt in order to dry it out and left for 40 days.


Following that interval, it is then cleansed for a second time before being covered with oil in order to keep the skin elastic.


The organs are then wrapped in linen and reinserted before the body is covered with good-smelling oils and wrapped in high-quality linen.


Once the body was completely clothed, it is ready for the afterlife where the Egyptians believe a greater power would judge the heart based on the good deeds on earth.


By Lucy Laing


現代木乃伊 貓狗人乜都有

有沒有想過,在自己的愛犬、
貓、甚至自己本人死後,將屍體製成木乃伊呢?在美國猶他洲,就有公司專門製作現代木乃伊,只花須不多於40,000英鎊(約港幣31萬),就可以變成木乃伊了!當然,貴價與否,自己衡量了。

這家公司名叫Summum,是目前世上唯一一間製作木乃伊的公司,據公司透露,現在已有逾1500人聯絡它了。一般收費是,貓木乃伊需3,600英鎊(約港幣28,000元),狗需15,000英鎊(約港幣12萬),而人類則需40,000英鎊(約港幣31萬)。"

木乃伊化過程一點也不輕鬆,整個過程須時90天。製作人先將屍體內的器官抽出、清洗,然後將身體浸在罐裏約70天。然後用羊毛脂和蠟質將其覆蓋,再以紗布和玻璃纖維包裹,最後放在鋼鐵或青銅棺材。

公司員工Ron Temu說:「古代天木乃伊看起來很乾燥,是因為它完全脫水。但我們做相反的,保持它們身體濕潤,這就是為甚麼仍然像去世的那一天。」

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