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clock-iconPUBLISHEDApril 18, 2025
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IFLScience We Have Questions: What Happens To Eyes During The Mummification Process?

And why it sometimes involves onions...

Rachael Funnell headshot

Rachael Funnell

Rachael has a degree in Zoology from the University of Southampton, and specializes in animal behavior, evolution, palaeontology, and the environment.

Senior Science Writer

Rachael has a degree in Zoology from the University of Southampton, and specializes in animal behavior, evolution, palaeontology, and the environment.View full profile

Rachael has a degree in Zoology from the University of Southampton, and specializes in animal behavior, evolution, palaeontology, and the environment.

View full profile
What Happens To Eyes During The Mummification Process

Episode 8 of We Have Questions.

Image credit: Dotted Yeti/Fears/Juan Alejandro Bernal/Macrovector/Nikolayev Alexey/Shutterstock.com; modified by IFLScience

The mummification process is perhaps one of the most talked about aspects of Ancient Egyptian life. It highlights the morbid curiosity shared by those of us alive at a time when funerary practices have gone in a different direction. It’s also a skewed view, offering us insights into the death rituals of only the ancient very rich. 

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The complex process of mummification is one we’re still trying to understand, not least because trying to step into the mindset of people living thousands of years ago is tricky when you’re burdened with the cultural norms of the 21st century. We know a bit about what they did to their skin, we know a bit about what they did to their organs, but that got us wondering – what happened to the eyes? 

We sat down with Egyptologist Dr Campbell Price, Curator of Egypt and Sudan at the Manchester Museum, UK, and author of Brief Histories: Ancient Egypt, to find out. And I must say, I wasn’t expecting the onions.

You can listen to this episode and subscribe to the podcast on all your favorite podcast apps: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Amazon Music, and more.

This interview first appeared in Issue 27 of our digital magazine CURIOUS.


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