- Mar 18
- 9 min read

Test Your Knowledge: Ancient Egyptian Mummification Quiz

So you think you're clued up on all there is to know about Ancient Egyptian mummification?

Perhaps you've had a scan through our quick introduction to mummification. Or maybe you've swotted up on our complete step-by-step guide (part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4!). Or possibly you've taken the time to watch our Ancient Egyptian mummification video. Or it could be that you got creative with some of our mummification craft activities.

Or maybe you've done none of these things but want to test your knowledge anyway!

Well, you've come to the right place! Put those little grey cells to the test with this handy fifteen-question mummification quiz:

Question 1:

During the embalming process, the chief embalmer would wear a mask in the shape of which Ancient Egyptian god?

a. Osiris – god of the underworld

b. Horus – god of the sky

c. Anubis – god of the dead

d. Thoth – god of wisdom

Question 2:

At the start of the embalming process, the body of the dead Pharaoh is placed in an Ibu. But what exactly is an Ibu?

a. A hammock of purification

b. A hotel of purification

c. A bath of purification

d. A tent of purification

Question 3:

During mummification, what is the best way to get into the Pharaoh’s skull to remove the brain?

a. Carefully insert a long metal hook up their nose

b. Carefully insert a long metal hook in their ear

c. Carefully insert a long metal hook down their throat

d. Break their skull in half by clonking it with the biggest heaviest rock you can find

Question 4:

What do you do with the brain after you’ve removed it from the dead Pharaoh’s skull?

a. Cook it and eat it

b. Put it in a Canopic Jar

c. Clean it using palm wine and pop it back inside the skull

d. Throw it away, you don’t need it

Question 5:

To remove the organs from the Pharaoh’s body, you need to make a small cut in the torso area. But where do you make this cut?

a. Down the right side of the torso

b. Across the knee

c. Down the middle of the back

d. Down the forearm

Question 6:

Which organs should you remove from the Pharaoh’s body?

a. Stomach, intestines, lungs and bladder

b. Stomach, intestines, lungs and liver

c. Stomach, intestines, lungs and spleen

d. Stomach, intestines, lungs and kidneys

Question 7:

The Pharaoh’s heart should be left inside the body, but why? Choose two of the following reasons:

a. The heart is made of gold and is very valuable

b. The heart will be given to the beast Ammit as payment for passage to the afterlife

c. The heart will be weighed against the feather of truth and justice

d. The heart shows whether or not the Pharaoh has been a good and fair leader

Question 8:

Ammit is a terrifying creature with body parts from three different animals; a lion, a hippo and what other animal?

a. Crocodile

b. Tiger

c. Bear

d. Snake

Question 9:

After you’ve removed the organs, the body is covered in Natron salt to remove all of the moisture before it is wrapped. How many days is the body left to soak in Natron for?

a. Ten days

b. Seven days

c. Seventy days

d. Fifty days

Question 10:

What do you need to wrap the body with?

a. People’s old linen clothes, cut into long thin strips

b. Toilet roll

c. Kitchen roll

d. Bandages from the doctors

Question 11:

During the wrapping process, the embalmers need to wrap some of the Pharaoh’s body parts separately before wrapping the whole thing together. But which body parts do they need to do this with? Choose three of the following:

a. Each separate toe on each foot

b. Each separate arm

c. Each separate finger on each hand

d. Each separate ear on each side of the head

Question 12:

Whilst wrapping the body, you need to pop some items in between the wrappings to protect the Pharaoh. What are these items called?

a. Good luck charms

b. Amulets

c. Jewellery

d. Pendants

Question 13:

If the Pharaoh wants to be buried like Tutankhamun, how many coffins will they need?

a. One coffin inside a Sarcophagus

b. Two coffins inside a Sarcophagus

c. Three coffins inside a Sarcophagus

d. Four coffins inside a Sarcophagus

Question 14:

Along with their Sarcophagus and the rest of their belongings, why does the Pharaoh need some Shabti Dolls inside their tomb?

a. The Shabti Dolls will do the Pharaoh’s work for them in the afterlife

b. The Shabti Dolls will turn into food for the Pharaoh to eat in the afterlife

c. The Shabti Dolls will give the Pharaoh something to play with in the afterlife

d. The Shabti Dolls will be used as gifts for the Pharaoh to give to their friends in the afterlife

Question 15:

A priest performs a ceremony where they touch parts of the Pharaoh’s body (such as eyes, ears, nose and mouth) with special tools. What is this ceremony called?

a. The opening of the eyes ceremony

b. The opening of the ears ceremony

c. The opening of the nose ceremony

d. The opening of the mouth ceremony

Bonus question:

The four organs go in four Canopic jars with the heads of the four sons of Horus on them. Here’s a tricky one; can you remember which Canopic Jar has which name? Have a go at matching up the answers below:

Jackal head	Qebehsenuef
Falcon head	Imseti
Baboon head	Hapy
Human head	Duamutef

Answers:

Question 1:

During the embalming process, the chief embalmer would wear a mask in the shape of which Ancient Egyptian god?

a. Osiris – god of the underworld

b. Horus – god of the sky

c. Anubis – god of the dead

d. Thoth – god of wisdom

The chief embalmer would wear a mask in the shape of the head of Anubis. Anubis was the god of death and mummification and his head was shaped like a jackal.

Question 2:

At the start of the embalming process, the body of the dead Pharaoh is placed in an Ibu. But what exactly is an Ibu?

a. A hammock of purification

b. A hotel of purification

c. A bath of purification

d. A tent of purification

The dead body of the Pharaoh is placed on a table in a special tent of purification called an “Ibu”. The tent has a roof but no walls so that air can pass around the body.

Question 3:

During mummification, what is the best way to get into the Pharaoh’s skull to remove the brain?

a. Carefully insert a long metal hook up their nose

b. Carefully insert a long metal hook in their ear

c. Carefully insert a long metal hook down their throat

d. Break their skull in half by clonking it with the biggest heaviest rock you can find

To remove the brain from the Pharaoh’s skull, the embalmers would poke a long metal hook up the nose and pull all that gloopy grey matter out through the Pharaoh’s nostrils.

Question 4:

What do you do with the brain after you’ve removed it from the dead Pharaoh’s skull?

a. Cook it and eat it

b. Put it in a Canopic Jar

c. Clean it using palm wine and pop it back inside the skull

d. Throw it away, you don’t need it

The Egyptians didn’t think that the brain was important. So after scraping every last bit of it out of the skull, the embalmers would just throw it away.

Question 5:

To remove the organs from the Pharaoh’s body, you need to make a small cut in the torso area. But where do you make this cut?

a. Down the right side of the torso

b. Across the knee

c. Down the middle of the back

d. Down the forearm

To take the organs our of the body, the embalmers would make a cut down the right side of the Pharaoh’s torso. This cut wouldn’t be very big. Just large enough to reach in and pull out all of the organs.

Question 6:

Which organs should you remove from the Pharaoh’s body?

a. Stomach, intestines, lungs and bladder

b. Stomach, intestines, lungs and liver

c. Stomach, intestines, lungs and spleen

d. Stomach, intestines, lungs and kidneys

The stomach, intestines, lungs and liver were taken out of the body (through that small cut on the right side of the torso), then they would be dried out and placed in special jars, called Canopic Jars.

Question 7:

The Pharaoh’s heart should be left inside the body, but why? Choose two of the following reasons:

a. The heart is made of gold and is very valuable

b. The heart will be given to the beast Ammit as payment for passage to the afterlife

c. The heart will be weighed against the feather of truth and justice

d. The heart shows whether or not the Pharaoh has been a good and fair leader

The Pharaoh’s heart will be weighed against the feather of Maat (also known as the feather of truth and justice). If the Pharaoh’s has led a good life and been a fair leader, the heart will be lighter than the feather and they will be allowed to enter the afterlife.

Question 8:

Ammit is a terrifying creature with body parts from three different animals; a lion, a hippo and what other animal?

a. Crocodile

b. Tiger

c. Bear

d. Snake

Ammit was part lion, part hippo and part crocodile. If the Pharaoh has led a bad life and been a terrible leader, their heart would be heavier than the feather of Maat. Following this, their heart would be eaten by Ammit and the Pharaoh’s soul would cease to exist.

Question 9:

After you’ve removed the organs, the body is covered in Natron salt to remove all of the moisture before it is wrapped. How many days is the body left to soak in Natron for?

a. Ten days

b. Seven days

c. Seventy days

d. Fifty days

The Pharaoh is covered in Natron salt (a divine salt that occurs naturally in ancient Egypt) and left for seventy days. The Natron would remove all of the moisture and fat in the body to completely dry it out.

Question 10:

What do you need to wrap the body with?

a. People’s old linen clothes, cut into long thin strips

b. Toilet roll

c. Kitchen roll

d. Bandages from the doctors

Ancient Egyptian people used to sell their old linen clothing to embalmers to cut up into long thin strips and use as mummy wrappings. Because of this, the wrappings used to be called “the linen of yesterday”.

Question 11:

a. Each separate toe on each foot

b. Each separate arm

c. Each separate finger on each hand

d. Each separate ear on each side of the head

Embalmers had to wrap each finger separately before wrapping them the whole hand. Then wrap each arm separately before wrapping it to the body. They repeated the same process with the lower body, wrapping each toe separately before wrapping the foot. Then wrapping each leg separately before wrapping them both together.

Question 12:

Whilst wrapping the body, you need to pop some items in between the wrappings to protect the Pharaoh. What are these items called?

a. Good luck charms

b. Amulets

c. Jewellery

d. Pendants

Amulets are small magical objects that keep the soul and the body of the deceased safe and guarded from evil stuff. These amulets need to be slotted between the linen bandages as you wrap the Pharaoh’s body.

Question 13:

If the Pharaoh wants to be buried like Tutankhamun, how many coffins will they need?

a. One coffin inside a Sarcophagus

b. Two coffins inside a Sarcophagus

c. Three coffins inside a Sarcophagus

d. Four coffins inside a Sarcophagus

Tutankhamun had three coffins, each larger than the one before it, that all fit like Russian Dolls inside one large stone Sarcophagus. Tutankhamun himself was inside the smallest central coffin that was made entirely out of solid gold.

Question 14:

Along with their Sarcophagus and the rest of their belongings, why does the Pharaoh need some Shabti Dolls inside their tomb?

a. The Shabti Dolls will do the Pharaoh’s work for them in the afterlife

b. The Shabti Dolls will turn into food for the Pharaoh to eat in the afterlife

c. The Shabti Dolls will give the Pharaoh something to play with in the afterlife

d. The Shabti Dolls will be used as gifts for the Pharaoh to give to their friends in the afterlife

Shabti Dolls acted like servants in the afterlife and would do all of the Pharaoh’s boring jobs and chores for them. The more Shabti dolls in the tomb, the more leisure time the Pharaoh would be able to enjoy.

Question 15:

A priest performs a ceremony where they touch parts of the Pharaoh’s body (such as eyes, ears, nose and mouth) with special tools. What is this ceremony called?

a. The opening of the eyes ceremony

b. The opening of the ears ceremony

c. The opening of the nose ceremony

d. The opening of the mouth ceremony

In the Opening of the Mouth Ceremony, Egyptian priests touch various parts of the Pharaoh’s body with special tools to “open” that part of their body. This allows the Pharaoh to use their sense of sight, hearing, smell and taste when they’re in the afterlife.

Bonus question:

The four organs go in four Canopic Jars with the heads of the four sons of Horus on them. Here’s a tricky one, can you remember which Canopic Jar has which name? Have a go at matching up the answers below:

Jackal head	Qebehsenuef
Falcon head	Imseti
Baboon head	Hapy
Human head	Duamutef

Here’s the correct matches for the four Canopic Jars, PLUS the organs that would go in them:

Jackal head	Duamutef	stomach
Falcon head	Qebehsenuef	intestines
Baboon head	Hapy	lungs
Human head	Imseti	liver

No matter what your result, well done for giving this quiz a try!

If you got a little stuck, that's okay (some of those questions were really tricky!). Why not go back to some of our guides and videos to gain some more knowledge before giving the quiz another try?