the Osirian doctrines came to permeate both kinds of cult.

Tombs.

The general scheme of Egyptian tombs remained the same throughout the
whole of the dynastic period, though there were many variations of
detail. By preference they were built in the Western desert, the Amente,
near the place where the sun was seen to go to rest, and which seemed
the natural entrance to the nether world. A deep pit led down to the
sepulchral chamber where the dead man was deposited amid the funereal
furniture destined for his use; and no device was neglected that might
enable him to rest here undisturbed. This aim is particularly
conspicuous in the pyramids, the gigantic tombs which the Pharaohs of
the Old Kingdom constructed for themselves: the passages that lead to
the burial chamber were barred at intervals by vast granite blocks, and
the narrow opening that gave access to them was hidden from view beneath
the stone casing of the pyramid sides. Quite separate from this part of
the tomb lay the rooms employed for the cult of the dead: their walls
were often adorned with pictures from the earthly life of the deceased,
which it was hoped he might still continue to enjoy after death. The
innermost chamber was the chapel proper: on its western side was
sculptured an imitation door for the dead man to pass through, when he
wished to participate in the offerings brought by pious relatives. It
was of course only the few who could afford elaborate tombs of the kind:
the poor had to make shift with an unpretentious grave, in which the
corpse was placed enveloped only by a few rags or enclosed in a rough
wooden coffin.

Embalming and burial.

The utmost care was taken to preserve the body itself from decay. Before
the time of the Middle Kingdom it became usual for the rich to have
their bodies embalmed. The intestines were removed and placed in four
vases (the so-called Canopic jars) in which they were supposed to enjoy
the protection of the four sons of Horus, the man-headed Mesti, the
ape-headed Hapi, the jackal Duamutef and the falcon Kebhsenuf. The
corpse was treated with natron and asphalt, and wound in a copious
swathing of linen bandage, with a mask of linen and stucco on the face.
The "mummy" thus prepared was then laid on its side like a sleeper, the
head supported by a head-rest, in a sarcophagus of wood or stone. The
operations in connexion with the mummy grow more and more elaborate
towards the end of the Pharaonic perio