Task 2. Mummy Dust.

Today we are going to look at some aspects of life, or perhaps it would be more correct to say death in Ancient Egypt. Egypt has always fascinated ordinary people as well as scholars engaged in the serious study of the past.

To most of us, it's a land of mystery and magic. In particular, the custom of preserving the bodies of important people, especially of kings and queens, has quite a hold on the popular imagination. How many thrillers and horror films are based on the idea of finding a mummy in the secret tomb of a lost king, who in the case of horror movies usually comes to life again.

In earlier times, the subject exerted a more sinister fascination, so called mummy dust, the powder remains of dead Egyptians, was thought to be an essential ingredient in many magic spells and medical remedies, a case of the cure being worse than the disease? This of course led to a great demand for mummies both inside and outside Egypt, and even to an industry of making False mummies to sell to unsuspecting foreigners.