Just a few steps from the mummification workshop at Saqqara, the archaeologists uncovered a second shaft leading to a complex of six tombs. In today’s business jargon, they were vertically integrated, providing everything from evisceration of corpses and burials to the care and maintenance of the souls of the deceased-all for a fee, of course. While pharaohs and the Egyptian elite were mummified and laid to rest in elaborately decorated coffins and roomy tombs packed with grave goods, Hussein’s research shows that ancient undertakers offered discount packages to suit every budget. In addition to serving as priests and undertakers, ancient Egyptian embalmers were real-estate salesmen, too. “It was a huge industry,” Hussein says.īut a mummy’s journey didn’t end with embalming and burial-and neither did the income stream. The towering pyramids of the pharaohs and the glittering gold from King Tutankhamun’s tomb are familiar reminders of the lengths the richest Egyptians went to to ensure they would spend eternity in style. The discovery has been a boon for scholars who study ancient Egyptian burial practices, offering a unique look at the sacred rites-and gritty realities-of mummification. “Instructions are written directly on the objects.” (Related: Archaeologists uncover an embalming recipe some 5,600 years old.) Sacred rites, gritty realities “Every single cup or bowl has the name of the substance it held, and the days of the embalming procedure it was used,” Hussein says. Over the past year, pottery experts were able to piece together the ceramic sherds, reconstructing hundreds of small bowls and jars, each one inscribed with a label. “You want constant movement of air when you’re dealing with cadavers.” “If you’re doing evisceration down there, you need air moving in to get rid of insects,” Hussein says. The clues suggested to Hussein that the chamber had been a mummification workshop, complete with an industrial-strength incense burner, drainage channels to funnel blood, and a natural ventilation system. The Kingdom of the Dead despite its name does not seem to possess any direct connection with the Horseman Death himself.Please be respectful of copyright.Skeletons hanging in crow cages, while appearing decorative, can actually be shot with Redemption for loot and experience.
The lantern-holding statues in this realm are based on the Vigil Games logo.The current Lord of Bones took the position after he and The Chancellor ousted the previous ruler, Argul who was described as "too mad to be kept upon the throne". Previously, The Judicator, The Phariseer and Basileus all served as well.
The Kingdom of the Dead is ruled and administered by the Lord of Bones, his devious Chancellor from The Eternal Throne, a flying ship pulled by two enormous undead Leviathans. Many souls go mad or otherwise escape on their way to the City of the Dead, and end up haunting the various mausoleums and structures scattered across and under the Plains, these become the Undead. An exception to this appears to be Makers who are too ancient to pass through the Well of Souls and instead put their souls into Constructs or the stone of their world - the Forge Lands.īeing devoid of any living thing, the Kingdom of the Dead is a barren desert referred to as the Dead Plains. Upon death, most inhabitants of other worlds (including animals such as Stalkers and Prowlers) are drawn to the Kingdom of the Dead, so that they can be judged for their crimes and purified in The City of the Dead, before being sent on to the Well of Souls and on to their new lives or into the Abyss.