It was originally made of stone (particularly basalt and diorite), but in later periods often had a metal blade, sometimes formed from meteoric iron. The adze (a cutting tool similar to an ax) was also used for planing and carving in carpentry, boat building and house building. It also involved the use of a number of tools, including an arm shaped incense burner, a serpent headed blade, numerous amulets and the adze and peseskhaf. Spells 21, 22 and 23 of the Book of the Dead refer specifically to this ritual. The ritual required the reading of numerous spells, and the sacrifice of a calf. In a royal burials, this may have been one way for the son of the king to confirm that he was the heir and successor of his father. It could also be performed by the son of the deceased wearing leopard skin robes. The ritual was conducted by the Sem Priest dressed in leopard skin robes. During the fourth dynasty of the Old Kingdom, only a bust of the tomb owner’s head was included! Opening the Mouth – Book of the Dead of Hunefer Many tombs included a statue of the deceased placed in a closed chamber known as a serdab. Thus, the statue could act as a useful backup should the body of the deceased be damaged or destroyed. When conducted on a statue (or from the New Kingdom, a coffin), it allowed the statue to act as a surrogate for the body. When performed on a mummy it allowed the spirit of the deceased to see, speak, hear, breathe, and to receive offerings of food and drink. The first references to this ritual are from the Old Kingdom, and it remained part of their burial practices throughout Egyptian history. It transformed the deceased into an akh, the reanimated and effective spirit that was one of the elements of the ancient Egyptian concept of the soul. The Opening of the Mouth (“wepet-er”) was the most important part of the burial ritual.
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