458 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. XVI. 



Diodorus mentions three different classes of 

 persons who assisted in preparing the body for the 

 funeral, — the scribe, who regulated the incision 

 in the side; the paraschistes^ or cutter; and the 

 embalmers. To these may be added the under- 

 takers, who wrapped the body in bandages, and 

 who had workmen in their employ to make the 

 cases in which it was deposited.* Many different 

 trades and branches of art were constantly called, 

 upon to supply the undertakers with those things 

 required for funereal purposes : as the painters of 

 mummy cases ; those who made images of stone, 

 porcelain, wood, and other materials ; the manu- 

 facturers of alabaster, earthenware, and bronze 

 vases ; those who worked in ivory ; the leather- 

 cutters, and many others. And it is not impro- 

 bable that to the undertakers, who were a class of 

 priests, belonged a very large proportion of the 

 tombs kept for sale in the cemeteries of the large 

 towns. 



I have stated that the body was enveloped and 

 placed in its case previous to its delivery to the 

 relations of the deceasedt; but Herodotus seems 

 to say that the undertakers having received it from 

 the embalmers, and swathed it in bandages, some- 

 times returned it without any other covering than 

 the linen wrappers, or, when of the better quality 

 of mummies, in, the painted cartonage ; and these 

 last employed otlier persons to make the coffins 

 or mummy cases, in which it was finally deposited. 



* Vide \o\.\\\. p. 1 83. t Siqird, p. 425. 



