— 6 — 
At the period called by Egyptologists the "New Empire" — 
from the 17th to the 20tli dynasties inclusiye — it was customary 
to remove the ^■iscera from the body and place them after 
treatment with preservatiye materials in four vessels commonly 
known at present as "Canopic Jars." This we know from the 
examination of the bodies and the contents of the Jars. So far 
as is known these Jars were never used for any purpose other 
than the reception of the viscera. Hence the fact that Canopic 
Jars containing linen parcels which are said to enclose viscera ^ 
ha\"e been found in tombs of the 11th and 12th dynasties seems 
to point to the conclusion that the organs were removed from the 
body cavity at this period, presumably with the view of preserving 
both the body and the parts removed ; or, at any rate, of hindering 
the processes of putrefaction by removing those parts of the body 
which experience had shomi to be most prone to decompose. 
M. Maspero permitted me to examine the contents of some of 
the Canopic Jars of this period in the Cairo Museum. On 
removhig the linen wrappings I found a dirty resinous mass. 
Dr. Schmidt Avas unable to recognise anything in this mass other 
than resin such as was employed in the new Empire for the 
preservation of the body. The presence of such resin would be 
inexplicable if we do not admit that the viscera were originally 
contained in the parcels. 
The excavations conducted by M. de Morgan at Dashûr in 
1894 brought to light a series of royal tombs of the 12th dynasty 
containing human remains and some of the series of Canopic Jars 
uow in the Cairo Museum. Dr. Fouquet furnished a report on 
these human remains which was published along with the archae- 
ological record of the excavations.^ M. ]\Iaspero has recently 
* George Reisner, "The Bated Canopic Jar.t iu the Gi:eh Museum, Auszug aus der 
Zeitschrift fiir Agyptische Sprache, XXXVIII. Band, p. 3. 
» J. De Moegan, Fouilles à Dahchour, Vienna, 1895, 
