THE newly ordained priests of Antinous were busily overseeing the mummification of his body in the 72 days between his death in late October of the year 130 and early January of 131, many experts believe.
Hadrian founded the city of Antinoopolis on the banks of the Nile where Antinous died and proclaimed the new religion.
While the Emperor continued his tour of Egypt, the priests scurried to carry out his imperial commission.
We do not know for certain what transpired with the remains of Antinous ... or whether they were ever retrieved from the Nile. Perhaps they were cremated. But perhaps the body was mummified.
Using an Antinous Action Figure, we can demonstrate how it may have been done:
We prepared the body by cleansing it with wine. Then we removed the Intestines, Liver, Lungs and Stomach (placing them in Canopic Jars).
There is a incision mark down his left side to represents where he would have been cut open for the removal of these organs.
Next we removed the Brains with a hook through the nose (hence the black dot on his nostril).
The brains were thrown away because the Egyptians felt the heart was the seat of intelligence, not the brain.
We used a basting brush to cleanse him although a hair-dye or cosmetics brush is also applicable.
The red heart represents the fact that they left the heart in tact, later it will be used in the Weighing-of-the-heart ceremony.
In the back corner you see Anubis (the God of Embalming) present during this embalming.
We put him in Sea Salt which represents the Natron Salt that the priests would have used. (Himalayan Salt works just as well).
Then we let him sit in the salt for 40 minutes ... 1 minute for each day the priests would have left the body in the Natron Salt.
Next we wiped him down with spices of Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Allspice with olive oil.
Then the priests would have replaced the eyes with onions stuffed into the sockets.
Because the salt desiccated the body, then they stuffed the body with mud, sawdust, rags and chaff to make it appear nicely contoured.
Next we began the wrapping process. We used muslin and a mixture of flour and water (1 part to 3 parts) for the paste.
In ancient times, it took about 15 days to wrap the body and about 20 layers of linen bandages.
We put Amulets between the layers of Linen … a tiny scarab beetle and a miniature protective eye of Horus.
We allowed him to do a little drying before the final wrapping.
In ancient times the process took 72 days.
In the case of Antinous, this meant his mummy would have been ready for the final ceremonies on January 11th of 131 AD.
By that time Hadrian would have completed his tour of Egypt and would have returned to Antinoopolis for the "Opening of the Mouth Ceremony."
Afterwards, his tomb would have been sealed and the first priests of Antinous would have begun their sacred watch … and the establishment of the new religion.
No one knows the location of the Lost Tomb of Antinous.
