The ancient Egyptians buried their dead in the ground, placing them in a fetal position, in shallow graves dug into the sand. Egypt became a powerful and prosperous nation in the Dynastic Period that began in 3100 BC. In this period the Egyptians began to build increasingly elaborate tombs to house their dead. There were also several basic types of tombs such as the mastaba. The mastaba is a low, rectangular, flat-topped tomb made of mud brick or stone. The mastaba had a well inside it that led to an underground burial chamber. The Egyptians also sometimes dug into the rock of steep cliffs to create burial chambers. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Of course, the most famous and notable Egyptian tomb were the enormous pyramids that they began to erect around 2700 BC. Magnificent of all is the Great Pyramid of Giza. The Great Pyramid of Giza was built to house Pharaoh Khufu around 2550 BC. This gigantic beauty stands 481 feet tall and took approximately 2.3 million stone blocks to create. Some blocks weigh up to 15 tons. The pyramids were part of a complex city surrounded by temples and other buildings. The Egyptians believed that a person's spirit disconnected from the body at the time of death, but could only be awakened in the afterlife if the appropriate rituals were performed at the time of death. This meant carefully preserving the body. This began the process of mummification around 2600 BC Mummification is the process of removing moisture from the body to leave a desiccated form that resists decay. When the process began it was so elaborate and expensive that it was only used for pharaohs. Later a simplified version was also made available to other Egyptians. The mummification process was carried out by a special class of priests. These priests were in charge of caring for and wrapping the body. During mummification the priests also performed rites and prayers. The first step was the removal of the brain. The brain was removed through the nostrils using a hooked instrument. Special care was taken to ensure that the corpse's face was not disfigured during the process. Next, the priest opened the abdomen and removed other organs such as the stomach, liver, lungs and intestines. Often these organs were stored separately in jars or wrapped and reinserted into the body. The only organ left intact was the heart. The Egyptians believed that the heart contained the core of intelligence and spirit. The next task was to cover the corpse with natron, a salt that acts as a desiccant. Additional bags of natron were also placed inside the body. Once all the moisture had been absorbed, the priest would wash himself of the natron. Removing the moisture would cause areas of the corpse to have a sunken appearance, so the priest would place linens and other materials in those areas to fill them. This was done so that the corpse would continue to resemble how the person looked alive. The next step was to wrap the body. The body was wrapped in hundreds of meters of cloth cut into strips. The priest wrote prayers and enchanted words on the fabric and inserted amulets between the layers to protect the deceased from any dangers he might encounter on his journey to the afterlife. They often stuck a mask made to resemble that person's face between the strips of linen. The body was covered in hot resin, to hold the linen together. Finally they wrapped the complete body in a shroud and secured it..