Mummia

By Crusader1307

 Also known (depending on Region and Country), as ''Mumia'', was a concoction which was purportedly made from the dried ''remains'' of Ancient Egyptian bodies (in theory). It was widely thought in the late 18th and early 19th Century AD, that The Ancient Egyptians had ''discovered'' (thru their embalming process), a method of purposed ''immortality''. The chemical and ritualistic process followed was thought to be still ''present'' in such preserved bodies. Hence, many thought that by rendering such remains into a curative ''powder'' or formula, ''Health Benefits'' would result. For nearly 400 years, the exporting of Egyptian Mummies for this purpose became a huge ''cottage industry'' in The Middle east and Europe.

In initial production, it was actually the wrappings and bones that were ''ground up'' and mixted with a variety of chemicals and distilates to form ''Mummia''. Still later, it was determined that the hardened resin residue from the Natron coated ''bandages'' were the ''real'' curative benefits. These ''scrapings'' became the true ''Mummia'' main ingredient from the 16th Century AD forward. It was commonly believed that a Merchant who purchased an ''Adult Mummy'' (5-foot) and roughly 130-pounds in weight, could provide enough Mummia to last 20 years.

Mummia was said to ''cure'' everything from Gout to Hair Loss (and everything in-between). The ''Market'' would become so great, that it became increasing hard to even find ''genuine'' Egyptian Mummies in the mid-19th Century, that some stooped to ''manufacturing'' Mummia from ''Natural Mummies'', many only decades old. The practice of using ''Human Mummies'' and hence Mummia was outlawed towards the end of the 19th Century.