Canopic jars

Canopic jars are funerary vessels that were used by the ancient Egyptians to house embalmed organs that were removed during the mummification process. They also served to store and preserve the viscera for the afterlife. Use of the jars dates back to the Old Kingdom and continued until the Late Period and the Ptolemaic Period, after which time the viscera were simply wrapped and placed with the body. Over the course of ancient Egyptian history, various changes occurred in the design and style of canopic jars. Contemporaneously, canopic jars are of interest for scientific and medical research. Cinerary urns – for holding the ashes of cremated persons – with a head-shaped lid, also sometimes called "canopic", were used by the Etruscan civilization. Though these vessels are sometimes referred to as "canopic urns" or "canopic jars", their purpose and use differ from the ancient Egyptian use.