Canopic Jars were the containers used to hold the internal organs that
were removed from the body before mummification and embalmed seperately.
The stoppers of the jars were each shaped like the head of one of the
minor funerary deities known as the 'Four Sons of Horus'. It was the job
of these four deities to protect the internal organs of the deceased;
the Ancient Egyptians firmly believed that the deceased required his or
her organs in order to be reborn in the Afterlife.
The baboon-headed Hapy guarded the lungs. The human-headed Imsety was
the guardian of the liver. Jackal-headed Duamutef guarded the stomach
and upper intestines and falcon-headed Qebehsenuef guarded the lower intestines.
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