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After the desiccation process was complete, the body underwent thirty days of final preparations which included ritual, prayers, sprinkling aromatic sawdust over the body and anointing it with oils. The oils were both ritual and functional, as they likely softened the body in preparation for the delicate wrapping process, which was known to cause extremities to snap. Prayers were recited, and the body was wrapped in resin-dabbed linen and incense. It was the process of wrapping which was believed to transform the body from a deceased human to a divine being.<ref>Ikram,<i>UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology</i> p. 2.</ref> Once the deceased had been properly mummified, wrapped in linen and wearing its painted mask, wig and ceremonial beard, they were no longer a human. They had assumed a godlike form and were prepared for the afterlife.<ref>Riggs,<i>UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology</i> p. 4.</ref>

The process of mummification remained common, particularly for the noble classes, from the earliest dynasties all the way to the end of the time of Cleopatra. Although the details of the ritual changed, the intent remained the same; to preserve the body such that it can perform its essential role of housing the soul in the afterlife.

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