Did you know that when the craze for all things Egyptian in the early and mid 1800’s was rampant, there came to be called and what was known as ‘Mummy Unwrapping Parties’?  This type of party was held by some of the most Victorian elites and it is just how the name suggests.  People would gather together, at a scheduled time and event, to ‘unwrap’ a mummy.  Many times there were valuable trinkets around the body, so it wasn’t all to see the ‘dead person’ inside, it was to find ‘treasures’ as well.

The Lost Desert set of Kardtects Building Cards features a mummy card standing in the doorway. Perhaps he was trying to get a way from collectors who would raid tombs and then offer ‘mummies’ for sale on the side streets of Egypt for these parties.

The first ‘mummy unwrapping party’ or gathering is believed to have been held by Giovanni Belzoni.  He was an Egyptian antiquity dealer who in 1821 decided to unwrap a mummy near Piccadilly Circus in front of an audience.  It’s popularity, and growing attraction with Egyptian artifacts, became widespread, to where more and more of mummy unwrappings occurred.

It is difficult to say how many priceless mummies were lost to history at this time.  It was a craze with little respect for preserving valuable clues and relics of significance.  We now realize to treasure them.

For more fun facts on Mummies, read Top Ten Fact on Mummies. 

And for building fun with the Lost Desert set, watch the following video of a Pyramid being built.  I’m sure there is a Mummy walking around the corridors of the Pryamid somewhere, trying to escape from being unwrapped!

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