Did the Numenoreans practice mummification?

[tkdco2]

This passage comes from the Akallabeth:

But the fear of death grew ever darker upon them, and they delayed it by all means that they could; and they began to build great houses for the dead, and their wise men laboured unceasingly to discover if they might the secret of recalling life, or at the least of the prolonging of Men's days. Yet they achieved only the art of preserving incorrupt the dead flesh of Men, and they filled all the land with silent tombs in which the thought of death was enshrined in the darkness.

That last part could be taken to mean the Numenoreans mummified their dead. However, they could have just discovered a method of embalming similar to modern methods. Which option do you think is more likely?

[Deleted]

I think the implication is some type of advanced, lifelike embalming. Could technically be either, or both, but mummification isn't directly implied here.

[Starbeard]

I think it's vague enough that it's open to interpretation. As far as I can tell, mummification requires embalming or exposure to extreme dryness, but not necessary wrapping in cloth: that's just the technique the Egyptians used and therefore the popular image of what a mummy is.

Since I'm sure we're all talking about "Egyptian style mummies," then I agree that it could be either or both, and if you want to call them mummies then go for it. Or something else: to me there's an implication of alchemy going on, which could be "natural" as we understand it, or it could involve magic that was still alive in the Second Age.

Really, I think the important take away of that passage is that the Numenoreans were obsessed with preservation of life even after death, and that they littered the landscape with tombs of incorrupt bodies. The practice has a glimmer of resemblance to the veneration of saints, but most importantly it sets up a rationale for the Barrow Downs and wights. From a gaming perspective that can provide a lot of mileage for adventure sites.

[tkdco2]

My interpretation of undead in my MERP-BFRPG conversion is that "wight" is the catch-all term for all corporeal undead creatures, and "wraith" is the catch-all term for all incorporeal undead creatures. So a weak barrow-wight may be represented by a skeleton or zombie, while a very powerful one may well use the mummy writeup.

[Starbeard]

That sounds good. I like the idea that if you haven't done your research on the local lore, you won't know how powerful the occupant of a barrow is until you poke your head in and find out.

[Porphyre]

Almost 1,600 years passed between Tar-Minastir's reign , when Numenoreans firts began to envy the Elves' immortality, and the drowning of Numeror. One can imagine that several techniques were tested and developped along the centuries.