Mummification The earliest ancient Egyptian buried their dead in small pits in the desert. the heat and dryness of the sand "dehydrated" the bodies quickly, creating lifelike and natural " mummies" later, the ancient Eyptian began burying their dead in coffins to protect them from wild animals in the desert. However, they realised that bodies placed in coffins decayed when they were not exposed to the hot dry sand of the desert.