Many people in anciien Egypt were mummified but they were never given the same rights as Pharaohs unless they were very rich and could afford it . Servants at this time were lucky to get a proper burial at all since only a couple of hundred years before retainer sacrifice was very popular.
Retainer sacrifice meant that when a Pharaoh died their servants were sacrificed with them, often by being entombed alive. This was so the Pharaoh could have the same power and live the same or an even better life than they did on earth in the afterlife. But at this time retainer sacrifice was dying out and if they could possibly afford it servants were getting mummified.
For the people who could could not afford to be mummified the belief was that because their body would not be preserved, they would never get to see the field of reeds in the afterlife.
Even if the servants and their families saved enough to get mummified they would not get the same help from the priests as the high ranking people and Pharaohs did. For instance they might have been able to afford mummification but they could rarely afford all the amulets that would help them on their journey. Without the amulets they believed they would have to go into the afterlife alone but if they were good people in their lifetime on earth they might get into the afterlife and enjoy a peaceful life after death.
While it is well know that Pharaohs were buried in fancy tombs and in earlier periods in Pyramids, the final resting places of common people is far less elaborte. Unless they were someone really high up in the social order, like priest or scribes, people were buried in a graveyard with everyone else that had died around that time.
Retainer sacrifice meant that when a Pharaoh died their servants were sacrificed with them, often by being entombed alive. This was so the Pharaoh could have the same power and live the same or an even better life than they did on earth in the afterlife. But at this time retainer sacrifice was dying out and if they could possibly afford it servants were getting mummified.
For the people who could could not afford to be mummified the belief was that because their body would not be preserved, they would never get to see the field of reeds in the afterlife.
Even if the servants and their families saved enough to get mummified they would not get the same help from the priests as the high ranking people and Pharaohs did. For instance they might have been able to afford mummification but they could rarely afford all the amulets that would help them on their journey. Without the amulets they believed they would have to go into the afterlife alone but if they were good people in their lifetime on earth they might get into the afterlife and enjoy a peaceful life after death.
While it is well know that Pharaohs were buried in fancy tombs and in earlier periods in Pyramids, the final resting places of common people is far less elaborte. Unless they were someone really high up in the social order, like priest or scribes, people were buried in a graveyard with everyone else that had died around that time.
The poorest servants were often buried in mass graves without being mummified. This often happened when a Pyramid was being built because so many servants and slaves died from being squashed by big rocks or falling form the great heights or because of an infected gash they got when they knocked themselves on the sharp rocks . There were often just too many dead to mummify at the same time.
For the servants and slaves the sadest part is that, however they died, because they knew that they would not be mummified they died without the hope of going to the afterlife to live again.