Natron worked to preserve the mummy in 3 ways:
- Dried the moisture in the flesh thereby inhibiting the growth of bacteria
- Degreased — removed moisture-filled fat cells
- Served as a microbial disinfectant.
Natron was also used in the production of Faience – Ancient faience is a manufactured material created perhaps to imitate the bright colors and gloss of hard-to-get gems and precious stones. It was used in jewellery throughout Egypt and the Near East beginning about 5500 years ago. Forms of faience are found throughout the Bronze Age Mediterranean, and faience objects have been recovered from archaeological sites of the Indus, Mesopotamian, Minoan, and Egyptian civilizations.
Glass beads were made in Iraq, Syria and Caucasus 2300 BC
Ref: The book, ‘‘Sand’, Michael Welland, p238