The ancient Egyptian way of death has left us a rich legacy of information about a way of life for which we have no other record. What happens to people after they die? The Egyptians thought if they mummified a dead person, his spirit would live forever. At first nature did the job; the desert sun dried and preserved bodies buried in shallow sandpit graves. Mummifying methods became more elaborate with time, as did after-life dwelling places. Eventually, the Egyptians built the largest known tombs--the pyramids--in which wealthy Egyptians were buried with food, household items, and treasure. The ancient Egyptian way of death has left us a rich legacy of information about a way of life of which there is no other record.