A dead taxi driver from the U.K. became the first man in 3,000 years to be mummified like ancient Egypt's pharaohs; his body will not decompose for several millennia.

Alan Billis, 61, of Torquay in southwest England, agreed to be embalmed the way Tutankhamun's body was preserved before he died from lung cancer in January as part of a TV documentary demonstrating the ancient burial method.

His 68-year-old wife and three grown-up children also agreed to his wish to donate his body for the scientific experiment.
The embalming of Billis, which took scientist several months to finish after his death, will be shown on Channel 4 on Monday with him in the starring role.

Dr. Stephen Buckley of the University of York and forensic pathologist Prof. Peter Vanezis led the mummification of Billis at the Medico-Legal Centre in Sheffield. Billis' internal organs were removed and kept in a jar. The brain and the heart were left intact.
The body's skin was then covered with oils and resins before it was washed with Nafron, a solution containing salt extracted from dried-up riverbeds in Egypt.

The body was left inside a glass tank for a month. Then it was placed in a drying chamber and wrapped in linen. A distinctive texture of the body is its leathery skin, indicating that it is mummified and mummified correctly, according to Vanezis.

The mummifying team also included, Maxine Coe and Dr. Joann Fletcher.

Billis' mummified body will be studied further by decomposition scientists until the end of this year.