Wooden coffin with the remains of a skeleton
From Tarkhan, Egypt
1st Dynasty, around 3000 BC
An early Egyptian coffin
In Predynastic Egyptian burials (that is before about 3100 BC),
the body was placed directly into the sand, sometimes in a mat or
basket. The body became naturally desiccated (dried out) due to the
hot climate and dry sand. At the time this natural preservation of
the body was observed and incorporated into religious beliefs about
death. It remained a characteristic feature of funerary practice
and belief throughout Egyptian history.
During the First Dynasty (about 3100-2890 BC), wooden coffins
were introduced. This example is made of slats of local timber.
These early coffins are much shorter than those of later periods
(such as the coffin of Gua, also in The British Museum). The body
inside was laid in a contracted position, with the knees drawn up
to the chin. This was the same position as that of the earlier
burials. Full length coffins, with the body laid straight out, did
not appear until the Old Kingdom (about 2613 BC).
However, the wooden coffins separated the body from the drying
effects of the sand. The soft tissue decomposed, leaving only a
skeleton. Artificial preservation, by the process of mummification,
was first introduced in the Old Kingdom (about 2613-2160 BC).
W.R. Dawson and P.H.K. Gray, Catalogue of Egyptian antiquit (London, 1968)