Wooden coffin, from Tarkhan, Egypt, around 3000 BC

 

Length: 91.200 cm
Width: 56.200 cm
Height: 48.500 cm

Gift of the British School of Archaeology in Egypt

EA 52888

Room 64: Early Egypt

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Containers

Death

A coffin is the box which contains the dead body. The first Egyptian coffins were simple and wooden like this one: the body was curled up so that it could fit inside. Over time the body has decomposed so that only the bones remain.

Later the Egyptians believed that the body was needed so that the person could live again in the afterlife. They began to mummify bodies in order to preserve them. They put them into coffins which were decorated with pictures and hieroglyphs to help them in their journey through the afterlife. The coffin of Pasenhor is decorated with scenes from the Book of the Dead, showing his soul being judged.

Keep following the tour to have a look at some other death containers.