The ancient Egyptians believed in an afterlife. According to the Ancient Encyclopedia, “the afterlife for the ancient Egyptians was the Field of Reeds, a perfect reflection of the life a person lived on earth.” The Egyptians had many traditions to help them prepare for the afterlife. The Ancient Encyclopedia says that their belief in the afterlife is why bodies were mummified after death. The Egyptians believed that the body needed to be preserved on Earth so that the soul could pᴀss on to the afterlife. To prepare for the afterlife, some Egyptians purchased a coffin, a casket, and possibly an inner coffin. Coffins were usually made of wood, metal, stone, or pottery. Gold and silver were used on some coffins, but these were usually reserved for kings or royalty. Some Egyptians were also buried with funerary objects. However, not everyone could afford these. People who could not afford to buy objects often painted images of them on their coffins or tomb walls. Many coffins were lavishly decorated with hieroglyphs and images. Hieroglyphs on the coffin included the deceased’s name and тιтle. Hieroglyphs were also commonly found on the back of the coffin.

“The hieroglyphic line running down the back of the coffin represented the spine of the deceased and was believed to give the mummy strength when he stood up to eat.” (Ancient Encyclopedia) According to an article by Monet, even those who did not decorate elaborately generally had at least “eyes painted on the coffin so that the deceased could see.” According to Monet, there were also decorations inside the coffins that included “a false door and a list of offerings.” There was a false door through which the deceased could come out to make offerings. Some coffins were covered with spells from the Book of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, which they believed would help them in the afterlife. Some coffins also had images of the goddess of rebirth, Nut. The goddess Isis was also on many coffins as a guardian. She was often depicted at the head and foot of the coffin. Another common image was the scarab beetle. The scarab beetle was ᴀssociated with rebirth. Many Egyptians also had images of people wearing jewelry painted on their coffins. Wealthy people were shown wearing many beaded necklaces. Inside the coffin, a mummy board was placed on top of the mummy. The board consisted of two pieces. The first was for the upper part of the mummy, including the face and crossed arms. The second was for the lower half of the body. In addition to the mummy board, some of them had masks. According to Crystalinks, “This mask was believed to strengthen the spirit of the mummy and protect the soul from evil spirits on the way to the afterlife.” As you can see, a lot of thought went into these beautifully decorated coffins and caskets.

This beautiful coffin is also known as a sarcophagus. This coffin was made for a man. However, the person who was placed in this coffin was a woman after she died. The woman in this coffin is Taremetchenbastet, and she is the daughter of Ptahirdis. According to Egiptoforo, this coffin was found “on the west bank of the Nile near Cairo.” This coffin is made of multicolored wood. According to Egiptoforo, this wooden coffin was carved and covered with stucco and white paint. According to the Google Cultural Insтιтute, the top of this coffin was covered with gold leaf. According to the Google Cultural Insтιтute, the coffin also had artificial hair and beards. As mentioned in the introduction to this gallery, some Egyptians wore jewelry on their coffins. You can see many beads on this coffin. Right below the beads is a large winged figure, which is probably a goddess. This goddess could be Horus, who represents the sun. It could also be the goddess Nut, the goddess of the sky. Another possibility is the goddess Isis. Isis is the protector of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. I have not seen any research that tells exactly which goddess is on this sarcophagus. Below the goddess you see ten columns of writing on this sarcophagus. This script includes words from the Book of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. The Book of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ is filled with spells and information for the deceased to use in the afterlife. According to Budge, this information was considered very important for them so that they could achieve happiness after death. The afterlife was very important to the Egyptians in ancient times. They took great care and thought to make sure they were ready for the afterlife. “Egypt and the Near East.” MAN. Web. April 18, 2016. “The Coffin of Taremetchenbastet.” Egiptoforo.com. March 6, 2011. Web. May 4, 2016. Budge, E. A. Wallis. “The Egyptian Book of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.” The Egyptian Book of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. Web. May 4, 2016. “The Coffin of Tatemetchenbastet.” Google Cultural Insтιтute. Web. April 18, 2016

According to the Nature Publishing Group, this mummy and mummy box were brought to the British Museum in 1899. It is believed that this sarcophagus box was originally made for a woman. However, it was a man who was placed in this sarcophagus after his death. This man was a priest and his name was Nesperennub. Nesperennub lived around 800 BC. And they think Nesperennub was around 40 years old when he died. According to the Google Cultural Insтιтute, Nesperennub’s mummy was “discovered in Luxor in the 1890s.” On this sarcophagus box, you see white hieroglyphs running down the front center of the box. There are blue hieroglyphs on the side of the box. According to the Google Cultural Insтιтute, the hieroglyphs on the box are how we know he was a priest. There is a hieroglyphic inscription that tells you that he and his father were both priests. Inside the coffin was a wooden mummy box. And inside that box was the mummy of Nesperennub. According to the Nature Publishing Group, the mummy had glᴀss eyes, which was common for mummies of the time. When they put the body through the embalming process, they gave them glᴀss eyes so that the person could see into the afterlife. The mummy was part of a project carried out by the British Museum in 2004. The British Museum used X-rays, CT scans, and special computer technology to see inside the mummy’s wrapping. What’s amazing is that they were able to see the mummy without disturbing the wrapping. When they looked at the body under the wrapping, they noticed a hole above his left eye. It’s possible that this hole could explain how he died. After this process, they were able to create computer images of what Nesperennub looked like. “Virtual Mother.” Nature.com. Nature Publishing Group, 11 March 2002. Web. 04 May 2016. “Collection Object Details.” British Museum. Web. 18 April 2016. Google Cultural Insтιтute “The Mummy of Nesperennub”. Web, 18 April 2016