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Dear Editor,
A question that many of us have asked is ‘How did ancient Egyptians get a good night’s sleep’? In simple terms, if you sleep on your side, you usually have to elevate your head a few centimetres above the sleeping plane, or bed surface, if you want to obtain a good night’s sleep. This distance is equal to the breadth of your shoulder. Or, if you sleep on your back, you usually again have to raise your head to prevent neck ache. Today that gap is bridged in most cultures with a pillow. However, ancient Egyptians designed a headrest that to us perhaps seems far too hard, rigid, and uncomfortable. How could they get a good night’s sleep on such a piece of furniture?
In practical terms, a headrest consists of a curved upper section or platform that supports the head and enables air to circulate around the head, this being a major advantage over the use of a pillow in a hot and sultry climate. So the headrest was, as we would say, ‘fit for purpose’. However, the adoption of the headrest was made on more than purely practical needs – there was also a religious and symbolic dimension to its use. We find headrests formed an essential part of the funerary equipment being deposited in the tomb. The deceased was considered as a sleeper who was travelling to the afterlife, where they would be resurrected.
One form of headrest could be folded when not in use, and was more easily carried and stored. An example was discovered at the harem town of Gurob, and was dated by Petrie to the Nineteenth Dynasty. It is currently on display in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, University College London (UC 16756). The form of this headrest is a pivoted X-frame. Between the two spade- shaped head supports was glued a strip of leather to support the head. Fragments of this leather sling and its glue remain on both inner and outer surfaces of the supports, indicating they were totally enclosed in a leather sheath, providing a permanent and non-slip fixing when the leather sling was under maximum loading.
My fascination with this headrest drove me to manufacture an experimental replica folding headrest to see if it could provide ‘a good night’s sleep’. The results obtained showed it performs well under loading, either when the side or the back of the sleeping head is in contact with the sling. The replica has been finished with a fitted fabric sling that can be washed for the sake of hygiene. However, its performance parallels the original, illustrating that the tension in the sling creates the correct geometrical alignment for the headrest. It provides a construction that is both rigid and stable, where the head is elevated at a comfortable height, and does not come into contact with the crossing spindles. I often take this headrest to lectures and invite people to rest their head on it. They are surprised to find it a comfortable alternative to using a pillow.
To answer the question posed, what the ancient Egyptian carpenter created was a functional piece of furniture that gave its owner reassurance and did provide them with a good night’s sleep.
Dr Geoffrey Killen
