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The beautifully carved wooden coffin reused for Ramesses II.
Perhaps the best known – and most illustrated – of the many spectacular coffins discovered within the Deir el-Bahri ‘Royal Cache’ (TT320) is this beautifully carved cedarwood container for the mummified remains of Ramesses II.
However, it was not originally crafted for that particular king. Ramesses’ original innermost funerary container – like that of Tutankhamun – was probably solid gold, which is likely to have been melted down when the pharaoh’s tomb was robbed in antiquity. The carved coffin may once have been plated with gold, which was later removed, revealing the finely modelled wood. Recent art-historical analysis has confirmed the likelihood that the facial features belong stylistically to the late Eighteenth Dynasty, with Horemheb (c.1323-1295 BC) being a prime candidate. The dimples in the earlobes – signs of having worn earrings in youth – are a particular indicator of a post-Amarna Period male ruler. The uraeus (serpent) on the brow was added during the recommissioning of the piece in the Third Intermediate Period, probably to replace a double cobra-vulture that was briefly typical for the late Eighteenth Dynasty.
The Royal Cache was officially discovered in 1881, although it had been known to local people for several years beforehand. Located south of Hatshepsut’s temple at Deir el-Bahri, this priestly family tomb had been repurposed to contain the burials of many kings, queens, and elite persons, whose original tombs had been looted. This coffin (normally on display in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization) carries three separate inked ‘dockets’ in cursive hieratic script describing moves to ‘repeat the burial’ of the king, in addition to the hieroglyphic rendering of his birth and throne names in cartouches. These are executed in a relatively naive form, suggesting a lack of familiarity with hieroglyphic signs. It seems that this particularly fine coffin was chosen from several available options for the venerated Ramesses II, who was worshipped as a god during his lifetime. Little wonder the coffin has been a major attraction in the touring exhibition Ramses and the Pharaohs’ Gold.
Image: Sarah Griffiths
