King Tut Coffin
The King Tut Tomb
The tomb of Tutankhamun contained
four gilded shrines nested one inside the other in order of decreasing
size. Inside the innermost shrine was a red quartzite sarcophagus which
protected three anthropoid coffins (man-shaped)
which were all painted with the likeness of Tutankhamun.
These paintings were extremely important as they provided the dead with
a face in the afterlife. The first two coffins
were made of gilded wood but the final coffin was made of solid gold.
The solid gold coffin housed the mummy of King Tut and his fabulous
golden death mask. This page describes the King Tut Coffins.
King Tut Sarcophagus
King Tut Shrines
King Tut Coffin -
The Protective Sarcophagus and Shrines
The King Tut coffin was not just one coffin it was a series of three
coffins which were encased in a large quartzite sarcophagus, which had
in turn, been placed in a series of four shrines. The Shrines and the
Tutankhamun Sarcophagus protected the gilded wooden coffins which were
snugly nested within each other, like Russian
dolls. The final coffin was made of solid gold containing the mummy of
the Pharaoh Tutankhamun. The mummy of King Tut was directly
covered by his fabulous golden death mask. The coffins are described as Anthropoid meaning man-shaped.
The term anthropoid coffin is therefore used for coffins made in the shape of a human.
King Tut Coffin -
The Series of Golden Coffins
The golden series of the first two
anthropoid coffins, shaped as a human, were made of gilded wood and decorated
with beautiful faience.
The faience used by the Ancient
Egyptians was a strong greenish blue glass-like material, consisting of
crushed quartz, lime and alkali. The gilded wood consisted of cedar and some oak.
Gilding was used by the Ancient Egyptians to achieve a wonderful golden
appearance. The base wood was covered with a thin sheet of gold, a
thicker than normal gold foil of sheeting was used for the coffin layers
of Tutankhamun. The final coffin was made of solid gold which housed the
mummy of King Tut and his fabulous golden death mask.
King Tut Coffin -
Description of the Golden Coffins
The anthropoid coffins were nested inside the red granite sarcophagus
which measured
approximately 9 feet high by 5 feet
wide and 9 feet long. The covers of
each King Tut coffin were fastened by ten silver strips kept in place
with silver nails. The final coffin was made of solid gold. A
description of each King Tut coffin is as follows:
-
The first gilded wood
anthropoid coffin of Tutankhamun measures 7 feet 3 inches, or 2.24
metres in length
-
The second gilded wood
coffin is sometimes referred to as the intermediate coffin and
measures 6 feet 7 inches, or 2.04 metres, in length
-
The solid gold coffin of
King Tut measures 6 feet 1 inches, or 1.88 metres, in length and
weighs a massive 243lbs or 110.4 kilos. Just the raw weight of the
gold alone is currently worth about 2 million dollars
-
The solid gold
coffin was fitted with handles
-
It was attached to
the base by four gold tongues on each side
-
The tongues dropped
into sockets in the shell of the coffin and fixed with golden
pins
King Tut Coffin -
Description of the Anthropoid Coffins
Tutankhamun is represented on the man-shaped coffins in imitation of the
god Osiris wearing the traditional false beard and the headdress of the
pharaoh called the nemes.
The nemes
was a striped head cloth worn tight across the forehead with
lappets falling forward over each shoulder. The top of the nemes displays the uraeus
(rearing cobra emblem) and the
vulture on the brow which were emblems of the deities Wadjet and Nekhbet
of Upper and Lower Egypt. Both arms
are folded as the sign of the King of Egypt and he holds the royal
insignia of the crook and the flail in each hand. The body was engraved
with feathers and the figures Isis and Nephthys together with the
figures of Nekhebet and Buto, emblems of upper and lower Egypt. The
inlay of the coffin was of semi precious stones. There was also a
detachable necklace made of gold and faience.
King Tut Coffin
Each section of this website addresses all topics and
provides interesting facts and information about the Golden Age of
Pharaohs and of Egypt. The Sitemap provides full details
of all of the information and facts provided about the fascinating subject
of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
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