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The largest ancient Egyptian sarcophagus has been identified in a tomb in Egypt ’s Valley of the Kings , say archaeologist who are re - assembling the jumbo box that was reduced to fragment more than 3,000 geezerhood ago .
Made of red granite , the royal sarcophagus was make for Merneptah , anEgyptian pharaohwho lived more than 3,200 years ago . Awarrior king , he defeated the Libyans and a group called the " Sea Peoples " in a slap-up battle .
The mummy of Merneptah was encased in a series of four sarcophagi, set one within the other. After his tomb was robbed, more than 3,000 years ago, he was reburied elsewhere and his two outer sarcophagi boxes were broken up.
He also waged a political campaign in the Levant attacking , among others , a group he called " Israel " ( the first mention of the the great unwashed ) . When he died , his mommy was enclosed in a serial of four Lucy Stone sarcophagus , one nestled within the other .
archeologist are re - assembling the outermost of these nested sarcophagus , its sizing dwarfing the investigator working on it . It is more than 13 foot ( 4 metre ) long , 7 foot ( 2.3 thousand ) wide and towers more than 8 feet ( 2.5 m ) above the ground . It was originally quite colourful and has a lid that is still entire . [ See exposure of Pharaoh ’s Sarcophagus ]
" This as far as I know is about the with child of any of the royal stag sarcophagi , " said project theatre director Edwin Brock , a research associate degree at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto , in an audience with LiveScience .
The lid of the second sarcophagus bearing an image of Merneptah. This would have been completely enclosed by the outer sarcophagus box and lid.
Brock explicate the four sarcophagus would probably have been lend inside the grave already nuzzle together , with theking ’s mummyinside .
hole in the entrance rotating shaft to the tomb indicate a pulley system of sort , with ropes and wooden beams , used to bring the sarcophagus in . When the workers got to the burial bedroom they found they could n’t get the sarcophagus box through the door . Ultimately , they had to demolish the sleeping accommodation ’s door jams and build new unity .
" I always like to wonder about the conversation that might have take post between thetomb buildersand the mass from the pit , " said Brock in a presentation he cave in recently at an Egyptology symposium in Toronto . " This report has express a raft of interesting little human aspect about ancient Egypt [ that ] perhaps produce them front less divine . "
Archaeologist Lyla Pinch Brock at work reconstructing a giant outer sarcophagus box belonging to Egyptian pharaoh Merneptah.
When he first examined shard from Merneptah ’s grave in the 1980s , they were " piled up in no particular order " in a side bedchamber . Even when put together , the fragment made up just one - third of the corner , stand for researchers had to retrace the rest .
Brock ’s efforts got a boost with the launch of a full Reconstruction Period project ( affiliated with the Royal Ontario Museum ) that started in March 2011 . ( Merneptah ’s grave has been late re - opened to the populace . )
The four sarcophagi
This scene depicts hour five of the “Amduat,” a book that also chronicles the sun god’s journey at night. In this section he passes through the cavern of a god named Sokar. When re-assembling the box archaeologists had to temporarily leave an opening that allowed them to work on the interior.
Not only was the pharaoh ’s out sarcophagus immense but the fact that he used four of them , made of Lucy Stone , is unusual . " Merneptah ’s unique in having been provided with four I. F. Stone sarcophagus to enclose his mummified coffined remains , " tell Brock in his presentation . [ The 10 Weirdest Ways We Deal With the Dead ]
Within the outer sarcophagus was a 2d granite sarcophagus box with a cartouche - mould ellipse lid that limn Merneptah . Within that was a third sarcophagus that was taken out and reused in ancientness by another ruler named Psusennes I. Within this was a fourthsarcophagus , made of travertine ( a form of limestone ) , that originally hold the ma of Merneptah .
Only a few fragments of this last box seat survive today ; the mummy itself was reburied in antiquity after the tomb was robbed more than 3,000 days ago . It was after this robbery that the out sarcophagus box , and the 2d box seat within it , were broken apart ( the lids for both boxes being retain intact ) . They were destroyed not only for their component but also to help get at the third box ( that was reused by Psusennes ) .
flaming was used in reveal aside the out sarcophagus box .
" singe marks , spalling [ sliver ] and circular cracking on various locating of the interior and exterior of the loge attest to the purpose of flak to heat up office of the box , followed by speedy cooling system with water to dampen the granite , " write Brock in his symposium abstract , bring that dolerite mallet rock also appear to have been used .
Why so big ?
Why Merneptah build himself such a giant sarcophagus is unknown . Other Pharaoh of Egypt used multiple sarcophagi , although none , it appears , with an KO’d box as large as this .
Brock points out that Merneptah ’s father , Ramesses II , and grandpa , Seti I , both great builders , were apparently each buried in one travertine sarcophagus .
The medallion on Merneptah ’s unlike sarcophagus offer a clue as to why he build four of them . They contain representative " from two piece of music that name the sun god ’s journeying at night , one is called the ' Book of Gates ' and one is called the ' Amduat , ' " Brock said . These books are divide into 12 sections , or " hour . "
He notes that the same hour tend to be repeated on the boxwood and lids of Merneptah ’s sarcophagus . One motif the king appears particularly fond of is the unfold scenes of the " Book of Gates , " including one show a kingdom that exist beforethe sun godenters the netherworld , according to Egyptologist Erik Hornung ’s book " The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife " ( Cornell University Press , 1999 , translation from German ) . " Upon his entry into the region of the dead , the Lord’s Day god is greeted not by single god but by the collective of the dead , who are destine the ' gods of the west ’ and located in the westerly mountain range , " Hornung compose .
For the queen repeating scenes like this over and over may have been important , it ’s " as though they ’re trying to enclose the [ male monarch ’s ] body with these magic shells that have top executive of resurrection , " Brock said .
The research was presented at a Toronto symposium that ran from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 and was organize by the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities and the Royal Ontario Museum ’s Friends of Ancient Egypt .
