Archaeology & History

Largest Egyptian sarcophagus discovered

By T.K. Randall
December 9, 2012 ·  4 comments

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons The enormous casket is made of red granite and was built for the pharaoh Merneptah who would have ruled more than 3,200 years ago. The sarcophagus was found in pieces and researchers are now working to reconstruct it. At 13ft long and 7ft wide it is far larger than any other found in Egypt. "This as far as I know is about the largest of any of the royal sarcophagi," said project director Edwin Brock.

It is believed that the ancient Egyptians would have used a pulley system with ropes and wooden beams to haul the huge casket in to the tomb. Archaeologists also believe that the original door to the tomb would have been too small for it to fit and that early construction workers would have needed to go back to the drawing board and redesign the entrance. "This study has shown a lot of interesting little human aspects about ancient Egypt [that] perhaps makes them look less godlike," said Brock.[!gad]The enormous casket is made of red granite and was built for the pharaoh Merneptah who would have ruled more than 3,200 years ago. The sarcophagus was found in pieces and researchers are now working to reconstruct it. At 13ft long and 7ft wide it is far larger than any other found in Egypt. "This as far as I know is about the largest of any of the royal sarcophagi," said project director Edwin Brock.

It is believed that the ancient Egyptians would have used a pulley system with ropes and wooden beams to haul the huge casket in to the tomb. Archaeologists also believe that the original door to the tomb would have been too small for it to fit and that early construction workers would have needed to go back to the drawing board and redesign the entrance. "This study has shown a lot of interesting little human aspects about ancient Egypt [that] perhaps makes them look less godlike," said Brock.

Source: Live Science | Comments (4)

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