A 3,000-Year-Old Coffin from Ancient Egypt Rejuvenates

The owner of the ancient Egyptian coffin that has just been restored and is exhibited at the National Archaeological Museum (MAN) knew how to sing, dance, compose, and play an instrument. Her name is unknown, but archaeologists call her the priestess and musician of Amun, king of the gods and resident of the Karnak temple. The restorer Ignacio D'Olhaberriague has brought out the colors of the Egyptian sarcophagus, which dates from 1069 – 945 B.C. and had been in the museum's storage for more than 120 years. D'Olhaberriague, who has removed dirt, overpainting, varnishes, and remnants of old interventions, almost suffered from Stendhal syndrome due to the beauty of the sarcophagus's decoration.

Thanks to recent research, the meaning of a hieroglyph has been revealed: 'A in the mouth of Amun, Mer(t)-Ra-Amun', an epithet for the owner of the sarcophagus, whose profession could only be performed by women linked to aristocracy or royalty. For a long time, it was believed that the box, made from sycamore wood, belonged to Ruru, a hypothesis that has finally been discarded. "The coffin arrived at the museum in 1895 as a result of a donation from Egypt to Spain when four years earlier a cache with about one hundred and fifty mummies of priests was discovered," said Isabel Izquierdo, director of MAN, who highlighted that the sacred world in Egypt was associated with music, an activity performed by women.

The restoration has been possible thanks to the collaboration between the Association of Friends of the Archaeological Museum and the Iberdrola Foundation, entities that have joined forces to recover a piece that is 3,000 years old and belongs to the XXI dynasty. The coffin, over two meters long and 86 centimeters high, is profusely decorated. The deceased is depicted making incense offerings to the four sons of the god Horus. Inside, an image of the goddess Nephthys welcomes the deceased on her journey to the afterlife.

The state of conservation of the coffin was somewhat delicate. In 1986 an intervention was made on the box, but over time the materials used aged without remedy. "They needed to be reviewed and updated a bit. This has been the main treatment of the restoration," said D'Olhaberriague.

The main ritual around the god Amun was lavish and was celebrated three times a day inside the temple. The doors were opened, the precinct purified, the statue of the god dressed and adorned, and offerings were made to feed the deity. Hundreds of loaves of bread, jars of beer, and baskets of fruits were placed on silver and gold dishes while singers like the priestess who occupied the sarcophagus played instruments from that era such as sistrum and menat and sang to honor the deity.