An intact reed coffin burial from an Old Kingdom cemetery, Southwest of the Step pyramid, Gisr el-Mudir, Saqqara, Egypt

Wahba, Afaf (2025) An intact reed coffin burial from an Old Kingdom cemetery, Southwest of the Step pyramid, Gisr el-Mudir, Saqqara, Egypt. In: Aegyptus et Pannonia IX. Magyar-Egyiptomi Baráti Társaság, Ókori Egyiptomi Bizottság, Budapest, pp. 297-316. ISBN 9786156571045; 9786156571052

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Abstract

This paper presents the results of an investigation into an intact reed coffin burial, one of numerous others excavated by the Egyptian archaeological missions. The remains of a male, wrapped in domestic linen and with only a headrest, were found in a small, rectangular niche in the Late Old Kingdom cemetery at Gisr el-Mudir, to the southwest of the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. Petrie excavated similar reed coffin burials at Tarkhan, but their dating to the Old Kingdom was uncertain. Since then, the publication of several other reed coffins has supported Petrie’s dating to the late Old Kingdom. This burial confirms his dating and contributes to our understanding of the use of this type of coffin. The article also provides further insights into the life, possible occupation and health issues of this man during the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties in Saqqara, through the anthropological investigation of his skeletal remains.

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