Sarcophagus of Ankhhor

The human shape of the stone sarcophagi from Egypt increases the mummy shape to monumental proportions. Like the latter they form acasing for the deceased, within which he or she will experience their transformation into an immortal. The rectangular sarcophagi can weigh up to ten tonnes. They are made of hard stone and their reliefs and inscriptions relating to the deceased permit the creation of a finely nuanced picture of the afterlife. Depicted on the lid is Nut, the goddess of heaven, in whose body the dead will experience regeneration, a process compared with the movement of the sun. Images of the sun’s nightly journey show the twelve hours from evening until the radiant dawn of the next day. The sarcophagus of Ankhhor portrays the fortytwo judges of the afterlife who decide on eternal life or eternal damnation.