354 sarddissolve human remains. Stone sarcophagi used in the
Fifth Dynasty (2465–2323 B.C.E.) had intricate patterns
resembling the facades of the palaces of the time, and
these patterns sometimes included painted replicas of the
same colored materials. These sarcophagi were so heavy
and large that they had to be placed inside the burial
chambers before funerals because of the labor involved in
setting them in place. It is believed that the sarcophagus
constructed for KHUFU(Cheops; r. 2551–2528 B.C.E.) was
actually incorporated into the pyramid in the process of
constructing that monument.
Stone sarcophagi became rare by the Middle King-
dom (2040–1640 B.C.E.) and were used exclusively for
royal or noble burials. Their decorations were austere,
but some, such as the ones discovered in DEIR EL-BAHRIat
Thebes, in the mortuary complex of MONTUHOTEP II(r.
2061–2010 B.C.E.), were discovered with painted reliefs.
The New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.E.) form of the sar-
cophagus was either rectangular or anthropoid. The sar-
cophagi used for nonroyal persons as early as the
Eighteenth Dynasty and in the Ramessid Dynasties some-
times represented the deceased in daily attire. The royal
sarcophagi were rectangular, carved with the figures of
deities and embellished with bands of religious texts.
At the start of the Nineteenth Dynasty in 1307 B.C.E.,
the custom developed of carving the form of the king in
high relief on the outer lid. The inner and outer surfaces
were painted with mortuary texts. Sometimes a picture of
the goddess NUT, the sky deity, lined the interior. With
the close of the New Kingdom in 1070 B.C.E., the sar-
cophagi lost popularity until after 650 B.C.E., when the
royal families again adopted their use. They continued to
hold the remains of the pharaohs during the Ptolemaic
Period (304–30 B.C.E.) and even in later eras.
See also COFFINS; MORTUARY RITUALS.sard A reddish brown variety of chalcedony, called her-
setor desher(in the red tones) by Egyptians, this stone is
normally darker than carnelian and is found in the east-