PROTECTED FOR ETERNITY: The Coffins of Pa-debehu-Aset GALLERY GUIDE DOROTHY MC BRIDE GILL DISCOVERY CENTER The World of Pa-debehu-Aset Inside the Gill Discovery Center are two coffins that were made for Pa-debehu-Aset, a man who lived and died in ancient Egypt. He lived in the village of Asyut, midway down the River Nile, over 2,300 years ago. Although the world of Pa-debehu-Aset may seem long ago and far away, we can learn quite a lot about the beliefs that were important to him and about ancient Egypt in general, by studying the hieroglyphs and sacred symbols on his coffins. Both of these coffins were made for Pa-debehu-Aset. The anthropoid (human-shaped) coffin once held his mummy. Unfortunately his mummy became separated from his coffins long ago, and we do not know where it is, or if it still exists. The box-like coffin is called a shrine coffin, and the anthropoid coffin fits inside it. Only wealthy Egyptians could afford two coffins. THIS IS THE Egyptian society was divided into distinct social HIEROGLYPH groups. There was one pharaoh, usually a king, FOR but sometimes a queen, who ruled over all the land. coffin Pharaohs, and all the members of his or her family, were very rich and powerful. Pharaohs were treated like gods on earth, and many people helped them in their daily lives and with running the kingdom. Pa-debehu-Aset was probably a member of the upper :A coffin protected middle class—a social group that also included doc- the mummy from sun, heat and rain. tors, engineers, merchants and scribes. Most It also provided a Egyptians, though, were members of the lower class- place to record sacred prayers es. They might be soldiers, dancers, farmers, or any and the name of of a number of other occupations. the deceased. 2 THIS IS THE Most of what we know today about ancient Egypt is a HIEROGLYPH result of the hard work of Egyptologists—people who FOR study ancient Egypt. They need to learn how to read desert hieroglyphs so they can study the art and history of Egypt, and the objects that survive from that time. They also need to learn about the geography, environ- ment and politics of ancient Egypt, because, ¥Like most Egyptians, like today, those things affect how people live. Pa-debehu-Aset lived in a city Try your skill at being an Egyptologist! Locate located very near the River Nile. In a this image of the god Horus on Pa-debehu- land that was Aset's shrine coffin. Horus was the son of the mostly desert, it god Osiris and the goddess Isis. Here he is was important to be near water. shown as a falcon, a type of hawk common in ancient Egypt. THIS IS THE HIEROGLYPH Ancient Egyptians lived in a climate that was both FOR inviting and extreme. Most of the country was dominated water by a harsh, hot and dry desert environment. Fortunately, the land of Egypt was also enriched and nourished by the River Nile, the world's longest river. The Nile flooded its banks once every year, leaving behind deposits of ½ fertile topsoil, which provided the Egyptians with their The River Nile was only source of rich, work- the most important source of fresh able farmland. water for ancient Egyptians. The symbol below is called a wedjat-eye. It is also known as “the eye of Horus.” It is a very powerful symbol of rebirth and protection, and it will be your clue to explore the Gill Center as you test your knowledge of ancient Egypt! Find Pa-debehu-Aset's city of Asyut on the map. Turn the page to explore the remarkable world of Pa-debehu-Aset… 3 T H I S IS T H E GO D Sacred Stories Osiris Like all ancient Egyptians, Pa-debehu-Aset worshipped hundreds of gods and goddesses. They helped him live his life on earth and prepare for eternal life after death. In the ancient Egyptian creation story, the world began with Nun, the raging waters of chaos. The sun god Re emerged from Nun and created Shu, god of the air, and Tefnut, goddess of the morning dew. Shu and Tefnut then created Geb, god of the earth, and Nut, goddess of the sky. These deities created all the other gods and goddesses. This is an image of Nut, the goddess of the sky. She is also the mother of the gods Osiris and Seth. THIS IS THE Find Nut on Pa-debehu-Aset’s GODDESS anthropoid coffin. Nephthys A grandson of the god Re, Osiris was the most power- ful Egyptian god. He was originally a god of agriculture and fertility, and the first pharaoh of Egypt. He was tricked and killed by his evil brother Seth, the god of the storm, chaos and the desert. Seth tore Osiris' body into many pieces and scattered them throughout Egypt. Osiris' wife Isis and her sister Nephthys searched tire- lessly until they gathered together all the pieces of Osiris' body. Anubis, the god of mummification, put all the pieces of Osiris' body back together and wrapped his body in linen. Anubis magically reunited Osiris' spirit with his mummified body, and Osiris began a new life as the god of the Underworld. 4 Isis and Nephthys are sisters, T H IS IS TH E and they are often difficult to tell GODDESS apart. The one difference is the Isis headdress each wears—Isis usually wears a headdress in the shape of a throne or a sundisk with horns; Nephthys usually wears a headdress with a picture of a palace topped by a basket. Find the two sisters together on Pa-debehu-Aset's anthropoid T H I S IS TH E GO D coffin. Which one is which? Horus Pa-debehu-Aset would have relied on Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, Horus and Anubis for protection from harm. If Pa-debehu-Aset had a family, he and his wife would have asked the god Bes and the goddess Taweret— both important household gods—to help keep them safe and healthy. Bes was the god of the home, childbirth, infants, humor, song and dance. Along with Taweret, he was one of the most important household gods because he warded off evil spirits from newborns at the moment of birth. He is always shown as half-lion, half-man. Taweret protected mothers and their children against the many risks surrounding pregnancy and childbirth. She is always shown as a pregnant hippopotamus with the limbs and paws of a lion. Find Bes and Taweret. Look carefully—in this exhibit they are represented as amulets— small charms carried or worn for protection or rebirth. Most of the important gods and goddesses are named and pictured on Pa-debehu-Aset's two coffins. Ancient Egyptians believed their powerful presence protected See how the deceased throughout eternity. Look around the Gill many gods Discovery Center for clues to help you identify “Who's and Who” on the coffins. goddesses you can Turn the page to learn about how mummies are made… recognize! 5 T H I S IS TH E G O D How a Mummy is Anubis as a jackal- headed man Made Unfortunately, Pa-debehu-Aset's mummy is missing. However, we know his body was mummified, and then placed inside his anthropoid coffin because a frag- ment of linen and some small decorative beads that once adorned his body remain inside the coffin. The ancient Egyptians took great care to preserve a per- son's body after death. They believed both the ka, a person's spirit double, and the ba, a person's eternal soul, needed to return to the body in the next world. This is Isis, the goddess of mourn- ing. She was the wife of Osiris, and assisted Anubis with mummi- fication. Look at the position of her arms—they are in the same posi- T H I S IS TH E G O D tion as the hieroglyph for ka, which Anubis is written as K. The hieroglyph as a jackal for ba is written as a ba-bird, like this Ö. Find Isis on Pa-debehu-Aset's shrine coffin. After someone died, the body was taken to an embalmer— a specialist trained in mummification. Ancient Egyptians believed the brain wasn’t important, so it was removed and discarded. The heart was treated with great care, as it was believed to be the center of intelligence. It was removed, wrapped separately and returned to its place in the body. The lungs, liver, stom- ach and intestines were removed, individually embalmed, and placed in canopic jars. 6 The human- The jackal- The baboon- The falcon- headed god headed god headed god headed god Imsety guard- Duamutef was Hapi watched Qebhsenuef ed the liver in charge of the over the lungs protected the stomach intestines Canopic jars were special containers that held the embalmed internal organs of a dead person. Each jar held a specific organ, and each lid shows of one of the four sons of the god Horus. THIS IS THE nce the organs were removed, the body was cov- HIEROGLYPH O FOR ered with a special salt called natron that removed all mummy the moisture. After about 40 days, the body was dried and ready to be wrapped in hundreds of yards of linen strips. (Try to picture strips of cloth the length of several soccer fields laid end to end!). Fingers were bandaged individually; then the arms and legs were wrapped separately before being wrapped together with the rest of the body.