Sarcophagus of Usermontu

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This imposing anthropoid coffin belonged to Usermontu, a prominent High Priest of Montu and Priest of Amun during Ramesses II's reign. Deep within his Theban necropolis tomb, archaeologists discovered a massive black granite coffin; it's likely that this pink granite coffin was nestled inside the larger one. This discovery stands out, as stone coffins were relatively rare among private individuals in ancient Egypt's New Kingdom era. Usermontu is depicted wearing a long, striated wig secured by a floral fillet and sporting the distinctive beard of divinity. His crossed hands grasp a djed pillar, symbolizing stability and associated with the god Osiris, as well as a tit amulet, invoking protection and revered by Isis, Osiris's sister-wife. Across Usermontu's chest lies an expansive festival collar. The exterior inscriptions feature utterances from the protective funerary deities depicted on the sides: Thoth, Anubis, and the Four Sons of Horus. Inside the coffin, spells are inscribed to safeguard the body by Nut, the sky goddess, who is carved in full-length on the floor of the box.