Return of the Coffin of Ankhpakhered

On Wednesday 31st July, the anthropoid coffin of a man called Ankhpakhered was returned to the Egypt Centre after twenty-six years of conservation work at Cardiff University (fig. 1). The coffin was gifted to the Egypt Centre in 1997 from the Aberystwyth University. Details about its history are a little sketchy, although it is known that it was present in Aberystwyth by at least 1910. The museum acquisition record for 1900–1901 contains the following record, which might be related to this coffin: “An Egyptian mummy. Presented by Mr. James Wilson (Wilson Bey, Cairo), per Mr. Thomas Davies, J. P. Bootle.” The coffin was used as a storage box at one time, with other Egyptian objects placed in it for safekeeping.

Fig. 1: Lid of AB118

The coffin is made of planks of wood joined together with dowels. It is covered with textile to create a smooth surface, which was then painted with decoration. When the coffin arrived in Swansea, it was in a very poor state of preservation. The face of the lid was hanging off, the sides of the base had collapsed, and much of the textile decoration was already detached (fig. 2). It was also covered in layers of dirt and grime, including “Chambers” being written on the lid in white chalk. The coffin had to be painstakingly cleaned, reconstructed, and consolidated to prevent it from deteriorating further.   

Fig. 2: The lid of the coffin c. 1998

The coffin is decorated on both the exterior and interior. On the exterior of the lid, the goddess Nut kneels with her wings outstretched across the chest of the deceased (fig. 3). Two wedjat eyes are located just beneath her. Ten deities are depicted over four registers in the lower half of the lid. In the upper register are the mummiform figures of the four sons of Horus (Qebehsenuef, Duamutef, Imsety, Hapy), two on each side. They are followed in the register below by two forms of the jackal-headed god Anubis. In the third register, Geb and Hornedjitef are represented, while in the lower Ptah-Sokar-Osiris and Thoth are shown. Beneath these gods are two further wedjat eyes, each accompanied by a protective spell. The goddess Isis, flanked by additional wedjat eyes, is depicted kneeling with her arm raised in mourning on the foot of the lid.

Fig. 3: Decoration of the lid

On the interior of the lid (fig. 4), a large polychrome figure of Nut is included. Four columns of hieroglyphs to the right of her identify the owner as Ankhpakhered, son of Padiese and Tawer. Above the figure of the goddess is a so-called “Nut Text”, emphasising the role of the goddess as a mother to the deceased. On the foot of the interior is a large shen-rings with two flails.  

Fig. 4: Interior of the lid

The interior of the trough is decorated with a large djed pillar with a crown consisting of a solar disk flanked by uraei atop the horns of a ram (fig. 5). The djed pillar represents the backbone of the god Osiris, so its location on the base of the interior of the trough is rather fitting. Hieroglyphic texts are located above and below. The one below is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of the Book of the Dead, which begins “I am Djedi son of Djedi. I was born in Djedu (Busiris)”.

Fig. 5: Interior of the trough

A further djed pillar is located on the exterior of the trough (fig. 6). It is flanked by texts (the sides of the trough) ensuring that the deceased will receive nourishment in the afterlife.

Fig. 6: Exterior of the trough

The footboard of the coffin contains a depiction of the Apis Bull carrying the mummified deceased on its back. A winged sun disk is located above (fig. 7). Such scenes are standard on coffins of the First Millennium BC.

Fig. 7: Footboard of the coffin

Nephthys is represented kneeling in an act of mourning on the head end. Beneath her is a solar disk and scarab rising between the symbols of the East and West (fig. 8).

Fig. 8: Head end of the coffin

The style of the coffin indicates that it was produced in the late Twenty-fifth or early Twenty-sixth Dynasty (c. 700–660 BC). It can be pinpointed further by looking at the number of divisions on Nut’s wings. On the coffin lid she is depicted with her wings divided into three sections (fig. 9). As her wings were generally shown with four divisions after 660 BC, this indicates a date just before this change.

Fig. 9: Detail of Nut

The coffin has an interesting history with multiple occupants. At an unknown date, perhaps the Ptolemaic Period (c. 305–30 BC), the coffin was usurped for a man called Djedher, a Stolist at Akhmim, who was the son of Harsiese (also a Stolist at Akhmim) and Ibii. The usurpations are evident on the exterior of the lid only. The white patches indicate where the name of Ankhpakhered was covered over in order for the new owner’s name to be added (fig. 10). The titles of Djedher might suggest that the coffin was transferred from Thebes to Akhmim for reuse, although this is by no means certain.

Fig. 10: Detail showing the change of name

When the coffin arrived in Swansea in 1997, it contained bits of cartonnage in a very poor state of preservation (fig. 11). These were also conservated by students at Cardiff with two of the three pieces now on display within the House of Death Gallery (fig. 12–14). Stylistically, the cartonnage dates to the Ptolemaic Period, so perhaps they belonged to Djedher? If only things were so straightforward! As mentioned previously, the archives in Aberystwyth mention a mummy. This appears to have been kept in the coffin until 1963 when it was sent to St. Thomas’ Hospital in London in order to be examined. Despite the coffin belonging to two men, the body belonged to that of a woman! Could the cartonnage thus have belonged to her? The mummy was later given by Dr Dick Kittermaster, a pathologist at St. Thomas’ Hospital, to Uplands Academy (formerly Uplands Community College) in Wadhurst. While here, the body was re-examined by Professor Rosalie David of the KNH Centre in Manchester. A video relating to the body can be viewed below. What is unclear is whether the coffin and the mummy were donated to Aberystwyth at the same time.

Fig. 11: Photo of the cartonnage in the coffin c. 1998

Fig. 12: Cartonnage head covering

Fig. 13: Cartonnage chest covering

Fig. 14: Cartonnage leg covering

During its time in Cardiff, over fifty students spent more than 1,000 hours cleaning, conserving, and analysing the coffin. All of this took place under the watchful eye of Phil Parkes (Reader in Conservation), who guided the students every step of the way. Several dissertations have been written on the coffin, including an analysis of the pigments (Jenny Gosling) and the varnish layer (Deborah Magnoler).

Video on the mummy

This is not the end of the story though. Since the coffin returned to the Egypt Centre, it has been photographed and 3D scanned. While it is now in storage, future plans are for the coffin to go on display in the House of Death gallery at the Egypt Centre. Additionally, a full publication on the assemblage (coffin, cartonnage, and human remains) is planned, bringing together research on the history, construction, decoration, conservation, scientific analysis, palaeography, and other disciplines.

3D scan of the complete coffin (exterior decoration only): https://skfb.ly/p6QG8

3D scan of the lid: https://skfb.ly/p6OL8

3D scan of the trough: https://skfb.ly/p6P9y

We would like to thank the following present and former students who worked on the coffin over the past twenty-sixth years:

Jenny Gosling, Stefanie White, Deborah Magnoler, Gemma McBader, Susie Sandford, Sophie Alcock, Jerrod Seifert, Olivia Silverstein, Eloise Lovejoy, Anna Dembicka, Chloe Pearce, Aliza Taft, Stephanie Whitehead, Dean Smith, Emily Franks, Joanne Hoppe, Sarah Dunn, Angela Leersnyder, Sean Billups, Rachel Coderre, Deirdre Ellis, Celia Godfrey, Naomi Hadfield, Leah Hammon, David Jacobs, Rosie Jones, Wanlei Liang, Jess MacLean, Maria Meerson, Jessie Morgan, Tia Ryder, Domonkos Szabo, Liz Trump, Nancy Wender, Hannah Willett, Zoe Bell, Kwan Yu Chow, Kimberley Dowding, Alexandra Meek, Katie Morton, Aron O’Shea, Carmen Cooper, and Gabrielle Wright.

Thank you!