The Coffins of Pa-debehu-Aset - Memorial Art Gallery - University of ...

The World ofPa-debehu-AsetInside the Gill Discovery Center are two coffins thatwere made for Pa-debehu-Aset, a man who lived anddied 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 longago and far away, we can learn quite a lot about thebeliefs that were important to him and about ancientEgypt in general, by studying the hieroglyphs andsacred symbols on his coffins.Both of these coffins were made forPa-debehu-Aset. The anthropoid(human-shaped) coffin once held hismummy. Unfortunately his mummybecame separated from his coffinslong ago, and we do not know whereit is, or if it still exists. The box-likecoffin is called a shrine coffin, andthe anthropoid coffin fits inside it.Only wealthy Egyptians couldafford two coffins.T H I S I S T H EH I E R O G L Y P HFOR:coffinA coffin protectedthe mummy fromsun, heat and rain.It also provided aplace to recordsacred prayersand the name ofthe deceased.Egyptian society was divided into distinct socialgroups. There was one pharaoh, usually a king,but sometimes a queen, who ruled over all the land.Pharaohs, and all the members of his or her family,were very rich and powerful. Pharaohs were treatedlike gods on earth, and many people helped them intheir daily lives and with running the kingdom.Pa-debehu-Aset was probably a member of the uppermiddle class—a social group that also included doctors,engineers, merchants and scribes. MostEgyptians, though, were members of the lower classes.They might be soldiers, dancers, farmers, or anyof a number of other occupations.2