Kara Cooney: Coffins of the Pharaohs

In 1881, a remarkable discovery took place in Luxor, Egypt. In the hills of Deir el-Bahari, a secret tomb held the reburied mummies of Egypt’s famous pharaohs. Figures like Sety I, Ramesses II, Thutmose III, and Amunhotep I lay in rest, in carefully hidden coffins. However, the caskets themselves hold many secrets, which today’s guest has spent years exploring.
VIDEO VERSION available on YouTube (youtu.be/pKFEGKuJFqI).
Interview guest:

• Prof. Kara Cooney (UCLA) presents Recycling for Death:Coffin Reuse in Ancient Egypt and the Theban Royal Caches. Part of the UCLA Coffins Project arce.org/project/ucla-coffins-project. Available via AUC Press aucpress.com/9781649031280/recycling-for-death.

• Kara Cooney’s website: karacooney.squarespace.com.

The Deir el-Bahari cache and the royal coffins & mummies:

• Coffin of Sety I flickr.com/photos/tags/coffinofsetii. Possible evidence of its origin as a queenly coffin via Dr. Peter Lacovara peterlacovara.com/portfolio/coffin-conundrum.

• Daressy, G. (1909). Cercueils des cachettes royales: Nos 61001-61044. archive.org/details/DaressyCercueils1909.

• Maspero, G., & Brugsch, É. (1881—1887). La Trouvaille de Deir-el-Bahari, 2 vols. digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/maspero1881bd1 and digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/maspero1887bd2.

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