The sarcophagus of Seti I is a life-size

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

of the 19th Dynasty

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

Seti I Menmaatre Seti I (or Sethos I in Greek language, Greek) was the second pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the New Kingdom of Egypt, New Kingdom period, ruling or 1290 BC to 1279 BC. He was the son of Ramesses I and Sitre, and th ...

that was discovered in 1817 by the Italian explorer

Giovanni Belzoni Giovanni Battista Belzoni (; 5 November 1778 – 3 December 1823), sometimes known as The Great Belzoni, was a prolific Italian explorer and pioneer archaeologist of Egyptian antiquities. He is known for his removal to England of the seven-tonn ...

in tomb KV17 in the

Valley of the Kings The Valley of the Kings, also known as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings, is an area in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the Eighteenth Dynasty to the Twentieth Dynasty, rock-cut tombs were excavated for pharaohs and power ...

, Egypt. Seti I is believed to have died in 1279 BC and the sarcophagus would have housed his coffin and mummy. It was bought by architect Sir John Soane in 1824 for £2000 () after the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

turned it down citing Belzoni's steep price. It is currently displayed in the crypt section, called Sepulchral Chamber, of

Sir John Soane's Museum Sir John Soane's Museum is a Historic house museum, house museum, located next to Lincoln's Inn Fields in Holborn, London, which was formerly the home of Neoclassical architecture, neo-classical architect John Soane. It holds many drawings and ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Over 3000 years old, the sarcophagus is one of the oldest museum objects in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in public collection. Factum Foundation produced a replica of the sarcophagus for exhibition in 2017–18 by scanning the original and using elevated printing to create a photo-realistic copy.

Bibliography

References

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External links

Sir John Soane's Museum
Archaeological artifacts Ancient Egyptian sarcophagi Egyptological collections in London Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt Archaeological discoveries in Egypt 1817 archaeological discoveries Collection of Sir John Soane's Museum Sculptures of ancient Egypt 13th-century BC works 13th century BC in Egypt Egyptian inscriptions