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Ancient Egyptians Recycled Wood to Build Coffins, New Study

A coffin, part of a recent discovery from the Saqqara necropolis, is seen south of Cairo, Egypt January 17, 2021. REUTERS/Hanaa Habib
A coffin, part of a recent discovery from the Saqqara necropolis, is seen south of Cairo, Egypt January 17, 2021. REUTERS/Hanaa Habib
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Ancient Egyptians Recycled Wood to Build Coffins, New Study

A coffin, part of a recent discovery from the Saqqara necropolis, is seen south of Cairo, Egypt January 17, 2021. REUTERS/Hanaa Habib
A coffin, part of a recent discovery from the Saqqara necropolis, is seen south of Cairo, Egypt January 17, 2021. REUTERS/Hanaa Habib

The culture of recycling has become more common in our world to serve a more important goal: preserving the environment and preventing pollution. However, it seems ancient Egyptians practiced recycling thousands of years ago, according to a study of an ancient coffin stored at the Bologna Archaeological Museum.

The new study managed to form a deep understanding of the coffin’s falcon-like wooden structure inspired by Montu, God of war in Ancient Egypt.

Published in the February issue of the Journal of Imaging, the study was carried out by an Italian team including researchers from different fields led by Fauzia Albertin from the department of physics and astronomy at the University of Bologna.

To get the information and data they need, the team used different tools including radiocarbon dating to analyze the wood, and X-ray computed tomography to examine the manufacturing details and identify the types of wood.

The radiocarbon dating revealed that the studied coffin dating to the 15th-16th dynasty in Ancient Egypt, was made using a wooden board from an older coffin that dates to the New Kingdom of Egypt ruled by the 18th-19th dynasty (1539-1186 BC).

Concentrated samples taken from the wooden structure helped the researchers identify two timbers. All the samples taken from the coffin planks were found to be of Ficus sycomorus. All the connecting elements, both dowels and tenons, were found to be of Tamarix.

The local fig tree (Ficus sycomorus) has been frequently found in the identification of wood used for Egyptian coffins, particularly for wide and long coffin planks. Fig tree wood is light and easy to work with, an important feature for the tools available in that period.

The CT scan of the coffin revealed many details about its construction. The coffin assembly began with the joining of the two planks of the floorboard. On this planking, the single large planks of the sides were placed. The side planks and floorboard were probably glued together and later joined with long, round dowels inserted in opposing holes made in the thickness of the wood.

The team then moved on to the construction of another planking, the front of the lid, which was then affixed to the single large planks of the sides with long round dowels, to give strength to the obtained parallelepiped structure. The parallelepiped structure obtained was then closed at the ends, adding the planking of the upper head wall, as well as the feet, pedestal, and foot board.

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Nearby Sculptor Galaxy Revealed in Ultra-Detailed Galactic Image

This undated handout image released by European Southern Observatory on June 17, 2025 shows a detailed, thousand-color image of the Sculptor Galaxy captured with the MUSE instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). (Handout / European Southern Observatory / AFP)
This undated handout image released by European Southern Observatory on June 17, 2025 shows a detailed, thousand-color image of the Sculptor Galaxy captured with the MUSE instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). (Handout / European Southern Observatory / AFP)
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Nearby Sculptor Galaxy Revealed in Ultra-Detailed Galactic Image

This undated handout image released by European Southern Observatory on June 17, 2025 shows a detailed, thousand-color image of the Sculptor Galaxy captured with the MUSE instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). (Handout / European Southern Observatory / AFP)
This undated handout image released by European Southern Observatory on June 17, 2025 shows a detailed, thousand-color image of the Sculptor Galaxy captured with the MUSE instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). (Handout / European Southern Observatory / AFP)

The Sculptor galaxy is similar in many respects to our Milky Way. It is about the same size and mass, with a similar spiral structure. But while it is impossible to get a full view of the Milky Way from the vantage point of Earth because we are inside the galaxy, Sculptor is perfectly positioned for a good look.

Astronomers have done just that, releasing an ultra-detailed image of the Sculptor galaxy on Wednesday obtained with 50 hours of observations using one of the world's biggest telescopes, the European Southern Observatory's Chile-based Very Large Telescope.

The image shows Sculptor, also called NGC 253, in around 4,000 different colors, each corresponding to a specific wavelength in the optical spectrum.

Because various galactic components emit light differently across the spectrum, the observations are providing information at unprecedented detail on the inner workings of an entire galaxy, from star formation to the motion of interstellar gas on large scales. Conventional images in astronomy offer only a handful of colors, providing less information.

The researchers used the telescope's Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, or MUSE, instrument.

"NGC 253 is close enough that we can observe it in remarkable detail with MUSE, yet far enough that we can still see the entire galaxy in a single field of view," said astronomer Enrico Congiu, a fellow at the European Southern Observatory in Santiago, and lead author of research being published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

"In the Milky Way, we can achieve extremely high resolution, but we lack a global view since we're inside it. For more distant galaxies, we can get a global view, but not the fine detail. That's why NGC 253 is such a perfect target: it acts as a bridge between the ultra-detailed studies of the Milky Way and the large-scale studies of more distant galaxies. It gives us a rare opportunity to connect the small-scale physics with the big-picture view," Congiu said.

Sculptor is about 11 million light-years from Earth, making it one of the closest big galaxies to the Milky Way. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km).

Like the Milky Way, it is a barred spiral galaxy, meaning it has an elongated structure extending from its nucleus, with spiral arms extending from the ends of the bar. Its diameter of about 88,000 light-years is similar to the Milky Way's, as is its total mass. One major difference is Sculptor's rate of new star formation, estimated to be two to three times greater than that of the Milky Way.

Nearly 30% of this star formation is happening near the galaxy's nucleus in what is called a starburst region, as revealed in colorful emissions shown in the new image.

The observations have given information on a wide range of properties such as the motion, age and chemical composition of stars and the movement of interstellar gas, an important component of any galaxy.

"Since the light from stars is typically bluer if the stars are young or redder if the stars are old, having thousands of colors lets us learn a lot about what stars and populations of stars exist in the galaxy," said astronomer Kathryn Kreckel of Heidelberg University in Germany, a study co-author.

"Similarly for the gas, it glows in specific bright emission lines at very specific colors, and tells us about the different elements that exist in the gas, and what is causing it to glow," Kreckel said.

The initial research being published from the observations involves planetary nebulae, which are luminous clouds of gas and dust expelled by certain dying stars. Despite their name, they have nothing to do with planets. These nebulae can help astronomers measure the precise distances of faraway galaxies.

The researchers marveled at the scientific and aesthetic value of the new view of Sculptor.

"I personally find these images amazing," Congiu said. "What amazes me the most is that every time I look at them, I notice something new - another nebula, a splash of unexpected color or some subtle structure that hints at the incredible physics behind it all."