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.



Japan Births in 2024 Fell Below 700,000 for First Time 

People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)
People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)
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Japan Births in 2024 Fell Below 700,000 for First Time 

People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)
People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)

The number of births in Japan last year fell below 700,000 for the first time on record, government data showed Wednesday.

The fast-ageing nation welcomed 686,061 newborns in 2024 -- 41,227 fewer than in 2023, the data showed. It was the lowest figure since records began in 1899.

Japan has the world's second-oldest population after tiny Monaco, according to the World Bank.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has called the situation a "quiet emergency", pledging family-friendly measures like more flexible working hours to try and reverse the trend.

Wednesday's health ministry data showed that Japan's total fertility rate -- the average number of children a woman is expected to have -- also fell to a record low of 1.15.

The ministry said Japan saw 1.6 million deaths in 2024, up 1.9 percent from a year earlier.

Ishiba has called for the revitalization of rural regions, where shrinking elderly villages are becoming increasingly isolated.

In more than 20,000 communities in Japan, the majority of residents are aged 65 and above, according to the internal affairs ministry.

The country of 123 million people is also facing increasingly severe worker shortages as its population ages, not helped by relatively strict immigration rules.

In neighboring South Korea, the fertility rate in 2024 was even lower than Japan's, at 0.75 -- remaining one of the world's lowest but marking a small rise from the previous year on the back of a rise in marriages.