Why Did Ancient Egyptians Use Pillows Made Of Stone?
Conny Waters - AncientPages.com - It might sound odd, but the ancient Egyptian did in fact use pillows made of stone. The first people to use pillows were those who lived in the early civilizations of Mesopotamia around 7,000 BC. In those days, only rich people could afford to use pillows.
The number of pillows symbolized status so the more pillows one owned the more influence he or she held.
Headrest of Shu ( “He Who Rises Up”), the Egyptian God of Air, atmosphere and of dry winds. Cairo Museum
In ancient Egypt, pillows were associated with the mummies and tombs. Based on archaeological findings, it has been established that the ancient Egyptian pillows date back to 2055-1985 B.C.
See also:
Why Did Ancient Egyptians Fear The Vizier?
Ancient Egyptians Had A Different Definition Of ‘Foreigners’
Sed Festival – Ancient Egyptian Ritual Tested Pharaohs
Clothing And Jewelry In Ancient Egypt – How Did The Ancient Egyptians Dress?
Ancient Egyptian pillows were wooden, alabaster, glass or stone headrests. These pillows were not uncommon and mostly used by placing them under the heads of the deceased because the head of a human was considered to be the essence of life and sacred.
Made of stone, which is a very hard material, stone pillows were solely for use in the afterlife and not for everyday use.
The ancient Egyptian word for headrest (wrs), related to the word rs, means, "dream” and religious texts often mention stone pillows saying, “sleep well” and emphasize the importance to “raise one’s head higher” while sleeping and even after death.
Stone pillows provided support to a corpse’s head, uphold body vigor, kept blood circulating, and demons away.
Written by Conny Waters – AncientPages.com Staff Writer
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