Fragment from Akhenaten¹s
sarcophagus with relief of
the head of Nefertiti

Amarna, Royal Tomb
Granite;
h. 14.7 cm, w. 8.4 cm, d. 5.5 cm
Agyptisches Museum und
Papyrussamlung, Berlin

The mummy of Akhenaten was probably placed inside one or more gilded coffins, which were in turn nested inside a large granite sarcophagus that was then lowered into the burial chamber of the Royal Tomb. Hundreds of fragments of this sarcophagus have been found in or near the tomb, which was desecrated at some time in antiquity. The figure of Nefertiti was carved at each corner of the sarcophagus, her arms outspread in symbolic protection of the king's body. She appears in place of the four traditional protective goddesses of the dead.