Sarcophagus of Seti I | |
---|---|
Material | Alabaster with Egyptian blue infill |
Size | Length 2.84 m Width (head): 55.9cm Width (feet): 81.3cm Height (shoulders): 81.3cm Height (lower part, feet): 68.6cm Thickness (lower part, sides): 2.5cm, minimum; 10.2cm, maximum |
Writing | Egyptian hieroglyphs |
Created | 1370 BC |
Discovered | 1817 |
Present location | Sir John Soane's Museum, London |
Registration | M470 |
The sarcophagus of Seti I is a life-size sarcophagus of the 19th Dynasty Pharaoh that was discovered in 1817 by the Italian explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni in tomb KV17 in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt.[1] Seti I is believed to have died in 1279 BC and the sarcophagus would have housed his coffin and mummy.[2] It was bought by architect Sir John Soane in 1824 for £2000 (equivalent to £222,000 in 2023) after the British Museum turned it down citing Belzoni's steep price.[3] It is currently displayed in the crypt section, called Sepulchral Chamber, of Sir John Soane's Museum in London. Over 3000 years old, the sarcophagus is one of the oldest museum objects in the United Kingdom in public collection.[4]
Factom Foundation during a 17 year project faithfully produced a replica of the sacophagus of Seti 1 for exhibition 2017-18 by scanning the original in the Sir John Soane Museum and CNC cut alabaster. [5] The Egyptian government in 2009 the recording of the tomb of Tutankhamun began on the instruction of Dr Zahi Hawass with the backing of the Supreme Council of Antiquities were subsequently commissioned to produce a replica of Tutankamun's tomb.