A sarcophagus is a large stone coffin, often decorated with carvings or inscriptions. Ancient civilizations, especially the Egyptians and Romans, placed the bodies of important people inside these heavy stone containers. The most famous sarcophagi come from ancient Egypt, where pharaohs and nobles were buried in elaborately decorated stone coffins, sometimes placed inside pyramids or hidden tombs.

Despite the grim name, Egyptian sarcophagi were meant to protect and preserve bodies forever. Many were carved with prayers, painted with bright colors, and shaped to look like the person inside.

When archaeologists discovered King Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, they found his mummy protected by three nested coffins, the innermost made of solid gold. Museums around the world display ancient sarcophagi, giving us windows into how people thousands of years ago honored their dead and thought about the afterlife. Unlike simple wooden coffins, a sarcophagus was a monument meant to last forever.