Middle Kingdom coffins
By the Middle Kingdom the coffin was considered a miniature tomb, and it was decorated with many of the items that had formerly adorned the walls of the tomb. The goddesses Isis and Nephthys were painted as guards at the head and foot of the coffin. The inside floor of the coffin was painted with Nut, Isis, Osiris, or the Djed pillar (Osiris’s backbone). Aside the owner’s name and titles, a prayer for offerings as well as vertical inscriptions to intercede on behalf of the deceased were found.
Anthropoid coffins carved to the outline of the mummy’s body and decorated with the face and wig of the deceased emerged at this time.
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