The four magic bricks

The four magic bricks

At the time of the burial of the king or a notable, four of these unbaked bricks are placed in niches of the vault at the four cardinal points. They serve as support for four specific amulets: in the west, the pillar Djed; in the east, the recumbent Anubis; in the south, the flame; and in the north, a mummiform figure on a pedestal, which also underwent the opening ritual of the mouth. These amulets are associated with chapter 151 of the Book of the Dead, whose vignette represents them, and whose text is written in hieratic or hieroglyphic on the bricks. The text specifies how the amulets should be made, which direction they should lie, and what role they should play in protecting against the dangers coming from the four cardinal points. The earliest examples date from the eighteenth dynasty: the first niches appear in the royal tomb of Amenhotep II. The latest examples are known from the reign of Nectanebo I, after a hiatus of some centuries between the XXI dynasty and the Late Period.

picture: Sennefer TT96A

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