Ancient Egyptians Slept on Stone Pillows—Here's Why

Imagine crawling into bed after a long day of building pyramids, and instead of sinking into a fluffy pillow, you rest your neck on a curved piece of stone. That's exactly what ancient Egyptians did for nearly 3,000 years.

These weren't pillows in the modern sense—they were headrests, designed to cradle the neck while keeping the head elevated off the sleeping surface. Made from materials like limestone, wood, ivory, ceramic, and even glass, these headrests had a flat base with a concave top section that supported the head.

It Wasn't About Comfort

Ancient Egyptians had practical reasons for sleeping on stone. In a time before bug spray and sealed homes, beds sat close to the ground where scorpions, beetles, and other insects could easily crawl across a sleeping person's face. A raised headrest kept the head elevated, reducing the chances of waking up with unwanted visitors in your mouth, nose, or ears.

The hard surface also had climate benefits. Egypt's scorching temperatures made cooling crucial for sleep, and a stone headrest allowed air to circulate beneath the head and neck, keeping sleepers cooler than a fabric pillow would.

Then there was fashion. Wealthy Egyptians wore elaborate hairstyles and wigs that took hours to create. Sleeping on a headrest instead of a soft pillow meant their carefully styled hair stayed intact overnight.

Protection for the Soul

The ancient Egyptians believed the head housed spiritual life itself, making it the most vulnerable part of the body during sleep. Stone headrests weren't just furniture—they were protective talismans.

Many headrests featured carvings of Bes, a dwarf deity with a fierce lion-like face who guarded sleeping people against nightmares and evil spirits. His terrifying appearance was thought to scare away demons that might attack during the night.

This spiritual significance extended into death. Stone headrests were placed in tombs to protect the deceased in the afterlife. When archaeologists opened King Tutankhamun's tomb, they found eight separate headrests—a testament to how essential these objects were, even in death.

From Pharaohs to Museum Displays

Stone headrests weren't just for royalty. Archaeological evidence shows they were used across Egyptian society from around 3000 BC to 30 BC, though materials varied by wealth—the poor used wood while the elite had stone, ivory, or glass versions.

Today, you can see these ancient sleep aids in museums worldwide. They stand as a reminder that comfort is culturally relative. What seems impossibly hard to us was simply normal for the ancient Egyptians—proof that humans can adapt to almost any sleeping condition when it's all they've ever known.