Ancient Egyptians slept on hard pillows made of stone, wood, or ivory to keep their heads off the ground.

Archaeologists found these headrests in tombs at Saqqara and Giza. Some date back over 4,600 years to the Third Dynasty. In 1922, Howard Carter found eight headrests in King Tutankhamun's tomb made of glass, ivory, and wood. Most are 15 to 20 centimeters tall with a curved top and a flat base.The headrests helped with cooling. In the hot Nile Valley, lifting the head allowed air to circulate and reduced sweating. Wealthy Egyptians also wore complex wigs and braids that took hours to style. A soft pillow would ruin the hair, but a hard headrest kept the style perfect.These objects also had religious meanings. The curved top looked like the Egyptian symbol for the horizon where the sun rises. Sleeping on one symbolized the sun god Ra rising every morning. This represented the idea of being born again each day.Many headrests featured carvings of a god named Bes. Egyptians believed Bes protected people from nightmares and evil spirits while they slept. Bioarchaeologists have studied human remains and found these tools align the spine well for side sleepers. Similar wooden headrests are still used today by groups like the Dinka people in East Africa to protect their traditional hairstyles.