Djed Pillar- Egyptian ArtifactArtifact"Backbone of Osiris"

The Backbone of the God

The djed pillar was the backbone of Osiris. Four horizontal bars stacked upon a vertical shaft: vertebrae of the god who was murdered, dismembered, and resurrected. The djed appears as early as the Third Dynasty, painted in blue on tile panels in the subterranean chambers of Djoser's step pyramid at Saqqara.

When Isis searched for the body of Osiris, she found his coffin enclosed within a tamarisk tree at Byblos, the trunk grown around the chest. The tree was cut and fashioned into a pillar for the king's palace. Isis retrieved the body from within.

The Raising of the Djed

Each year during the Osiris festivals, the pharaoh raised the djed from horizontal to vertical: the dead god's backbone standing upright again. The walls of Seti I's temple at Abydos show the scene. The king grasps ropes to haul the great pillar upward while priests and courtiers assist. Osiris risen. Chaos defeated. The cycle renewed.

Djed amulets of gold or faience were placed with mummies, positioned near the throat or spine. Djed pillars were painted on coffin bottoms so the deceased would rest upon stability for eternity. The Book of the Dead specifies that a djed of gold should be placed on the mummy, and promises that the deceased would have power in their limbs and would not be turned away from the gates of the underworld.