Few cultures have engaged so deeply with the concept of life after death and have gone to such elaborate lengths in burial practices as the ancient inhabitants of the Nile Valley. For over 3,000 years, the coffin, along with the embalmed and bandaged body, formed an integral part of the burial tradition. According to ancient Egyptian beliefs, death was not seen as an end but rather as a threshold to a new, eternal existence. The opulent imagery on the coffins, combined with inscriptions from centuries-old funerary literature, was intended to unleash its magical effectiveness in the afterlife and assist the deceased in achieving a pleasant existence in the realms of eternity. A variety of deities watched over the integrity of the dead: the sky goddess Nut on the coffin lid protects the mummy beneath her with her outstretched wings, while the ruler of the dead, Osiris, is depicted on the side of the coffin.