The Beds of the Ancient Egyptians

Archaeological remains show that the people who lived here frequently burned their bedding and then replaced it with fresh layers of foliage. This would be to kill any insects that had taken up residence despite the repellent leaves, and to get rid of trash and garbage. Fagin and duronny describe these as king sized. Most of the bedding covers at least three well trodden square meters. The fact that they were burning their bedding shows early human use, not just a fire for warmth, cooking action and tool manufacture, but also for sanitation,. which is an important milestone in the history of human hygiene.