Bier

In antiquity it was often a wooden board on which the dead were placed, covered with a shroud.

Biers are generally smaller than the coffin or casket they support for reasons of appearance.

The Carmelite Priory at Mdina, Malta, has a colorful bier on display that was used to carry the monks or friars before they were buried without a coffin.

Ancient Egyptians depicted biers used in their embalming practices and to bear royal coffins in the tomb.

They were fashioned to resemble the goddess Sekhmet, the fierce lioness who was the protector of the kings, displaying her head, feet, and often, her distinctive tail that in graphics is shown arching over the bier.