Hypocephalus

A hypocephalus is a small disk-shaped object generally made of stuccoed linen,[1] but also of papyrus,[2] bronze, gold, wood, or clay, which ancient Egyptians from the Late Period onwards placed under the heads of their dead.

The scenes portrayed on them relate to Egyptian ideas of resurrection and life after death, connecting them with the Osirian myth.

[4] To the ancient Egyptians the daily setting and rising of the sun was a symbol of death and rebirth.

The hypocephalus represented all that the sun encircles — the world of the living, over which it passed during the day, was depicted in the upper half, and that of the dead, which it crossed during the night, in the lower portion.

[1] Chapter 162 of the Book of the Dead version of that period contain directions for the making and use of hypocephali.