Symbol consisting of a wide column with three or four horizontal crossbars at the top. It is still not precisely known what the djed-pillar portrays. Countless suggestions have been made and the majority rejected. Among other things, the djed has been considered to be a tree with no branches or a column made of a bundle of reeds. It has also been suggested that it is a pole with grain tied around it. A text in the Book of the Dead explains that the djed-pillar is the backbone of Osiris. The pillar became the symbol of this god through his associations with Sokar and Ptah, the gods of the city of Memphis, the place with which the djed-pillar is associated. As a result of the association with Osiris, the djed-pillar was also depicted with human arms holding royal attributes. The meaning of the symbol was 'endurance/stability'. It was often linked with other beneficial symbols such as the 'ankh', the was-sceptre and the sign called 'the blood of Isis'. The djed was often used as a decorative element either on its own or in combination with these other signs. Further, it was also used as an amulet, often made of faience but also of other materials. The Book of the Dead says that a gold djed pillar must be put on the neck of the mummy. The ritual of lifting the djed pillar, carried out as the final part of the annual Sokar festival, was a symbol of resurrection. It probably originally concerned the resurrection of Sokar, but the ritual quickly also came to represent the victory of Osiris over death and his enemies. This ritual was carried out in Busiris in particular ('Djedu' in Egyptian), at least from the Middle Kingdom on, but probably even earlier because the name of this city is written with the hieroglyph of the djed-pillar.