Within his tomb as well as others of the time period there are “niches that, in size and position, correspond to later canopic usage.” (Ellison) It is interesting to note, however, that King Snefru’s wife, Hetepheres, had been buried with an actual chest that almost certainly contained some of her internal organs in four separate compartments (Ellison). Her chest was simple, carved from calcite, whereas his compartments were carved directly within his tomb’s wall; they may have held wooden boxes which contained the actual organs, or containers made of clay and lost through antiquity.
	It would be logical either way to claim that both Snefru’s and Heterpheres’ canopic equipment fulfilled the Egyptian’s magical needs. Since they believed that the human body must be extremely well-preserved for the afterlife and therefore mummified the body through a time-intensive, careful ritual, it would only be logical that the organs, upon their removal and being wrapped, would need a secure resting place as well. Calcite was strong enough to last indefinitely, and although wooden boxes may not have been a permanent structure for the pharaoh, the carved stone niches in which they may have rested would offer stability and permanence. Perhaps during this time period, just as we see with their art in the future of their civilization, merely indicating in the floor of the tomb where the organs would remain for all of eternity was enough to maintain the magical, religious beliefs when the box deteriorated. 
	It is not until the 6th dynasty that the emergence of granite and other durable stone canopic jars begins. (Ellison) Building off of the previous tradition, small pits were carved into the floor of the tomb and the jars placed within the niches. (Ellison) The jars were still extremely rudimentary, consisting of streamlined bodies and a flat or slightly domed lid. The location of the jars in relation to their owner, however, shifted to the “southeast foot of the sarcophagus.” (Ellison) There is no proven significance of why this location might have been chosen; one could argue that artisans arbitrarily placed the jars nearby the mummy, but based on the deliberate, subtle reasons for much of Egyptian art and religion, this reader believes it may have to do with something greater. Perhaps they chose this direction as an allusion to the sun, which rises in the lower east before ascending westward to the center of the day sky. If this is the case, then like the sun rises and sets each day, placing the jars in that specific area would ensure that life would continue cyclically for the dead.
	Furthermore, it is significant to note the magical properties inherent in the use of granite: not only would it be prized for its strength, but its vivid colors would be both aesthetically pleasing and symbolic of the colors of life: blues representing the Nile, yellows and blacks representing the night sky, red and black as the colors of the nation. 