Egyptian pharaohs discover the benefits of raising a pallet off the earth. King Tutankahmen had a bed of ebony and gold. Common people slept on palm bows heaped in the corner of their home. First luxury bed. Often decorated with gold, silver or bronze, these beds featured mattresses stuffed with reeds, hay, wool or feathers.
Romans discover the waterbed.
The sleeper would recline in a cradle of warm water until drowsy, then be lifted onto an adjacent cradle with a mattress, where they would be rocked to sleep. Mattresses were made of pea shucks or straw, sometimes feathers, stuffed into coarse ticks, then covered with sumptuous velvets, brocades and silks. L ouis XIV was inordinately fond of staying in bed, often holding court in the royal bedroom. Reportedly, he owned 413 beds and displayed a special liking for the ultra spacious and ostentatious variety. 16th and 17th centuries.