While not technically "collectibles", sarcophagi are special items that can be found during the campaign mode of Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. A sarcophagus looks like a glowing statue portraying King Solomon, it emits a blue mist and a distinguishable sound nearby (in order to help the player find its location), and breaking it (with a power attack) grants some experience points to the player.

There are 21 sarcophagi in total, and all can be found in a single playthrough. Unfortunately, the PC versions of the game have no achievements (whereas the console versions have a dedicated one named Got Walkthrough?"). However, I still created this guide to help anyone who wants to find them.

The campaign features a seamless progression through 26 areas, rather than separated levels (I'll use the terms "area" and "level" without distinction). Here is the list of all the areas sorted by appearance, the ones in bold style contain one sarcophagus or more:

1. The Ramparts
   
2. The Fortress
   
3. The Palace Courtyard
   
4. The Treasure Vaults
   
5. The Stables
   
6. The Works
   
7. The Fortress Courtyard
   
8. The Fortress Gates
   
9. The Prison
   
10. The Sewer
    
11. The Baths
    
12. The Royal Chambers
    
13. The Observatory
    
14. The Throne Room
    
15. The Terrace
    
16. The Rooftop Gardens
    
17. The Aqueducts
    
18. Solomon's Tomb
    
19. The Ruins of Rekem
    
20. Rekem's Throne Room
    
21. The Sacred Fountain
    
22. The Rekem Reservoir
    
23. Solomon's Hall
    
24. The King's Tower
    
25. The Palace
    
26. The Final Climb

There's no specific requirement to find the sarcophagi, the player goes through each area of the game and will always have all the powers/abilities required for the next sarcophagus to find.

The next sections of the guide describe the locations of all sarcophagi, level by level. For each sarcophagus, a general hint is provided about where to stop (and take a look), followed by more specific instructions on how to get to the exact location. The latter have been hidden using spoiler tags, so you can try to find each sarcophagus by yourself before reading its precise location, except for a few sarcophagi that are too easy (or mandatory) to find.

However, here is some important info before proceeding:

• The beginning of a new area is clearly announced by the appearance of the corresponding name on the screen. This makes it easy to track your progress through the campaign.
  
• Moving from one area to the next one usually involves passing through timed doors or overcoming environmental obstacles (sometimes even within an area), that usually make areas and locations precluded to the player. For this reason, please keep in mind that it is not possible to go back to areas already visited: if you miss a sarcophagus, it's gone for the entire playthrough.
  
• The game saves the campaign progress at specific moments (an icon appears on the screen while saving). If the player finds/breaks a sarcophagus and then the prince dies before a new save, the player must find/destroy that sarcophagus again. Anyway, saves occurs quite frequently, also a new one occurs every time the prince reaches a "point of no return".
  
• The smashed sarcophagi are saved between playthroughs. In case you missed a few ones, it's possible to start a new campaign and get the sarcophagi left during previous playthroughs.

The location of the very first sarcophagus is shown when entering a small room with a few petrified guards.



Simply wall-run on the right wall with the closed door, then jump backward to reach the wooden beam above. Jump again towards the climbing rocks on the same wall, the sarcophagus can be found proceeding to the top.

The sarcophagus is located under a pressure switch that is required to proceed further in the game. You can't really miss it.



The prince eventually reaches an outside walkway with rotating traps and spike traps on the floor.



The sarcophagus should be visible on the lower left of the walkway, but you can't reach it yet. Go past the first walkway and into the small room in between (where some enemies spawn). At the second walkway, stop at the safe spot halfway down, then grab the left edge to see a ledge below. Drop down, and continue along the walls to the right to find the sarcophagus.

At one point, the prince must activate a pressure switch on the floor, raising a gate beyond some spike traps and arrow traps shooting from the right wall. Get past the traps and through the gate, but don't proceed further yet.



Looking at the right wall, there are some climbing rocks above: wall-run on the wall to reach them, then wall-run again to reach an upper ledge. The sarcophagus should now be visible, looking to the right: simply proceed towards it, using the poles.



BONUS TIP — To come back down, you can use the banner below.

At one point, the prince must cross an area using some wooden beams and water sprouts (to freeze) coming from the ceiling.



Actually, there's a hidden wooden beam above the first one, accessible from the water column right after the lowest wooden beam. While frozen, climb that column and then jump back to reach the upper wooden beam. An additional jump will take you to the platform where the sarcophagus is located.



Later on, there's a junction with one path leading to the right and one path leading to the left, the latter accessible from a wooden beam.



A blue mist comes from the left path: the sarcophagus is at its end, beyond a gap with water sprouts (to freeze) in between.

After the first sequence outside with Ratash, the prince enters a room with a water sprout, two pressure switches on its left and right walls, and a closed door on the upper side of the front wall.



Freeze the water sprout and climb it, then activate the two pressure switches by jumping towards them (separately). The door on the front wall will open, granting access to the small room behind it, and the sarcophagus inside.



After the second sequence outside with Ratash, there's a hall with two waterfalls facing each other, and two water sprouts on the wall between them.



Each waterfall hides an upper and lower recess: the sarcophagus is located in the upper recess of the right waterfall (it should be slightly visible already). Getting there requires just a bit of timing: while hanging on the upper (frozen) water sprout, jump towards the desired recess and unfreeze the waterfall before the prince reaches the corresponding edge.



Before exiting the area, the prince must cross a big water wheel (freezing the water, by the way). Before crossing the wheel, take a look around.



A ledge is visible on the right wall, with some climbing rocks above. In order to find the sarcophagus, proceed along this side path with (sequentially) a wall-run, some climbing, a jump to a pole, and another jump toward the ledge on the opposite wall.

The path to the sarcophagus can be found as soon as you enter the throne room.



Some climbing rocks are visible on the wall nearby (they're to the right of the closed door, on the same wall). Use them to climb the wall, then freeze some water sprouts to reach a balcony with your reward.



BONUS TIP — To come back down, you can use the banner on the right wall.

At one point, the prince takes advantage of a series of banners and poles to reach a lower location (where some enemies are waiting for him). The sarcophagus reveals itself during the descent.



It can be reached easily from the lower location, after the descent, thanks to two ledges on the right wall.

The first sarcophagus is "hidden" behind a palm tree along the way, you can't miss it.



Later on, the prince fights many enemies on an octagonal platform with perimeter columns. Before leaving the platform, take a look around.



You should spot a ledge with a waterfall on top of it (it is located to the left of the roof with the enemy who shoots at you). Jump to the ledge, go up, and then climb the wall behind the waterfall to find the sarcophagus.

At one point, some enemies must be defeated on a semi-circle platform outdoors (after Malik transforms). Some vultures spawn after defeating them, but don't proceed further yet.



At the left side of the platform, a series of water sprouts can be found by looking down, and a lower walkway. Freeze the water sprouts to go down, the sarcophagus is located behind a waterfall.

The acrobatic path in the hall with the four big statues of the Jinns ends in a junction, corresponding to a wooden beam and two paths (left and right) to materialize.



The left path is a dead end, with a few swinging traps and the sarcophagus waiting for you.



The right path of the aforementioned junction ends in a banner leading to a lower location. Proceed down, and take a look around.



There's a waterfall nearby, to the left of the door, with the sarcophagus visible behind it. Simply get there by dropping down, then smash the sarcophagus.

The sarcophagus is located on a wooden platform on the right side of the room, easy (perhaps mandatory) to reach, the location of which is shown during a cutscene.



Along the acrobatic path through the room, the prince gets to the materialized platform right above the sarcophagus location. Going to the lower floor is as easy as dematerializing the floor, in order to let the prince fall down to the location below.

The first sarcophagus can be found in the hall where the prince fights a titan and other enemies, with two waterfalls nearby. Some vultures spawn after defeating all the enemies, but don't proceed further yet.



The left waterfall hides a recess with an opening at the bottom of the front wall. Jump through the waterfall and roll through the opening to find a secret room containing the sarcophagus.



In the same hall, after jumping toward the vultures and reaching the distant platform with a lion-shaped fountain, take a look around.



Grab the left edge of the platform, near the column, to see some climbing rocks below: use them to go down, then proceed to the left to reach a hidden recess with the sarcophagus.

The sarcophagus is visible behind a closed gate, in the room with the big statue of King Solomon. Before going to the upper floor, take a look around.



There's a pressure switch nearby, on the right side of the room. Activate it with a wall-run, then jump on the (frozen) water sprouts to reach a ledge with another pressure switch on the right. After activating it with a wall-run, jump backward and run to the sarcophagus while the gate is open.

At one point, a series of vultures and poles allows the prince to fly around a tower. The sarcophagus is located on one floor of the tower itself, visible during the ascent. After reaching the platform (to materialize) at the top, don't proceed further to the left and take a look around.



There is a solid platform to the right, on the wall of the tower: jump to it, and a new series of vultures will spawn. Simply follow the revealed path to reach the final sarcophagus.



Congratulations, a Persian tomb raider is born! 🤠

Thank you for reading this far, I really appreciate it!
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