All sarcophagus locations ("Got Walkthrough?" achievement)

Are you a Persian prince, desperate for tombs to raid? This spoiler-controlled guide will help you find all the sarcophagi in the game.

1. Introduction

While not technically "collectibles", sarcophagi are special items that can be found playing the campaign mode of Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands.

A sarcophagus looks like a blue-glowing statue portraying King Solomon. It emits a blue mist and a distinguishable sound nearby, in order to help the player find its location. Breaking a sarcophagus (with a power attack) grants some experience points to the player.

There are 21 sarcophagi in total, and all are available in a single playthrough. Finding them all unlocks the "Got Walkthrough?" achievement/trophy on the console versions of the game, as opposed to the PC version of the game (both Steam and Ubisoft) that has no achievements at all.

2. Requirements

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

3. List of all levels and important info

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

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

Before proceeding, here is some useful info:

• 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 the campaign progress.
  
• It's not possible to go back and visit past areas. Moving from one area to the next one usually involves passing through timed doors or overcoming environmental obstacles (sometimes even within a few areas themselves, making past areas and locations precluded to the player.
  
• 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. Fortunately, saves are quite frequent, plus a new save 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 next sections of the guide describe the location of each sarcophagus, level by level. Each sarcophagus features a general hint about where to 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, with no hidden text as they're too easy to find).

4. Level - The Stables

#1

The location of the very first sarcophagus is shown when entering a small room with a few petrified guards.
Simply wall-run on the wall with the closed door, then jump backwards 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.

5. Level - The Fortress Courtyard

#2

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

#3

The Prince eventually reaches an outdoor walkway with rotating traps and spike traps on the floor.
The sarcophagus should be visible looking down on the left side of the walkway, but you can't reach it yet. Go over the first walkway, then go over the small room too (where some enemies spawn), and finally go over the first spike traps on the second walkway. At the safe point halfway, drop off the left edge to discover a ledge underneath: climb down and proceed to the right, in order to find the sarcophagus.

6. Level - The Prison

#4

At one point, the Prince must activate a pressure switch on the floor, raising a gate beyond some spikes 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: just proceed towards, using the poles.

7. Level - The Sewer

#5

Eventually, the Prince must freeze a water sprout coming from the ceiling, followed by a wooden beam and two additional water sprouts (to freeze as well).
There's actually another wooden beam above the first one, accessible using the water column right after the lower wooden beam. While frozen, climb that column and then jump back to reach the upper wooden beam. An additional backwards jump will take you to the platform where the sarcophagus is located.

#6

Later on, there's a junction with one path leading to the right and one path leading to the left, both 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.

8. Level - The Royal Chambers

#7

At one point, 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 jumping towards them (separately). The door on the front wall will open, granting access to the small room behind it. The sarcophagus is there.

#8

Later on, 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.

#9

Prior to 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 backwards jump toward a pole and another jump toward the ledge on the opposite wall.

9. Level - The Throne Room

#10

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 a few water sprouts to reach a balcony with your reward.

10. Level - The Terrace

#11

At one point, the Prince takes advantage of a series of banners and poles to reach a lower location, and 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.

11. Level - The Rooftop Gardens

#12

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

#13

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 keeps shooting at you). Jump to the ledge, go up, and then climb the wall behind the waterfall to find the sarcophagus.

12. Level - The Aqueducts

#14

At one point, some enemies must be defeated on a semi-circle platform outdoors, with some vultures spawning after the fight. Don't immediately proceed toward the vultures.
Go to the left side of the platform and look down the edge to discover a series of water sprouts and a lower walkway. Freeze the water sprouts to go down, the sarcophagus is located behind a waterfall.

13. Level - The Ruins of Rekem

#15

The acrobatic path in the hall with the four big statues of the Jinns ends with 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.

#16

The right path (from the aforementioned junction) ends with a banner leading to a lower location.
To find the sarcophagus, proceed to the left and look at the waterfall nearby: your reward is visible behind it, just get there and smash the sarcophagus.

14. Level - Rekem's Throne Room

#17

The sarcophagus is located on a floor on the right side of the room, its location is shown during a cutscene and it's actually easy to reach.
At one point along the acrobatic path through the room, the Prince gets to the materialized floor right above the location where the sarcophagus is. Going to the lower floor is as easy as dematerializing the floor, in order to let the Prince fall down to the location below.

15. Level - The Rekem Reservoir

#18

The first sarcophagus can be found in the hall where the Prince fights a titan and other enemies, with two waterfalls nearby.
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.

#19

In the same hall, after defeating all the enemies, jump toward the vultures to reach a distant platform with a lion-shaped fountain, then take a look around.
Down the left edge of the platform there are some climbing rocks: use them to go down, then proceed to the left till reaching a recess with the sarcophagus.

16. Level - Solomon's Hall

#20

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 and 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 backwards and run to the sarcophagus while the gate is open.

17. Level - The King's Tower

#21

Eventually, a series of vultures and poles allows the Prince to proceed to the top, flying around a tower. The last sarcophagus is located on a floor of the tower itself and should be visible during the ascent.
When the Prince gets to the materialized platform at the top, jump to the solid platform of the tower nearby: a new series of vultures will spawn. Follow the new path and you'll reach the final sarcophagus.

Congratulations, a Persian tomb raider is born! 🤠

18. Conclusion

Thanks for reading this far, I really appreciate it!
Please consider giving the guide a "thumbs up" if it has been useful for you. You can also add it to your "favourite" or share it with your friends. Feel free to add a comment below in case of doubts or mistakes, feedbacks are welcome.

That's all, folks! 🐷

[Black Heretic]

Thank you, I'm glad the guide was helpful! 😄
Yep, no achievement, unfortunately. An in-game counter would have been appreciated as well, but it was the same for the collectibles in The Sands of Time.

[Zneb]

Amazing guide! Sadly, no achievement to brag about