Book of the Dead - wikipedia Book of the Dead For other uses, see Book of the Dead ( disambiguation ). Book of Coming Forth by Day in hieroglyphs This detail scene, from the Papyrus of Hunefer ( c. 1275 BCE ), shows the scribe Hunefer 's heart being weighed on the scale of Maat against the feather of truth, by the jackal - headed Anubis. The ibis - headed Thoth, scribe of the gods, records the result. If his heart equals exactly the weight of the feather, Hunefer is allowed to pass into the afterlife. If not, he is eaten by the waiting chimeric devouring creature Ammit composed of the deadly crocodile, lion, and hippopotamus. Vignettes such as these were a common illustration in Egyptian books of the dead. The Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian funerary text, used from the beginning of the New Kingdom ( around 1550 BCE ) to around 50 BCE. The original Egyptian name for the text, transliterated rw nw prt m hrw is translated as Book of Coming Forth by Day. Another translation would be Book of Emerging Forth into the Light. `` Book '' is the closest term to describe the loose collection of texts consisting of a number of magic spells intended to assist a dead person 's journey through the Duat, or underworld, and into the afterlife and written by many priests over a period of about 1000 years. The Book of the Dead was part of a tradition of funerary texts which includes the earlier Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts, which were painted onto objects, not papyrus. Some of the spells included were drawn from these older works and date to the 3rd millennium BCE. Other spells were composed later in Egyptian history, dating to the Third Intermediate Period ( 11th to 7th centuries BCE ). A number of the spells which made up the Book continued to be inscribed on tomb walls and sarcophagi, as had always been the spells from which they originated. The Book of the Dead was placed in the coffin or burial chamber of the deceased. There was no single or canonical Book of the Dead. The surviving papyri contain a varying selection of religious and magical texts and vary considerably in their illustration. Some people seem to have commissioned their own copies of the Book of the Dead, perhaps choosing the spells they thought most vital in their own progression to the afterlife. The Book of the Dead was most commonly written in hieroglyphic or hieratic script on a papyrus scroll, and often illustrated with vignettes depicting the deceased and their journey into the afterlife. Contents 1 Development 2 Spells 2.1 Organization 3 Egyptian concepts of death and afterlife 3.1 Preservation 3.2 Afterlife 3.3 Judgment 4 Producing a Book of the Dead 5 Discovery, translation, interpretation and preservation 5.1 Chronology 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links Development Part of the Pyramid Texts, a precursor of the Book of the Dead, inscribed on the tomb of Teti The Book of the Dead developed from a tradition of funerary manuscripts dating back to the Egyptian Old Kingdom. The first funerary texts were the Pyramid Texts, first used in the Pyramid of King Unas of the 5th dynasty, around 2400 BCE. These texts were written on the walls of the burial chambers within pyramids, and were exclusively for the use of the Pharaoh ( and, from the 6th dynasty, the Queen ). The Pyramid Texts were written in an unusual hieroglyphic style ; many of the hieroglyphs representing humans or animals were left incomplete or drawn mutilated, most likely to prevent them causing any harm to the dead pharaoh. The purpose of the Pyramid Texts was to help the dead King take his place amongst the gods, in particular to reunite him with his divine father Ra ; at this period the afterlife was seen as being in the sky, rather than the underworld described in the Book of the Dead. Towards the end of the Old Kingdom, the Pyramid Texts ceased to be an exclusively royal privilege, and were adopted by regional governors and other high - ranking officials. In the Middle Kingdom, a new funerary text emerged, the Coffin Texts. The Coffin Texts used a newer version of the language, new spells, and included illustrations for the first time. The Coffin Texts were most commonly written on the inner surfaces of coffins, though they are occasionally found on tomb walls or on papyri. The Coffin Texts were available to wealthy private individuals, vastly increasing the number of people who could expect to participate in the afterlife ; a process which has been described as the `` democratization of the afterlife ''. The Book of the Dead first developed in Thebes toward the beginning of the Second Intermediate Period, around 1700 BCE. The earliest known occurrence of the spells included in the Book of the Dead is from the coffin of Queen Mentuhotep, of the 13th dynasty, where the new spells were included amongst older texts known from the Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts. Some of the spells introduced at this time claim an older provenance ; for instance the rubric to spell 30B states that it was discovered by the Prince Hordjedef in the reign of King Menkaure, many hundreds of years before it is attested in the archaeological record. By the 17th dynasty, the Book of the Dead had become widespread not only for members of the royal family, but courtiers and other officials as well. At this stage, the spells were typically inscribed on linen shrouds wrapped around the dead, though occasionally they are found written on coffins or on papyrus. The New Kingdom saw the Book of the Dead develop and spread further. The famous Spell 125, the ' Weighing of the Heart ', is first known from the reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, c. 1475 BCE. From this period onward the Book of the Dead was typically written on a papyrus scroll, and the text illustrated with vignettes. During the 19th dynasty in particular, the vignettes tended to be lavish, sometimes at the expense of the surrounding text. In the Third Intermediate Period, the Book of the Dead started to appear in hieratic script, as well as in the traditional hieroglyphics. The hieratic scrolls were a cheaper version, lacking illustration apart from a single vignette at the beginning, and were produced on smaller papyri. At the same time, many burials used additional funerary texts, for instance the Amduat. During the 25th and 26th dynasties, the Book of the Dead was updated, revised and standardised. Spells were consistently ordered and numbered for the first time. This standardised version is known today as the ' Saite recension ', after the Saite ( 26th ) dynasty. In the Late period and Ptolemaic period, the Book of the Dead remained based on the Saite recension, though increasingly abbreviated towards the end of the Ptolemaic period. New funerary texts appeared, including the Book of Breathing and Book of Traversing Eternity. The last use of the Book of the Dead was in the 1st century BCE, though some artistic motifs drawn from it were still in use in Roman times. Spells See also : List of Book of the Dead spells and Magical texts The mystical Spell 17, from the Papyrus of Ani. The vignette at the top illustrates, from left to right, the god Heh as a representation of the Sea ; a gateway to the realm of Osiris ; the Eye of Horus ; the celestial cow Mehet - Weret ; and a human head rising from a coffin, guarded by the four Sons of Horus. The Book of the Dead is made up of a number of individual texts and their accompanying illustrations. Most sub-texts begin with the word ro, which can mean `` mouth, '' `` speech, '' `` spell, '' `` utterance, '' `` incantation, '' or `` a chapter of a book. '' This ambiguity reflects the similarity in Egyptian thought between ritual speech and magical power. In the context of the Book of the Dead, it is typically translated as either `` chapter '' or `` spell. '' In this article, the word `` spell '' is used. At present, some 192 spells are known, though no single manuscript contains them all. They served a range of purposes. Some are intended to give the deceased mystical knowledge in the afterlife, or perhaps to identify them with the gods : for instance, Spell 17 is an obscure and lengthy description of the god Atum. Others are incantations to ensure the different elements of the dead person 's being were preserved and reunited, and to give the deceased control over the world around him. Still others protect the deceased from various hostile forces or guide him through the underworld past various obstacles. Famously, two spells also deal with the judgement of the deceased in the Weighing of the Heart ritual. Such spells as 26 - 30, and sometimes spells 6 and 126, relate to the heart and were inscribed on scarabs. The texts and images of the Book of the Dead were magical as well as religious. Magic was as legitimate an activity as praying to the gods, even when the magic was aimed at controlling the gods themselves. Indeed, there was little distinction for the Ancient Egyptians between magical and religious practice. The concept of magic ( heka ) was also intimately linked with the spoken and written word. The act of speaking a ritual formula was an act of creation ; there is a sense in which action and speech were one and the same thing. The magical power of words extended to the written word. Hieroglyphic script was held to have been invented by the god Thoth, and the hieroglyphs themselves were powerful. Written words conveyed the full force of a spell. This was even true when the text was abbreviated or omitted, as often occurred in later Book of the Dead scrolls, particularly if the accompanying images were present. The Egyptians also believed that knowing the name of something gave power over it ; thus, the Book of the Dead equips its owner with the mystical names of many of the entities he would encounter in the afterlife, giving him power over them. The spells of the Book of the Dead made use of several magical techniques which can also be seen in other areas of Egyptian life. A number of spells are for magical amulets, which would protect the deceased from harm. In addition to being represented on a Book of the Dead papyrus, these spells appeared on amulets wound into the wrappings of a mummy. Everyday magic made use of amulets in huge numbers. Other items in direct contact with the body in the tomb, such as headrests, were also considered to have amuletic value. A number of spells also refer to Egyptian beliefs about the magical healing power of saliva. Organization Almost every Book of the Dead was unique, containing a different mixture of spells drawn from the corpus of texts available. For most of the history of the Book of the Dead there was no defined order or structure. In fact, until Paul Barguet 's 1967 `` pioneering study '' of common themes between texts, Egyptologists concluded there was no internal structure at all. It is only from the Saite period ( 26th dynasty ) onwards that there is a defined order. The Books of the Dead from the Saite period tend to organize the Chapters into four sections : Chapters 1 -- 16 * The deceased enters the tomb and descends to the underworld, and the body regains its powers of movement and speech. Chapters 17 -- 63 Explanation of the mythic origin of the gods and places. The deceased is made to live again so that he may arise, reborn, with the morning sun. Chapters 64 -- 129 The deceased travels across the sky in the sun ark as one of the blessed dead. In the evening, the deceased travels to the underworld to appear before Osiris. Chapters 130 -- 189 Having been vindicated, the deceased assumes power in the universe as one of the gods. This section also includes assorted chapters on protective amulets, provision of food, and important places. Egyptian concepts of death and afterlife A vignette in The Papyrus of Ani, from Spell 30B : Spell For Not Letting Ani 's Heart Create Opposition Against Him, in the Gods ' Domain, which contains a depiction of the ba of the deceased The spells in the Book of the Dead depict Egyptian beliefs about the nature of death and the afterlife. The Book of the Dead is a vital source of information about Egyptian beliefs in this area. Preservation One aspect of death was the disintegration of the various kheperu, or modes of existence. Funerary rituals served to re-integrate these different aspects of being. Mummification served to preserve and transform the physical body into sah, an idealised form with divine aspects ; the Book of the Dead contained spells aimed at preserving the body of the deceased, which may have been recited during the process of mummification. The heart, which was regarded as the aspect of being which included intelligence and memory, was also protected with spells, and in case anything happened to the physical heart, it was common to bury jewelled heart scarabs with a body to provide a replacement. The ka, or life - force, remained in the tomb with the dead body, and required sustenance from offerings of food, water and incense. In case priests or relatives failed to provide these offerings, Spell 105 ensured the ka was satisfied. The name of the dead person, which constituted their individuality and was required for their continued existence, was written in many places throughout the Book, and spell 25 ensured the deceased would remember their own name. The ba was a free - ranging spirit aspect of the deceased. It was the ba, depicted as a human - headed bird, which could `` go forth by day '' from the tomb into the world ; spells 61 and 89 acted to preserve it. Finally, the shut, or shadow of the deceased, was preserved by spells 91, 92 and 188. If all these aspects of the person could be variously preserved, remembered, and satiated, then the dead person would live on in the form of an akh. An akh was a blessed spirit with magical powers who would dwell among the gods. Afterlife The nature of the afterlife which the dead person enjoyed is difficult to define, because of the differing traditions within Ancient Egyptian religion. In the Book of the Dead, the dead were taken into the presence of the god Osiris, who was confined to the subterranean Duat. There are also spells to enable the ba or akh of the dead to join Ra as he travelled the sky in his sun - barque, and help him fight off Apep. As well as joining the Gods, the Book of the Dead also depicts the dead living on in the ' Field of Reeds ', a paradisiac likeness of the real world. The Field of Reeds is depicted as a lush, plentiful version of the Egypt of the living. There are fields, crops, oxen, people and waterways. The deceased person is shown encountering the Great Ennead, a group of gods, as well as his or her own parents. While the depiction of the Field of Reeds is pleasant and plentiful, it is also clear that manual labour is required. For this reason burials included a number of statuettes named shabti, or later ushebti. These statuettes were inscribed with a spell, also included in the Book of the Dead, requiring them to undertake any manual labour that might be the owner 's duty in the afterlife. It is also clear that the dead not only went to a place where the gods lived, but that they acquired divine characteristics themselves. In many occasions, the deceased is mentioned as `` The Osiris -- ( Name ) '' in the Book of the Dead. Two ' gate spells '. On the top register, Ani and his wife face the ' seven gates of the House of Osiris '. Below, they encounter ten of the 21 ' mysterious portals of the House of Osiris in the Field of Reeds '. All are guarded by unpleasant protectors. The path to the afterlife as laid out in the Book of the Dead was a difficult one. The deceased was required to pass a series of gates, caverns and mounds guarded by supernatural creatures. These terrifying entities were armed with enormous knives and are illustrated in grotesque forms, typically as human figures with the heads of animals or combinations of different ferocious beasts. Their names -- for instance, `` He who lives on snakes '' or `` He who dances in blood '' -- are equally grotesque. These creatures had to be pacified by reciting the appropriate spells included in the Book of the Dead ; once pacified they posed no further threat, and could even extend their protection to the dead person. Another breed of supernatural creatures was ' slaughterers ' who killed the unrighteous on behalf of Osiris ; the Book of the Dead equipped its owner to escape their attentions. As well as these supernatural entities, there were also threats from natural or supernatural animals, including crocodiles, snakes, and beetles. Judgment The Weighing of the Heart ritual, shown in the Book of the Dead of Sesostris If all the obstacles of the Duat could be negotiated, the deceased would be judged in the `` Weighing of the Heart '' ritual, depicted in Spell 125. The deceased was led by the god Anubis into the presence of Osiris. There, the dead person swore that he had not committed any sin from a list of 42 sins, reciting a text known as the `` Negative Confession ''. Then the dead person 's heart was weighed on a pair of scales, against the goddess Maat, who embodied truth and justice. Maat was often represented by an ostrich feather, the hieroglyphic sign for her name. At this point, there was a risk that the deceased 's heart would bear witness, owning up to sins committed in life ; Spell 30B guarded against this eventuality. If the scales balanced, this meant the deceased had led a good life. Anubis would take them to Osiris and they would find their place in the afterlife, becoming maa - kheru, meaning `` vindicated '' or `` true of voice ''. If the heart was out of balance with Maat, then another fearsome beast called Ammit, the Devourer, stood ready to eat it and put the dead person 's afterlife to an early and unpleasant end. This scene is remarkable not only for its vividness but as one of the few parts of the Book of the Dead with any explicit moral content. The judgment of the dead and the Negative Confession were a representation of the conventional moral code which governed Egyptian society. For every `` I have not... '' in the Negative Confession, it is possible to read an unexpressed `` Thou shalt not ''. While the Ten Commandments of Judeo - Christian ethics are rules of conduct laid down by a perceived divine revelation, the Negative Confession is more a divine enforcement of everyday morality. Views differ among Egyptologists about how far the Negative Confession represents a moral absolute, with ethical purity being necessary for progress to the Afterlife. John Taylor points out the wording of Spells 30B and 125 suggests a pragmatic approach to morality ; by preventing the heart from contradicting him with any inconvenient truths, it seems that the deceased could enter the afterlife even if their life had not been entirely pure. Ogden Goelet says `` without an exemplary and moral existence, there was no hope for a successful afterlife '', while Geraldine Pinch suggests that the Negative Confession is essentially similar to the spells protecting from demons, and that the success of the Weighing of the Heart depended on the mystical knowledge of the true names of the judges rather than on the deceased 's moral behaviour. Producing a Book of the Dead Part of the Book of the Dead of Pinedjem II. The text is hieratic, except for hieroglyphics in the vignette. The use of red pigment, and the joins between papyrus sheets, are also visible. A close - up of the Papyrus of Ani, showing the cursive hieroglyphs of the text A Book of the Dead papyrus was produced to order by scribes. They were commissioned by people in preparation for their own funeral, or by the relatives of someone recently deceased. They were expensive items ; one source gives the price of a Book of the Dead scroll as one deben of silver, perhaps half the annual pay of a labourer. Papyrus itself was evidently costly, as there are many instances of its re-use in everyday documents, creating palimpsests. In one case, a Book of the Dead was written on second - hand papyrus. Most owners of the Book of the Dead were evidently part of the social elite ; they were initially reserved for the royal family, but later papyri are found in the tombs of scribes, priests and officials. Most owners were men, and generally the vignettes included the owner 's wife as well. Towards the beginning of the history of the Book of the Dead, there are roughly 10 copies belonging to men for every one for a woman. However, during the Third Intermediate Period, 2 / 3 were for women ; and women owned roughly a third of the hieratic paypri from the Late and Ptolemaic Periods. The dimensions of a Book of the Dead could vary widely ; the longest is 40m long while some are as short as 1m. They are composed of sheets of papyrus joined together, the individual papyri varying in width from 15 cm to 45 cm. The scribes working on Book of the Dead papyri took more care over their work than those working on more mundane texts ; care was taken to frame the text within margins, and to avoid writing on the joints between sheets. The words peret em heru, or ' coming forth by day ' sometimes appear on the reverse of the outer margin, perhaps acting as a label. Books were often prefabricated in funerary workshops, with spaces being left for the name of the deceased to be written in later. For instance, in the Papyrus of Ani, the name `` Ani '' appears at the top or bottom of a column, or immediately following a rubric introducing him as the speaker of a block of text ; the name appears in a different handwriting to the rest of the manuscript, and in some places is mis - spelt or omitted entirely. The text of a New Kingdom Book of the Dead was typically written in cursive hieroglyphs, most often from left to right, but also sometimes from right to left. The hieroglyphs were in columns, which were separated by black lines -- a similar arrangement to that used when hieroglyphs were carved on tomb walls or monuments. Illustrations were put in frames above, below, or between the columns of text. The largest illustrations took up a full page of papyrus. From the 21st Dynasty onward, more copies of the Book of the Dead are found in hieratic script. The calligraphy is similar to that of other hieratic manuscripts of the New Kingdom ; the text is written in horizontal lines across wide columns ( often the column size corresponds to the size of the papyrus sheets of which a scroll is made up ). Occasionally a hieratic Book of the Dead contains captions in hieroglyphic. The text of a Book of the Dead was written in both black and red ink, regardless of whether it was in hieroglyphic or hieratic script. Most of the text was in black, with red ink used for the titles of spells, opening and closing sections of spells, the instructions to perform spells correctly in rituals, and also for the names of dangerous creatures such as the demon Apep. The black ink used was based on carbon, and the red ink on ochre, in both cases mixed with water. The style and nature of the vignettes used to illustrate a Book of the Dead varies widely. Some contain lavish colour illustrations, even making use of gold leaf. Others contain only line drawings, or one simple illustration at the opening. Book of the Dead papyri were often the work of several different scribes and artists whose work was literally pasted together. It is usually possible to identify the style of more than one scribe used on a given manuscript, even when the manuscript is a shorter one. The text and illustrations were produced by different scribes ; there are a number of Books where the text was completed but the illustrations were left empty. Book of the Dead of the Goldworker of Amun, Sobekmose, 31.1777 e, Brooklyn Museum Discovery, translation, interpretation and preservation Karl Richard Lepsius, first translator of a complete Book of the Dead manuscript The existence of the Book of the Dead was known as early as the Middle Ages, well before its contents could be understood. Since it was found in tombs, it was evidently a document of a religious nature, and this led to the widespread misapprehension that the Book of the Dead was the equivalent of a Bible or Qur'an. In 1842 Karl Richard Lepsius published a translation of a manuscript dated to the Ptolemaic era and coined the name `` Book of The Dead '' ( das Todtenbuch ). He also introduced the spell numbering system which is still in use, identifying 165 different spells. Lepsius promoted the idea of a comparative edition of the Book of the Dead, drawing on all relevant manuscripts. This project was undertaken by Édouard Naville, starting in 1875 and completed in 1886, producing a three - volume work including a selection of vignettes for every one of the 186 spells he worked with, the more significant variations of the text for every spell, and commentary. In 1867 Samuel Birch of the British Museum published the first extensive English translation. In 1876 he published a photographic copy of the Papyrus of Nebseny. The work of E.A. Wallis Budge, Birch 's successor at the British Museum, is still in wide circulation -- including both his hieroglyphic editions and his English translations of the Papyrus of Ani, though the latter are now considered inaccurate and out - of - date. More recent translations in English have been published by T.G. Allen ( 1974 ) and Raymond O. Faulkner ( 1972 ). As more work has been done on the Book of the Dead, more spells have been identified, and the total now stands at 192. In the 1970s, Ursula Rößler - Köhler at the University of Bonn began a working group to develop the history of Book of the Dead texts. This later received sponsorship from the German state of North Rhine - Westphalia and the German Research Foundation, in 2004 coming under the auspices of the German Academies of Sciences and Arts. Today the Book of the Dead Project, as it is called, maintains a database of documentation and photography covering 80 % of extant copies and fragments from the corpus of Book of the Dead texts, and provides current services to Egyptologists. It is housed at the University of Bonn, with much material available online. Affiliated scholars are authoring a series of monograph studies, the Studien zum Altägyptischen Totenbuch, alongside a series that publishes the manuscripts themselves, Handschriften des Altägyptischen Totenbuches. Both are in print by Harrassowitz Verlag. Orientverlag has released another series of related monographs, Totenbuchtexte, focused on analysis, synoptic comparison, and textual criticism. Research work on the Book of the Dead has always posed technical difficulties thanks to the need to copy very long hieroglyphic texts. Initially, these were copied out by hand, with the assistance either of tracing paper or a camera lucida. In the mid-19th century, hieroglyphic fonts became available and made lithographic reproduction of manuscripts more feasible. In the present day, hieroglyphics can be rendered in desktop publishing software and this, combined with digital print technology, means that the costs of publishing a Book of the Dead may be considerably reduced. However, a very large amount of the source material in museums around the world remains unpublished. Chronology Sheet from a Book of the Dead, c. 1075 -- 945 BCE, 37.1699 E, Brooklyn Museum c. 3150 BCE -- First preserved hieroglyphs, on small labels in the tomb of a king buried ( in tomb U-j ) at Abydos c. 3000 BCE -- The beginning of the numbered dynasties of kings of ancient Egypt ' c. 2345 BCE -- First royal pyramid, of King Unas, to contain the Pyramid Texts, carved precursors ( intended only for the king ) to the funerary literature from which the Book of the Dead ultimately developed c. 2100 BCE -- First Coffin Texts, developed from the Pyramid Texts and for a time painted on the coffins of commoners. Many spells of the Book of the Dead are closely derived from them c. 1600 BCE -- Earliest spells of the Book of the Dead, on the coffin of Queen Menthuhotep, a descendant of kings from the New Kingdom c. 1550 BCE -- From this time onward to the beginning of the New kingdom, papyrus copies of the Book of the Dead are used instead of inscribing spells on the walls of the tombs c. 600 BCE -- Approximately when the order of the spells became standard 2nd Century CE -- Possibly the last copies of the Book of the Dead were produced, but it is a poorly documented era of history 313 CE -- Christianity spreads to Egypt 1798 -- Napoleon 's invasion of Egypt encourages European interests in ancient Egypt ; 1799, Vivant Denon was handed a copy of the Book of the Dead 1805 -- J. Marc Cadet makes the first publication, on 18 plates, of a Book of the Dead, Copie figurée d'un Roleau de Papyrus trouvé à Thèbes dans un Thombeau des Rois, accompagnèe d'une notice descriptive, Paris, Levrault 1822 -- Jean - François Champollion announces the key to the decipherment of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic writing, subsequently developed in his later publications, the most extensive after his death in 1832 1842 -- C.R. Lepsius publishes the first major study of the Book of the Dead, begins the numbering of the spells or chapters, and brings the name ' Book of the Dead ' into general circulation See also Aaru Bardo Thodol ( Tibetan book of the dead ) Book of the Dead of Amen - em - hat Book of the Dead of Qenna Ghosts in ancient Egyptian culture Necronomicon ( H.P. Lovecraft 's book of the dead ) Qenna References Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 54 Jump up ^ Allen, 2000. p. 316 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 55 ; or perhaps `` Utterances of Going Forth by Day '' - D'Auria 1988, p. 187 Jump up ^ The Egyptian Book of the Dead by Anonymous ( 2 Jun 2014 )... with an introduction by Paul Mirecki ( VII ) Jump up ^ Faulkner p. 54 ^ Jump up to : Taylor 2010, p. 54 Jump up ^ D'Auria et al p. 187 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 34 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 55 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 35 -- 7 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 57 -- 8 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 59 60 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 51 Jump up ^ Faulkner 1994, p. 145 ; Taylor 2010, p. 29 ^ Jump up to : Faulkner 1994, p. 18 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 51, 56 Jump up ^ Hornung, Erik ; David Lorton ( 15 June 1999 ). The ancient Egyptian books of the afterlife. Cornell University Press. p. 14. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8014 - 8515 - 2. ^ Jump up to : Faulkner 1994, p. 146 ^ Jump up to : Faulkner 1994, p. 145 ^ Jump up to : Taylor 2010, p. 30 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 32 -- 3 ; Faulkner 1994, p. 148 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 30 -- 1 Jump up ^ Pinch 1994, p. 104 -- 5 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 55 Jump up ^ Barguet, Paul ( 1967 ). Le Livre des morts des anciens Égyptiens ( in French ). Paris : Éditions du Cerf. ^ Jump up to : Faulkner 1994, p. 141 Jump up ^ Taylor, p. 58 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 16 - 17 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 17 & 20 Jump up ^ For instance, Spell 154. Taylor 2010, p. 161 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 163 - 4 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 163 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 17, 164 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 164 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 17 Jump up ^ Spells 100 -- 2, 129 -- 131 and 133 -- 136. Taylor 2010, p. 239 -- 241 Jump up ^ Spells 109, 110 and 149. Taylor 2010, p. 238 -- 240 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 242 -- 245 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 143 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 135 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 136 -- 7 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 188 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 184 -- 7 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 208 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 209 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 215 ^ Jump up to : Taylor 2010, p. 212 ^ Jump up to : Faulkner 1994, p. 14 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 204 -- 5 Jump up ^ Pinch 1994, p. 155 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 62 ^ Jump up to : Faulkner 1994, p. 142 ^ Jump up to : Taylor 2010, p. 264 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 62 -- 3 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 267 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 266 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 270 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 277 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 267 -- 8 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 270 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 268 Jump up ^ Faulkner 1994, p. 13 Jump up ^ Taylor 210, p. 288 9 Jump up ^ `` Egypt 's Place in Universal History '', Vol 5, 1867 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 289 92 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 291 Jump up ^ Hornung 1999, p. 15 -- 16 Jump up ^ Müller - Roth 2010, p. 190 - 191 Jump up ^ Das Altagyptische Totenbuch : Ein Digitales Textzeugenarchiv ( external link ) Jump up ^ Müller - Roth 2010, p. 191 Jump up ^ Taylor 2010, p. 292 -- 7 Jump up ^ Kemp, Barry ( 2007 ). How to Read the Egyptian Book of the Dead. New York : Granta Publications. pp. 112 -- 113. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Further reading Allen, James P., Middle Egyptian -- An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, first edition, Cambridge University Press, 2000. ISBN 0 - 521 - 77483 - 7 Allen, Thomas George, The Egyptian Book of the Dead : Documents in the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago. University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1960. Allen, Thomas George, The Book of the Dead or Going Forth by Day. Ideas of the Ancient Egyptians Concerning the Hereafter as Expressed in Their Own Terms, SAOC vol. 37 ; University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1974. Assmann, Jan ( 2005 ) ( 2001 ). Death and Salvation in Ancient Egypt. Translated by David Lorton. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0 - 8014 - 4241 - 9 D'Auria, S ( et al. ) Mummies and Magic : the Funerary Arts of Ancient Egypt. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1989. ISBN 0 - 87846 - 307 - 0 Faulkner, Raymond O ; Andrews, Carol ( editor ), The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead. University of Texas Press, Austin, 1972. Faulkner, Raymond O ( translator ) ; von Dassow, Eva ( editor ), The Egyptian Book of the Dead, The Book of Going forth by Day. The First Authentic Presentation of the Complete Papyrus of Ani. Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1994. Hornung, Erik ; Lorton, D ( translator ), The Ancient Egyptian books of the Afterlife. Cornell University Press, 1999. ISBN 0 - 8014 - 8515 - 0 Lapp, G, The Papyrus of Nu ( Catalogue of Books of the Dead in the British Museum ). British Museum Press, London, 1997. Müller - Roth, Marcus, `` The Book of the Dead Project : Past, present and future. '' British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and Sudan 15 ( 2010 ) : 189 - 200. Niwinski, Andrzej, Studies on the Illustrated Theban Funerary Papyri of the 11th and 10th Centuries B.C.. OBO vol. 86 ; Universitätsverlag, Freiburg, 1989. Pinch, Geraldine, Magic in Ancient Egypt. British Museum Press, London, 1994. ISBN 0 - 7141 - 0971 - 1 Taylor, John H. ( Editor ), Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead : Journey through the afterlife. British Museum Press, London, 2010. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7141 - 1993 - 9 External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : Book of the Dead Wikisource has original text related to this article : Papyrus of Ani Wikimedia Commons has media related to Book of the Dead. The Mummy Chamber Brooklyn Museum Exhibit Das altägyptische Totenbuch - ein digitales Textzeugenarchiv Complete digital archive of all witnesses for the Book of the Dead ( with descriptions of the ( c. 3000 ) objects and ( c. 20.000 ) images ) Online Readable Text, with several images and reproductions of Egyptian papyri Papyrus of Hunefer, with many scenes and their formula English translations, from the copy now in the British Museum Video : British Museum curator introduces the Book of the Dead Ancient Egyptian religion Beliefs Emanationism Isfet Maat Maa Kheru Mythology Numerology Paganism Pantheism Philosophy Polytheism Soul Practices Funerals Heku Mortuary temples Offering formula Temples Veneration of the dead Deities Ogdoad Amun Amunet Heh Hauhet Kek Kauket Nu Naunet Ennead Atum Shu Tefnut Geb Nut Osiris Isis Set Nephthys Aker Akhty Ammit Am - heh Anat Andjety Anhur Anput Anubis Anuket Apedemak Apep Apis Apt Aqen Arensnuphis Ash Assessors Astarte Aten Babi Banebdjedet Bastet Bat Bata Ba - Pef Bes Buchis Cavern deities Dedun Four sons of Horus Duamutef Hapi Imset Qebehsenuef Gate deities Ha Hapi Hathor Hatmehit Hedetet Hedjhotep Heka Hemen Hemsut Heqet Hermanubis Hesat Horus Heryshaf Hu Iabet Iah Iat Ihy Imentet Imhotep Iunit Iusaaset Kebechet Khensit Khenti - Amentiu Khenti - kheti Khepri Kherty Khnum Khonsu Kothar - wa - Khasis Maahes Ma'at Mandulis Medjed Mafdet Mehen Mehet - Weret Mehit Menhit Meret Meretseger Meskhenet Min Mnevis Montu Mut Nebethetepet Nebtuwi Nefertem Nehebkau Nehmetawy Neith Nemty Nekhbet Neper Pakhet Petbe Ptah Qebui Qetesh Ra Raet - Tawy Rem Renenutet Renpet Repyt Resheph Sah Satis Sekhmet Seker Serapis Serket Seshat Shai Shed Shesmetet Shezmu Sia Sobek Sopdet Sopdu Souls of Pe and Nekhen Tatenen Taweret Tayt Ta - Bitjet Tenenet Thoth Hermes Trismegistus Tjenenyet Tutu Unut Wadjet Wadj - wer Weneg Wepset Wepwawet Werethekau Wosret Creatures Aani Abtu Bennu Griffin Hieracosphinx Medjed Serpopard Sha Sphinx Uraeus Characters Dedi Djadjaemankh Rededjet Ubaoner Locations Neter - khertet Aaru Benben Duat Land of Manu The Indestructibles Symbols and Objects Ankh Atef Atet Book of Thoth Cartouche Crook and flail Deshret Djed Egyptian obelisk Egyptian pool Eye of Horus Eye of Ra Hedjet Hemhem crown Hennu Imiut fetish Khepresh Kneph Matet boat Menat Nebu Nemes Neshmet Ouroboros Pschent Scarab Seqtet boat Serekh Shen ring Tyet Ushabti Was - sceptre Winged sun Writings Amduat Books of Breathing Book of Caverns Book of the Dead Book of the Earth Book of Gates Book of the Heavenly Cow Book of Traversing Eternity Coffin Texts The Contendings of Horus and Seth Enigmatic Book of the Netherworld Great Hymn to the Aten Litany of the Eye of Horus Litany of Re Pyramid Texts Related religions Atenism Gnosticism Hermeticism Kemetism Temple of Set Book Ancient Egypt portal Ancient Egypt topics Outline Index Major topics Glossary of artifacts Agriculture Architecture ( Egyptian Revival architecture ) Art Astronomy Chronology Cities ( list ) Clothing Cuisine Dynasties Funerary practices Geography Great Royal Wives History Language Literature Mathematics Medicine Military Music Mythology People Pharaohs ( list ) Philosophy Religion Sites Technology Trade Writing Egyptology Egyptologists Museums Book Ancient Egypt portal WikiProject Commons Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Book_of_the_Dead&oldid=854398503 '' Categories : Ancient Egyptian funerary texts Egyptian mythology Ancient Egyptian texts Book of the Dead 2nd millennium BC in religion Works of unknown authorship Hidden categories : CS1 French - language sources ( fr ) Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL Good articles Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Afrikaans Alemannisch Azərbaycanca বাংলা Беларуская Български Bosanski Brezhoneg Català Čeština Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Lietuvių Magyar Македонски مصرى Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Scots Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska தமிழ் ไทย Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 中文 42 more Edit links This page was last edited on 11 August 2018, at 02 : 00 ( UTC ). 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Question: what does the egyptian book of the dead contain
Answer: a varying selection of religious and magical texts