This scroll, commonly called the Book of the Dead , contained a collection of magical spells, prayers, and hymns designed to guide the deceased and ensure a safe passage through the next world. However, the Book of the Dead itself, does not actually represent a standard collection of texts. It exists in many different versions or recensions.
Standard passages do recur, but there is great variation from copy to copy.
Even the most beautifully exicuted examples appear to be quite haphazardly put together with vital chapters missing and others senselessy repeated. Errors are also quite common. During the Greco-Roman period, the tradition of accompaning the dead with a copy of the Book of the Dead degendeated. Often, it didn't matter what book accompanied the dead nor if it was complete. This practice lead to the preservation and rediscovery of a few lost literary manuscripts.