The History of the Book of The Dead

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What is the Book of the Dead?

A rough collection of magical spells and conjurations that were normally written on papyrus, sometimes  instanced,  and  popular in Egypt from the New Kingdom (1550-1070 B.C.E.), the master copies were on the walls of the Tonbs in Saqqara. Middle Kingdom (2040-1640 B.C.E.) coffins also taken early versions.

"Book of the Dead" is the title now commonly given to the great accumulation of funerary texts which the ancient Egyptian scribes calm for the do good of the dead. These consist of spells and incantations, hymns and litanies, magical formulae and names, words of power and prayers, and they are determined cut or painted on walls of pyramids and tombs, and black on coffins and sarcophagi and rolls of papyri. The title "Book of the Dead" is pretty unsatisfactory and shoddy, for the texts neither form a related work nor belong to one period; they are various in character, and tell us nothing about the goes and works of the dead with whom they were forgot. Moreover, the Egyptians held many funerary works that might justifiedly be called "Books of the Dead," but none of them bore a name that could be read by the title "Book of the Dead." This title was given to the great collecting of funerary texts in the first quarter of the nineteenth century by the pioneer Egyptologists, who possessed no exact knowledge of their contents. They were familiar with the rolls of papyrus engraved in the hieroglyphic and the hieratic character, for copies of different had been published,1 but the texts in them were short and fragmentary. The publication of the Facsimile2 of the Papyrus of Peta-Amen-neb-nest-taui3 by M. Cadet in 1805 made a long hieroglyph text and legion coloured vignettes open for study, and the French Egyptologists represented it as a copy of the "Rituel Funraire" of the ancient Egyptians. Among these was Champollion le Jeune, but later, on his issue from Egypt, he and others visited it "Le Livre des Morts," "The Book of the Dead," "Das Todtenbuch," etc. These titles are merely versions of the name given by the Egyptian tomb-robbers to all roll of engraved papyrus which they found with mummies, to wit, "Kitb-al-Mayyit," "Book of the dead man," or "Kitb al-Mayyitun," "Book of the dead" (plur.). These men knew nothing of the subjects of such a roll, and all they meant to say was that it was "a dead man's book," and that it was found in his coffin with him.
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The Funeral Procession in Ancient Egypt


After the embalming was finished, the family was notified that it was time to forget its home on the east bank and travel by gravy holder to the west bank for the funeral. The survivors formed a procession that also included priests and master sorrower to journey to the tomb. Servants carried flowers, oblations, food and drink, sacred ritual oils, and all the objects intended for burial. Some of the most important of these were a large box checking the canopic jars and a chest containing statuettes addressed shabtis.

Egyptian Wooded Coffin
A priest performed the Opening of the Mouth ceremonial on the mummy at the entree of the tomb. This ritual gave the gone the ability to speak, eat, and have full use of his or her body. After the mummy was put in a coffin and then in a sarcophagus, it was settled in the burial chamber. Enclosed in the tomb were all the funerary figurines, headrests, modeling of daily life, furniture, jars, cosmetics, and games necessary to ensure the deceased's enjoyment of the afterlife.

Afterward the door was certain, a banquet was held last of the tomb entrance. When clean the mummification equipment was buried near the tomb, the funeral was over.

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The Burial Rites in Ancient Egypt

Anubis was the ancient Egyptian god
associated with mummification and
burial rituals; here, he attends
to a mummy
When a person died, the whole family went into mourning. Women howled, direct clothing was worn, and men stopped shaving and eating. When a pharaoh died, the total country mourned, and although the ancient Egyptians masculine cleanliness, all shaving and bathing quit.

The clay was taken by boat from the east bank of the Nile, where most people gone, to the west bank. Burial Sites were situated in the western low desert because the west was associated with the setting sun and death. First the body was set in a refining tent where it was cleansed and dressed in clean clothes. Next it was brought back the embalming tent where it was canned. The embalming priests wore masks corresponding Anubis, the god of embalming, and narrated prayers and spells.

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