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The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead
The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead
The Book of the Dead is the name now given to a collection of religious and magical texts known to the ancient Egyptians as The Chapters of Coming-forth by Day. Their principal aim was to secure for the deceased a satisfactory afterlife and to give him the power to leave his tomb when necessary. Copies of The Book of the Dead written on papyrus rolls were placed in the tombs of important Egyptians, each roll containing a selection of chapters. Many examples have survived from antiquity, dating mostly from c. 1500 BCE-250 BCE. In this volume, the text translated by the late Dr. R.O. Faulkner is that found in the papyrus prepared for the scribe Ani which is one of the greatest treasures in the British Museum. The vignettes are taken from the many finely illustrated copies which are preserved in the collections of the British Museum.
Through this edition of the most popular and long-lasting funerary documents of Egypt emerges much of the character of her people. Through it also the student at home and likewise the tourist visiting the Theban tombs should be greatly enlightened, even if much of the religion of Egypt remains tantalizingly obscure.
The late Dr. R.O. Faulkner, for many years the assistant of the great Egyptologist, Sir Alan Gardiner, was an expert in ancient Egyptian military and nautical matters, and was responsible for the publication of the British Museum's Catalogue of Wooden Model Boats. In the 1960s he taught Egyptian language at University College London, and after his retirement he produced standard translations of the three principal collections of ancient Egyptian funerary compositions, the Pyramid Texts, the Coffin Texts, and the Book of the Dead. His Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian is an essential tool for all who are interested in the Egyptian language. He died in 1982.
Sources of the illustrations
Introduction
List of Spells
The Spells
Introductory Hymn to the Sun-God Re
Introductory Hymn to Osiris
Glossary
Hieroglyphs without Mystery
An Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Writing
By Karl-Theodor Zauzich; Translated by Ann Macy Roth
