BOOK OF THE DEAD

Book of the Dead: translation

The name given to a type of papyrus often buried with the dead from the New Kingdom onward. The papyrus contained a number of magical spells that would enable the deceased to successfully reach the next world. The most important spell concerned the ritual of the weighing of the heart against the feather of maat to determine the deceased’s worthiness to enter the afterlife, and the spell was supposed to fix the balance in the deceased’s favor. Some books of the dead were decorated with elaborate vignettes and scenes depicting funerals and rituals. Some were obviously produced as special commissions, but there were stock examples available for purchase in which the name of the deceased could be filled in blank spaces or in some cases not filled in at all.