The Book of the Dead

Book of the Dead

By: Hannah Surratt, Matt Shangle, Gwen Smith and David Smith

Conclusion

The History of the Book of the Dead

This book was placed in the tombs of the dead for them to read on their way to the afterlife. It had instructions for the afterlife and funerary texts. These books began to appear around 1600 B.C. This ancient text was written on papyrus by E. A. Wallis Budge.

Smith, Michael G. "The Egyptian Book of the Dead." The Book of the Dead. Deurer, 1996. Web. 1 Sept. 2013. <http://www.egyptartsite.com/book.html>.

Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead in the Papyrus of Ani. 1996. The Evils of Ancient Egypt. Web. 3 Sept. 2013. <http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/egyptevil.htm>.

Burials have changed a lot since back in ancient Egypt. Now days, most bodies are put in coffins to rot after they die, but the Egyptians where a lot more thoughtful with their dead. You see, they thought there bodies would reflect how they looked in the afterlife. Like if you, say, lost an arm when you died, you would not get that arm back in the afterlife. In fact, they believed you might not be able to pass on! They were actually quite good at preserving their dead. The book of the dead was basically a text book on the hows and whys of Egyptian burials. It explained what the underworld was, how to remove what organs, etcetera. Burials today aren’t anything like that now, though. Today, people usually just look over a body to find the cause of death, then bury them. It’s really amazing how much time the Egyptians devoted to their dead. (www.egyptologyforum.org/EEFSeries.html‎)

Religion Behind The Book of the Dead

The Book of the Dead is based upon helping a dead soul travel through the underworld. It is mainly based on the religion of The New Kingdom in Egypt. The soul must face challenges brought upon by the gods to travel through the underworld and to the afterlife.

"Book of the Dead." Book of the Dead. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_the_Dead>.

Interesting facts

What is the Book of the Dead?

• The Egyptian Book of the Dead was known to the Egyptians as Reu nu pert em hru translated that means The Chapters of coming forth by day.
• The book enabled the deceased to overcome obstacles and not lose their way. It did this by teaching passwords, giving clues, and revealing routes that would allow the deceased to answer questions and navigate around hazards
• The Papyrus of Ani is one of the finest examples of this type of Egyptian funerary text to survive.
• The Papyrus of Ani now resides in The British Museum, London.

Smith, Michael G. "The Egyptian Book of the Dead." The Book of the Dead. Deurer, 1996. Web. 2 Sept. 2013. <http://www.egyptartsite.com/book.html>.

The Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian funerary text that was used from the beginning of the New Kingdom (around 1550 BCE) to around 50 BCE. People in Egypt believed in the afterlife. The Book of the Dead contains spells that the Egyptians believed would take them there.

"book of the dead." http://egypt.mrdonn.org. Web. 2 Sept. 2013. <http://egypt.mrdonn.org/bookofthedead.html>.