Page 61 - September 2022 Magazine - Bumper Edition

or queen take their place amongst the Gods, with the most profound God of that time, ‘Ra’. During the Old Kingdom, the afterlife was looked upon as being in the sky where Ra resided, rather than the underworld as depicted in the New Kingdom.
Towards the end of the Old Kingdom, these texts ceased to be used only by royalty and were adapted and used by high-ranking officials and regional governors.
During the Middle Kingdom, a funerary text emerged called the ‘Coffin Texts’, which was an updated version of the original and included new spells and drawings for the first time.
These were etched, drawn, and written on the inside of the deceased coffins, even though occasionally from this era they have also been found on papyri or on tomb walls.
Royalty and people of importance now shared this sacred privilege with private wealthy individuals, vastly increasing the popularity and numbers through this era and guiding them through to the afterlife.
In the 13th Dynasty towards the Second Intermediate Period of unrest, the Book of the Dead developed into Thebes and was placed in the coffin of Queen Mentuhotep (wife of the Pharaoh Djehuti) where new spells were found amongst both older Pyramid Text and Coffin Text, with some Pyramid Text dating back to the 4th Dynasty from the reign of King Menkaure.
By the 17th Dynasty, spell inscriptions were inscribed on the linen shrouds that were wrapped around the mummified deceased, as well as on the coffins and walls, with some found on papyrus.
The important process of reaching the afterlife didn’t take off commercially until the New Kingdom, where everyone had access to their own personal script if they had money.
Alas, those claiming unemployment benefits would not have the pleasure of such luxuries, and knowing how much the ancients believed in the afterlife, it must have been very scary for them and their loved ones on their passing, knowing they would be travelling unprotected.
From this period on the Book of the Dead was mainly written on a Papyrus Scroll, with the spell ‘Weighting of the Heart’ (more on this later) making its first appearance during the reign of Thutmose III and Hatshepsut of the 18th Dynasty.
Around the 19th Dynasty, the look of the Book of Dead started to change whereby scenes and illustrations became more prominent, with many sacrificing the surrounding texts.
During the Third Intermediate Period of chaos, the text started to change adding hieratic script (cursive ancient Egyptian writing) as well as hieroglyphs.
Some lacked illustration and were written on smaller scrolls, by doing this, those who were not flush with money could afford their own, as it made them cheaper. At the same time, traditional Books of the Dead were still used by those who had power and money before their deaths, and some texts were just reserved for the Pharaohs and those of nobility only.
The Book of the Dead was completely revised and updated during the 25th and 26th Dynasties. The spells within the book were numbered for the first time and put into order.
This is known as the ‘Saite Recension’ (Named after the capital of Sais, in the 26th Dynasty, the last native dynasty rule in Egypt, before the Persian Conquest). From here on the Book of the Dead continued to be based on the Saite Recension, all the way through to the end of the Ptolemaic Period.
Now we know how it was developed, let's take a look at the book itself...
The Flickering Cauldron® Magazine -The Book of the Dead | 61