Egypt & Near East
Solar Barque of Ra
Solar Barque of Ra
Crossing the sky by day and the underworld by night, it makes the sun rise again.
MountFirst recorded c. 2400 BCE
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Photograph: An Egyptian Book of the Dead papyrus of 664–30 BCE. Columns of hieroglyphs run across the yellowed sheet, with drawings of boats carrying gods.
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3,000 × 1,020 PX3000×1020
ArchiveEgypt & Near East · Book
Book of the Dead
Book of the Dead (rw nw prt m hrw)
Reciting its spells carries one past the dangers of the underworld to the paradise of Osiris.
- Owner
- The dead of ancient Egypt
- Maker
- Priests and scribes
- First record
- Funerary texts of the New Kingdomc. 1550 BCE
- Gallery
- Egypt & Near East
Notes on the photograph 3
Story
The ancient Egyptians believed a long journey continued after death. From the New Kingdom on they wrote on papyrus the spells needed to get past the gatekeepers and monsters of the underworld and buried them with the mummy. We call this writing the Book of the Dead, but its original name was "Spells for Going Forth by Day."
Its most famous scene is the weighing of the heart. The dead person's heart was placed on a scale against the feather of Maat, goddess of truth. If it was heavy the monster Ammit devoured it; if light, the dead could enter the paradise of Osiris.
The Book of the Dead was not one book but a selection from nearly two hundred spells. The wealthy commissioned copies with their own names and illustrations.
The object in the photo
The photograph shows Book of the Dead Papyrus with Chapters 100 and 129(Late Period–Ptolemaic Period, 664–30 BCE), a real museum object that evokes the legendary artifact.
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