Journey through the afterlife: Egyptian Book of the Dead
The British Museum’s major Autumn exhibition explores ancient Egyptian beliefs about life after death, as illustrated in the Book of the Dead.
The Book of the Dead
For the Ancient Egyptians death was not the end but merely an interruption. Appeasing the gods, preserving the body and providing funerary equipment ensured admission into the afterlife.
The journey to the afterlife is described in the Book of the Dead, a funerary text used for over 1500 years between c.1600 BC and 100 AD, known to the Ancient Egyptians as the ‘Spells for Coming Forth by Day’.
The compilation of spells was thought to equip the dead with knowledge and power to reach the next world in safety, avoiding the obstacles which barred the way and ultimately ensure eternal life.
The inscriptions and vignettes were usually painted on papyrus or linen but were sometimes featured in the tomb wall paintings or the coffin.
Judgement of the Deceased
One of the most well-known of the illustrations of the Book of the Dead is from Chapter 125 which depicts the judgement of the deceased ritual (see above.) The heart is weighed by Anubis against the Feather of Truth, the symbol of the goddess Maat.
The heart was seen to represent the good and bad characteristics of the deceased and so, if it outbalanced the feather, it was believed that the deceased had led a bad life and would be fed to the monstrous ‘Devourer’.
Sennedjem and his wife in the fields sowing and tilling, from the Tomb of Sennedjem, The Workers' Village, New Kingdom (wall painting), Egyptian 19th Dynasty (c.1297-1185 BC) / Deir el-Medina, Thebes, Egypt Preparing for the Afterlife
Tombs were often decorated with scenes of the deceased giving offerings to various gods and/or scenes depicting funeral rituals, ‘daily life scenes’ and scenes of the deceased in the afterlife (as illustrated in the picture on the left.)
Wall paintings and stelae often contained a standard offering formula, as an invocation to the gods to provide all that the deceased may need in the afterlife. Each time the words were read, a fresh supply of goods would be provided.
Models and shabtis were placed in the tomb and inscribed with spells to provide food for the deceased in the afterlife and to perform various agricultural tasks in the ‘Field of Reeds’, where the deceased would remain for eternity.
Category Preview: Ancient & World Cultures
Images relating to Ancient Egypt, including the afterlife, can be accessed through the Bridgeman Art Library from collections including the Egyptian National Museum.
Journey through the afterlife: ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead at The British Museum. 4 November 2010 – 6 March 2011.