The Book of The Dead of ancient Egypt is not really a book. It is really called in ancient Egyptian "spells to go forth in the day". It is a compilation of texts written for the deceased and placed in funerary contexts. First carved in pyramid walls (The Pyramid Texts) in the Old Kingdom, then written all over the sides and inside walls of sarcophagi (Coffin texts) in the Middle Kingdom, and much more proliferating texts appeared in the New Kingdom and Late Period, accompanying the deceased in rolls of papyrus inside their coffins.
These texts are instructions for the deceased, abling him or her in the passage through eternity, how to avoid dangers and monsters, revealing secret names of guardians, insuring the deceased will pass all the phases of the judgement and that his herat does not betray him or her, instructing shuabtis and uschebtis on how to farm and crop in the fields of the afterlife, praising gods who help the deceased and identify with them like Osiris, a travelling or traversing eternity, going forth, is a proof that the individual is alive forever.
Four Senet boards were found inside the tomb of King Tutankhamun and suggests that the boy king was a keen player of the ancient game. In Ancient Egyptian society, senet was regarded as much more than just a game, however - it was a matter of life or death. The game involves throwing casting sticks or knucklebones, and over time became regarded as talismans for the journey into the afterlife with luck being a key deciding factor in the game.
Never before the Book of the Dead has been the focus of such a major exhibition as the one upcoming at the British Museum in November this year. Rumours of the exhibition started to surface (or at least, reach my ears) ever since the Colloquium on the Book of the Death last year, but was only recently confirmed. 'Journey through the afterlife: the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead' will focus on how the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead was thought to guide the deceased safely through the dangers of the underworld, ultimately (hopefully) ensuring eternal life.
The Book of the Dead describes the collection of spells and chants thought vital by the ancient Egyptians to aiding safe transit on the tricky passage through the underworld to eternal life.
This major exhibition at the British Museum will examine the Book of the Dead in detail – how it evolved and changed over the centuries – as well as the wider ancient Egyptian concept of leaving goods in the grave in the expectation that they somehow helped the deceased make a safe journey to the afterlife. Alongside manuscripts of the Book of the Dead on papyrus and linen, the exhibition will include shabti funerary figurines, amulets, jewellery, statues and coffins.
Three ritual beds were found inside the Tomb of King Tutankhamun (KV62), made up of four pieces of gilded wood and bound together with hooks and staples. Assembly instructions were painted on the beds in black paint, with each bed representing a different animal deity.
There were four of these coffinettes found in a canopic alabaster chest in the Treasury.
Each one of these coffinettes holds one of Tutankhamun’s internal organs (liver, stomach, lungs, intestines). These organs would have been removed from Tut himself during the embalming process. The one shown in this picture holds the stomach.
This coffinette has the protection of the god Duamutef and the goddess Neith. The names of these deities are inscribed on the front. Duamutef was one of the four sons of Horus. He was a canine god. Neith is the mother of the sun god and protector of the dead. This coffinette also contains a spell from the Book of the Dead.
It appears from the markings on Tut’s inscription, that the name of somebody else was erased. It’s possible that this conffinette originally belonged to another ruler, possibly Smenkhkara (Akhenaten’s co-regent). It was then taken over by King Tut at some point.
Want to know how to mummify a body but don't know where to start? Well, you've come to the right place.
Following on from our video featuring Dr Zahi Hawass, in which he gives Heritage Key a fascinating insight into how mummies are made (see the video embedded below), and an enlightening interview with Bob 'Mr Mummy' Briers on mummification, we've condensed millenia of wisdom into 7 not-so-easy and certainly not pleasant steps.
Egyptian embalmers were masters of their craft, and while we possess a lot of clues about the long and laborious procedure they went through in order to ensure the deceased’s safe transit into the afterlife, much also remains unknown about how, exactly, they managed to wrap corpses so well that they have managed to survive for millennia.
The Antechamber of the Tomb of Seti I (KV17) is a small room which precedes the burial chamber, and features on its tomb walls scenes depicted from the Book of the Dead. The renown photographer in the field of Egyptology, Sandro Vannini took several photographs throughout KV17, including the First Pillared Room which we featured recently. This week we look at the tomb engravings of the Antechamber, and who they depict.
At the corner of Bloor and Queens Park a security guard uses a blow-horn to yell out a warning – the line-up to see the Ten Commandments is very long and there’s no guarantee you will get to see it.
For those who don’t have a membership at the Royal Ontario Museum, but want to see the commandments anyways, the line starts here, at this Toronto street intersection. Despite a sizable lobby the museum simply isn’t big enough to contain the people who want to buy a ticket this Saturday afternoon (Oct. 17).
I get to skip this particular line since I have a membership.
Want to know how to mummify a body but don't know where to start? Well, you've come to the right place. 
The Antechamber of the 
