Mummy Tombs: Book of the Dead

MUMMYMAKING FACTS


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Diodorus & mummification

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G. Belzoni, Mummy Excavator

Book of the Dead

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Book of the Dead

The Book of the Dead was actually not a book at all, but a series of spells originally written on the sarcophagus and later collected and written on a scroll of papyrus that was placed in the sarcophagus.

Some of the spells were recited by Egyptian priests as they placed amulets and other items inside the bandages as the mummy was wrapped. Other spells were recited when the mummy was completely wrapped and ready for placement in its tomb.

Here are some examples of spells from the Book of the Dead:

Spell 156 (to be recited when an amulet of red carnelian is placed on the mummy's neck during the wrapping process):

"You have power, O his! You have magic, O his! This amulet is a protection for this Great one. It will drive away those who would perpetrate evil against him!"

Spell 23 (to be recited when the mummy was taken to the front of the tomb during the Opening of the Mouth ritual):

"My mouth is open! My mouth is split open by Shu (god of the air) with that metal "spear" of his that he used to split open the mouth of the gods. I am the Powerful One. I shall sit beside her who is in the great breath of the sky!"

Three statements from Spell 125 (the most famous of the spells, it is recited when the mummy must receive its final judgment; the entire spell is rather long and is addressed to Osiris and 42 gods; the spell itself is divided into two main parts: an Introductory statement and the 42-item Declaration of Innocence, each item indicating a wrong that the dead person did not do while alive):

"'O Bone-Breaker who comes from Heliopolis, I have not told lies...

O Green Flame who comes from Memphis, I have not stolen food...

O Nefertem who comes from Memphis, I have not done any wrong, I have witnessed no crime...."