81: The Book of the Dead

The Ultimate Underworld Story. The Book of the Dead might be the most famous piece of writing from ancient Egypt. It is also one of the most misunderstood... Around 1420 BCE, a royal architect commissioned a book for his tomb. This text is one of the best preserved Books of the Dead from the mid-18th Dynasty. From its unrolled pages, we can explore the journey into the underworld, as experienced by a non-royal Egyptian. Note: This episode functions as an introduction to the Book of the Dead. As we move forward through the centuries, we will revisit the text to see new developments and additions.

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• Music by Jeffrey Goodman www.shelterofclearlight.com/.

Select Bibliography:

• Francoise Dunand and Christiane Zivie-Coche, Gods and Men in Egypt: 3000 BCE to 395 CE.
• Richard Faulkner, The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, 1985.
• Dennis C. Forbes, Tombs. Treasures. Mummies. Book Two: The Tombs of Maiherpri (KV36) & Kha & Merit (TT8), 2015.
• Erik Hornung, The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife, 1999.
• Ernesto Schiaperelli, Relazione sui lavori della Missione Archeologica Italiana in Egitto (anni 1903-1920) (Volume 2): La tomba intatta dell’architetto “Cha” nella necropoli di Tebe, 1927. Available online via the University of Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.55349#0046
• John H. Taylor, Journey Through the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, 2013.
• Emily Teeter, Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt, 2011.
• E. Vassilika, The Tomb of Kha, 2010.
• Toby Wilkinson, Writings from Ancient Egypt, 2016.

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