The discovery was made in the coffin of one of the tombs near Djoser’s Step Pyramid in Saqqara. It was announced on January 14, the Egyptian Archaeologists’ Day, and now 10 images of the artifact have been added.

what is known

It wasn’t unusual for the ancient Egyptians to bury the Book of the Dead next to the deceased, but that’s not what they called it back then. The term belongs to modern archaeologists and refers to the collection of funerary texts – spells and prayers. According to the ancient Egyptians, they were supposed to help the dead in the afterlife.

There was no single standard for the Book of the Dead. In each of the known cases, its content was different. None of the copies found contain all known texts. They were chosen individually for each person – it may depend on the social status of the deceased or their supposed needs in the afterlife.

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities posted photos of the unfolded parchment on its Facebook page.

Book of the Dead / Photo Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

• there was papyrus Found curled up in the coffin of a man named Ahmose. The pharaoh Ahmose I, who ruled from 1550 to 1525 BC, is known in history, but in this particular case he is a different person.
• According to researchers, the man’s name appears about 260 times on papyrus.
• HE lived around 300 BCAt the beginning of the Ptolemaic dynasty – the pharaohs, descendants of one of the generals of Alexander the Great.
• Ahmose’s tomb is located south of the stepped pyramid built for Djoser.

According to the researchers, the papyrus was written in black and red ink, and the quality of the writing indicates that it was made by a professional. The parchment has already been restored and translated into Arabic. It is now on display to the public at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.