See the preserved 52-foot-long Book of the Dead papyrus laid in found in an ancient Egyptian tomb
Photos of a 16-meter Book of the Dead scroll discovered in March 2022 have been revealed to the public – depicting gods and the afterlife.
The ancient scroll, which dates back more than 2,000 years, was discovered in a tomb near the Step Pyramid of Djoser, Egypt’s earliest colossal stone structure.
Archaeologists initially thought the ancient document, dubbed “Waziri Papyrus,” was 29 feet long, but once they rolled it out, it was more than twice that size — and it’s the first to be discovered by an Egyptian.
It was found rolled up in a sarcophagus belonging to Ahmose, whose name is mentioned 260 times through the huge documentincluding images of Osiris, the ancient Egyptian god of the underworld.
Not much is known about Ahmose, but archaeologists are certain that he was a rich and powerful man who commissioned such an elaborate Book of the Dead.
Archaeologists have shared the first images of a Book of the Dead first found in March 2022. It shows images of the god of the underworld, Osiris
Book of the Dead is a collection of texts consisting of spells to help the dead cross over to the afterlife.
The name does not come from the ancient Egyptians, but was coined in 1842 by the German Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius – the original name was Book of Coming Forth by Day or Book of Emerging Forth into the Light.
The recent discovery is an elaborate artifact written in black and red ink and hieratic, a cursive used by ancient Egyptians.
It contains 113 chapters of the Book of the Dead, divided into 150 columns of different size and size and several lines in each column.
The chapters are written in good coordination and arranged by writing in specific places and specifications.
Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, found the papyrus in one of 250 coffins found at the site, which is located in Saqqara.
The Book of the Dead has now been restored and translated into Arabic. It is on display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
According to Life Sciencesshows an analysis of the scroll that professionals who wrote it also produced detailed images of Osiris.
The scroll was found in a tomb and was rolled up tightly
Experts spent nearly a year analyzing the massive scroll to decipher the ancient text
The scroll was found near the Step Pyramid of Djoser, Egypt’s earliest colossal stone structure
The god of the underworld is depicted with his traditional crown, Atef, sitting on a throne surrounded by plumes.
Osiris was not only the ruler of the dead, but also the power that gave life to all of the underworld, from germinating vegetation to the annual flood of the River Nile.
Along the scroll are animals that experts say represent offerings, and some of the boats are likely used as vessels to the underworld.
An illustration of a couple worshiping the gods of ancient Egypt can also be seen on the scroll that could be Ahmose and his unknown wife.
Archaeologists found another Book of the Dead in 2021, which is 4 meters long and filled with spells to guide the dead through the underworld in ancient Egypt.
Here, the Book of the Dead is on full open display in the Egyptian Museum of Liberation
There are depictions of spells to help the dead navigate to the underworld
Along the scroll are animals that experts say represent offerings, and some boats are likely used as vessels to the underworld
The scroll was part of a hoard of treasures excavated by archaeologists at the same site as the last Book of the Dead.
The Temple of Queen Neit, the wife of King Teti, the first king of the Sixth Dynasty who ruled Egypt between 2323 BC. and 2150 BC. the Saqqara necropolis, south of Cairo.
The team also discovered 52 wooden sarcophagi, dating from the New Kingdom period, in burial shafts at a depth of 12 meters.
Hawass, known for his Indiana Jones hat and TV specials on Egypt’s ancient sites, added that archaeologists had also discovered burial pits, coffins and mummies dating back to the New Kingdom which ruled Egypt between about 1570 B.C. and 1069 B.C. Christ.
.