Overview

For the ancient Egyptians, life along the fertile banks of the Nile was short - most people did not live beyond the age of thirty - but their deeply-held religious beliefs offered a path to immortality. The elaborate treatment of the dead body through mummification culminated in burial in 'the house of eternity', a tomb stocked with all the necessities of a comfortable life and with texts and objects endowed with magical power. Once equipped for the journey to the afterlife they could cheat death and pass into a new phase of existence. This book explains the concepts, rituals and magical procedures which would guide the dead through the fearsome hall of judgement and on to paradise. Mummies, statues, painted coffins, amulets and jewellery from the unparalleled collections of the British Museum are presented alongside papyrus documents containing the actual texts of the Book of the Dead, the illustrated collection of spells which served as the guidebook and passport to the hereafter. They open a window on to the hopes and fears of the ancient Egyptians, showing how much (and how little) has changed in human society over the past three thousand years.

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9781920843816

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