Archaeologists find another part of the mysterious 'Book of the Dead' at Egyptian burial site
Different cultures have had different ways of dealing with the subject of death, with some placing their belief in the afterlife while others looking forward to reincarnation. Ancient Egypt is one of those civilizations that have sparked curiosity among archaeologists and history buffs for decades due to the monuments, artifacts, and texts they've left behind. Most importantly it is the mummification of corpses by Egyptians that has always fascinated the world, but there are ancient books that shed more light on their rituals to lay the dead to rest. After years of excavations and research, it became clear that Egyptians made a lot of preparations for the afterlife before burials, and the shape of pyramids built for pharaohs also indicates this. They even placed valuable items such as jewelry, food, and amulets in the tombs to assist the dead in their afterlife. In a recent discovery, archaeologists recently located a lost 3,500-year-old cemetery containing mummies and statues, but interestingly, the team has also found a papyrus scroll that contains a portion of the "Book of the Dead", according to a report by Science Alert.
The excavation led to the discovery of a funerary temple belonging to Queen Nearit in the ancient Egyptian burial ground of Saqqara. Her tomb has been found next to the pyramid of her husband, pharaoh Teti, who ruled Egypt from around 2323 BCE to 2291 BCE, according to the Egyptian antiquities ministry. The structure contains three mud-brick warehouses on its southeastern side that held offerings made to the queen and her husband.
Besides that, the cemetery which is believed to be more than 3,500 years old, has mummies, canopic jars, amulets, statues, and a papyrus scroll containing a portion of the Book of the Dead which is more than 43 feet long.
What makes "The Book of the Dead" special is that it was used to serve many purposes, including helping the dead navigate the underworld. The name the ancient Egyptians gave these texts is translated as the "Book of Coming Forth by Day." Scrolls containing excerpts from the "Book of the Dead" were sometimes buried with the deceased.
However, there was little information on the newly found copy of the "Book of the Dead," and It isn't clear which exact texts it contains or with whom it was buried. No photographs of the "Book of the Dead" papyrus scroll were released, and members of the team that discovered it did not respond to requests for comment.
Foy Scalf, an Egyptologist and head of research archives at The University of Chicago, said the discovery could be important since the book is "very rare" and he added that it is hard to find a copy of the "Book of the Dead" in the grave where it was originally buried. The scholar told LiveScience, "Without photographs, it is hard to say more, and it is customary to wait for some form of official publication to form solid assessments."
Apart from the scroll, the cemetery also contained many canopic jars that would have held the organs of the deceased. There were remains of stone sarcophagi, which held the wooden coffins of the deceased.