The Transmission of the Book of the Dead in New Kingdom Tombs at Saqqara

This open access book discusses texts and images from the Egyptian Book of the Dead , as well as other prayers and spells, found in tombs at the necropolis of Saqqara dating back to the New Kingdom ( c . 1550-1077 BCE). Drawing on an extensive corpus of data, it contributes striking new insights into the role of individual agency in ancient Egyptian funerary religion. Produced as part of the research project ''The Walking Dead at Saqqara: The Making of a Cultural Geography'', kindly funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO), the study focuses on the transmission of funerary texts and images in Egyptian tombs in order to show how each tomb was uniquely tailored to the tastes of its owners. This contrasts with the popular image of Egyptian religion as centrally administered and directed, and essentially unchanging over millennia. In fact, choices and forms of texts and images used in tombs changed even within a single generation, while particular arrangements of material unique to Saqqara during this period demonstrate a degree of local adaptation. In bringing together this information, the book argues powerfully for the human dimension in ancient Egyptian religion, and reveals the ways in which individuals and groups were continually reshaping their tradition even as they worked within it. The eBook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO): 276-30-016.

Auteur

H.P.R. Twiston Davies is a Lecturer in Egyptology at the University of Manchester, UK.

Texte du rabat

Texts and images from the Book of the Dead were widely used to decorate the walls of tombs during Egypt's New Kingdom (c. 1550-1077 BCE). Prior research has tended to focus on either individual tombs, or on the contents of papyrus copies of the Book of the Dead. This book focusses on the adaptation of parts of this funerary corpus in individual tombs from the New Kingdom necropolis at Saqqara, with the aim of showing how each tomb's decoration was tailored to the ends of their builders. In doing so, it builds up a picture of the ways in which these developments changed over time, and captures the dynamic and shifting ways in which ancient Egyptians interacted with their funerary texts. This contrasts with the popular image of Egyptian religion as centrally administered and directed, and essentially unchanging over millennia. In fact, choices and forms of texts and images used in tombs changed even within a single generation. Some forms remained popular over long periods, being constantly reused and re-adapted, while others achieved specific and local popularity, or else were abandoned after only a short period of time. This book argues powerfully for the human dimension in ancient Egyptian religion, revealing the ways in which individuals and groups continually reshaped their tradition even as they worked within it. Produced as part of the research project The Walking Dead at Saqqara: The Making of a Cultural Geography, this book is kindly funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The eBook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO): 276-30-016.

Contenu

List of Figures
List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations

Introduction

1. Statistical Overview of Monumental Book of the Dead copies at New Kingdom Saqqara and Considerations of Materiality
2. Book of the Dead 125 and the Judgement Scene at Saqqara
3. Characterising the Necropolis I: Development of Book of the Dead Use between the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties
   Excursus: Unsuccessful Adaptation: Book of the Dead 2, 8, and 74 in the tomb of Tjunerory
   4: Characterising the Necropolis II: Adaptation of Totenliturgien Spells in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties

Closing Remarks

Notes
Bibliography
Index