The Distribution of Book of the Dead Spells’ in Ptolemaic Tombs in Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

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Abstract

Tomb was the posthumous residence of the deceased. Thus Ancient Egyptians high priority great attention to construct an elaborate tomb equipped with all necessities of eternal existence as the iconography of walls and ceiling. The religious theme was the principal sources of tombs’ decorative programs in Ptolemaic Period in Egypt. These scenes revealed many subjects as presenting offerings to gods, but the most frequent scene’s subject is that of funerary texts, especially the vignette and texts of Book of the Dead.
This paper aims to investigate the spatial distribution of Book of the Dead’s scenes on different parts of the tomb and its significance. It will survey all scenes according to their spell number and every spell will be analysed according to place, title, vignette’s description and finally its function; the latter highlight its choice. Results could provide some indications about the function of every part of the tomb.

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