Papyrus scrolls the late reign of Thutmose III
Papyrus scrolls the late reign of Thutmose III
The late 17th-to early 18th-century dynastic period demonstrates a strong connection with the later Book of the Dead These later chronologies not only point to a clear internal connection between the Book of the Dead but also point to subsequent changes in the use of witchcraft as the original papyrus scroll format was only introduced around 1479–1425 BC towards the end of Thutmose III reign Conversely three additional chronologies can be identified among the early papyrus and shrouds which are rarely repeated in later 18th-dynasty sources It is likely that the funerary ritual reforms of that period were not an isolated cultural phenomenon but were accompanied by the continuous introduction of new pottery styles into the New Kingdom
The presence of sarcophagi decorated with feather motifs is evidenced by early linen shrouds Of the 16 largest shrouds 10 were found at Thebes and three others These shrouds stem from the distinctive naming traditions of the Thebes region during the reign of Queen Tetysheri Two princesses one of whom was the daughter of King Sechener "Ahmose" were born The origins of early papyrus and linen suggest that the Thebes area was the site where the Book of the Dead was first written after the separation of Upper Egypt from Northern Egypt during the late 13th Dynasty and the beginning of the 16th Thebesian Dynasty
Relief Thutmosis III, Luxor Museum Egypt
The Book of the Dead origins lie in widely accepted religious texts dating back to the pyramid era but its full emergence in the mid-18th Dynasty cannot truly be understood as a textual or literary phenomenon The gradual refinement and revision of the funeral hymns culminating in an elaborate papyrus manuscript accompanied by brief illustrations and prepared for the Egyptian elite of the New Kingdom cannot be fully assessed The richness of the funerary rituals of the period cannot be fully compared to contemporary texts Taken together they present a picture of Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife and cosmology far more complex than currently available sources for earlier periods
