Unrolling a Book of the Dead scroll

Measuring more than 16 metres long, the papyrus was discovered in May 2022 at Saqqara

A papyrus, thought to be the second longest surviving Book of the Dead scroll, has been unrolled and restored, and is now on display in a newly refurbished section of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

left Restoration work being carried out on the Book of the Dead of Ahmose. below A scene from Ahmose’s Book of the Dead, showing the ‘weighing of the heart’ with the monster god Amit in attendance.
Restoration work being carried out on the Book of the Dead of Ahmose.

Measuring more than 16 metres long, the papyrus was discovered in May 2022 at Saqqara, in the sarcophagus of a man named Ahmose, whose name appears in the text about 260 times.

A scene from Ahmose’s Book of the Dead, showing the ‘weighing of the heart’ with the monster god Amit in attendance.

Dating to the early Ptolemaic Period, the text is written in hieratic, and includes 13 sections from the Book of the Dead, as well as scenes depicting a couple (possibly Ahmose and his wife), a seated Osiris, and a ‘weighing of the heart’ ceremony.

All images: copyright of the Ministry for Tourism and Antiquities

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