Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – For the first time in a century, archaeologists excavating in Egypt have discovered a 16 meters long ancient papyrus in the Saqqara area.
Upon discovery of the ancient scroll, scientists thought it measured only nine meters, but once it was restored and fully translated, it was obvious it measured 16 meters!
This is not the discovered papyrus, just an illustration of what it may look like. Credit: Adobe Stock – Keith Wheatley
The papyrus was found inside one of 250 caskets at the Saqqara site and contains texts from the Pharaonic Book of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.
The Book of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ is an ancient Egyptian funerary text that contains declarations and spells to help the deceased in their afterlife.
Ancient Egyptians did not consider death the be the end of existence. They believed in life after death and before one could pᴀss to the next realm of existence one had to be judged by God Osiris.
Many dangers could appear on the way to the afterlife, and the bodies of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ were prepared according to special rituals. The Book of The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, a papyrus inscribed for a priest of the god Horus named ImH๏τep, contains many spells to help make a successful transition from death to eternal life.
The discovery of the 16 meters long papyrus with spells from the Book of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ may shed new light on ancient Egyptian beliefs about the transition to another realm.
The Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Wazir has announced the ancient scroll will be displayed in an Egyptian museum.
“Waziri added that the papyrus was restored in the restoration laboratory of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, and has been dubbed the “Waziri Papyrus.”
Waziri’s remarks came during the celebration of the Egyptian Archaeologists’ Day at the Opera House, in the presence of Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Eissa.
See also: More Archaeology News
The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities celebrates Egyptian Archaeologists’ Day on January 14th. The date commemorates the anniversary of appointing the first Egyptian head of the Antiquities Authority in 1953, Mostafa Amer,” Egypt Independent reports.
Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Staff Writer
