Chapter 1 of the Book of the Dead

The Book of the Dead is the modern name for a text that was used in ancient Egypt, beginning in the New Kingdom (1539-1075 BC), during the funerary process.  Developing from a tradition of funerary manuscripts, the spells were written on papyrus scrolls in heiratic script using line drawings to illustrate important passages.  Hieratic script is a form of cursive writing that developed alongside the heiroglyphic system, often written with a reed brush and always read from right to left.  The book was divided into several chapters, each containing a number of magic spells intended to assist a deceased person through the underworld, or Duat, and into the afterlife.  Many copies of the book were made, often tailored to suit the needs or desires of the owner for his afterlife.

The title on this sheet has not been preserved, but Chapter 1 is traditionally the "Beginning of the Chapters".  The name of the owner for which this scroll was written is not present in the 25 lines that remain, however, the name of his mother, ti-nHm.f-s(y), appears in the form of an exclamation or prayer at the birth of the individual.  The remaining lines call out the dedication of the deceased to the gods and acknowledge the process of moving into the afterlife, as exemplified by the text of line 21: "I come in peace to the West, the Lords of  the Duat receive me".