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Egyptian papyrus fragments from Roman Period Book of the Dead

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 0095-Item 0002

Scope and Contents

Fragments of a Roman Period Book of the Dead. The text on one of the two fragments still preserves parts of Book of the Dead, Spell 125.

Dates

  • Creation: between 100 B.C. and 100 A.D.

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials entirely in Egyptian (Ancient).

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections Department, University of Delaware Library, https://library.udel.edu/static/purl.php?askspec

Historical Note

The ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead is a collection of funerary texts, featuring prayers, spells, incantations, and formulas. They were often illustrated on rolls of papyri buried with the dead to protect them in the afterlife. Spell 125 includes a list of denied sins, each beginning "I have not ..." and often illustrated with the dead person's heart being weighed in the presence of Osiris, the god who rules the dead.

SOURCES:

"Book of the Dead," Encyclopaedica Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Book-of-the-Dead-ancient-Egyptian-text (accessed 2019 August 20).

"Book of the Dead Chapter 125A," Digital Egypt for Universities. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/literature/religious/bd125a.html (accessed 2019 August 20).

Extent

2 item : fragments, illustrations ; 13 x 13 cm or smaller

Metadata Rights Declarations

Abstract

Fragments of a Roman Period Book of the Dead. The text on one of the two fragments still preserves parts of Book of the Dead, Spell 125.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Mrs. Donald P. Ross. Purchased from the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities of El Hagg Med. Mohasseb and Son, Luxor, Egypt. Cf. 2 cards with fragments.

Related Materials in this Repository

This item forms part of MSS 0095 Scientific and Humanities Manuscript collection.

Shelving Summary

Shelved in SPEC v. MSS

OCLC Number

Processing Information

Processed by Special Collections staff. Encoded by Jaime Margalotti, August 2019.

Title
Finding aid for Egyptian papyrus fragments from Roman Period Book of the Dead
Status
Completed
Date
2019 August 14
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the University of Delaware Library Special Collections Repository

Contact:
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