The Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian funerary text generally written on papyrus and used from 1550 BCE to around 50 BCE. The original Egyptian name for the text is translated as Book of Coming Forth by Day or Book of Emerging Forth into the Light. “
It was written on papyruses by priests and customized for every deceased with spells intended to assist the dead person’s journey through the Duat, or underworld, and then into the afterlife.
The most representative is the papyrus of Ani which contains very interesting information about ancient Egyptian culture, especially on the concept of the afterlife.
It has spells teaching the deceased how to breathe the air in the underworld, and how to avoid any demons or red creatures one meets in the Duat.
It contains descriptions of gates that need to be opened by the deceased to reach the afterlife and a river that needs to be crossed.
All this information, if taken broadly, suggests that the afterlife was in a different dimension or different universe, with air that is hard to inhale, surrounded by non-earthlike creatures.
Further reading and suggested videos:
What is a Book of the Dead? | British Museum
Hunefer, Book of the Dead (article) | Khan Academy
The Book of the Dead (salirickandres.altervista.org)
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