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The ancient Egyptian mortuary text known as the Book of the Dead had its heyday from the onset of the New Kingdom (around 1550 BCE) until approximately 50 BCE. Crafted on papyrus, this collection of magical spells, coined as the "Book," aimed to guide the departed through the Duat, or underworld, into the realm beyond. It represented an amalgamation of texts contributed by various priests over nearly 1,000 years.
Stored within the deceased's coffin or burial chamber, the Book of the Dead marked a continuation of funerary literature, succeeding the Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts, which were inscribed on items rather than papyrus. Some spells within the book dated back to the third millennium BCE, while others emerged during the Third Intermediate Period (11th to 7th centuries BCE). These spells, once inscribed on tomb walls and sarcophagi, eventually found their place in the Book of the Dead.
