An embalmed body is called a mummy . Mummies were buried with lots of the possessions the person’s soul might need in the afterlife. They included food and drink, clothing, perfume, furniture, jewellery and special charms called amulets. Sometimes small wooden or stone ýgures representing servants doing activities such as making bread, ploughing a ýeld or sailing a ship were placed in tombs. As well, prayers, hymns and magic spells from the 200 such texts in the Book of the Dead were often written on a scroll of papyrus and buried with the mummy or carved in hieroglyphs on the walls of the tomb. These texts were thought to protect the soul from evil and guide it through the afterlife. After a dead person’s body was mummiýed, a funeral ceremony was held. The body was carried in a boat across the Nile and buried on the western bank, where the sun set. This was the direction in which the next world was believed to lie. Important people, such as pharaohs, were buried in elaborate underground tombs consisting of many rooms and tunnels. Poorer people were buried in the hot, dry sands to help preserve their bodies.
SkillBuilder discussion Historical signiýcance 1. Describe what is happening in the scene shown in SOURCE2 . 2. Identify the gods present in the image and their roles in the afterlife. 3. Explain the signiýcance of the heart being weighed against a feather in this image.
SOURCE2 Scenes from the Book of the Dead of Hunefer (from around 1310 BCE) are painted on papyrus to guide the dead to the afterlife. If a heart was light as a feather, the person joined Osiris; if heavy, it was eaten by a monster with parts of a lion, hippopotamus and crocodile.
3.5.2
The gods of the ancient Egyptians
Ancient Egypt had many deities overseeing various aspects of life. For example, the god Hapi was linked to the River Nile. Some gods appeared as humans, animals or had animal heads on human bodies. At ýrst, each settlement had unique gods, but over time, deities were worshipped more widely.
SOURCE3 Figurines were thought to come to life in the tomb and carry out the wishes of the dead person.
TOPIC3 Ancient Egypt 93
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