Afterlife

Introduction to the afterlife

We don’t have the full evidence to know exactly what the Egyptians thought about the afterlife, though it appears that at different times and places, but also often concurrently, the ancient Egyptians held a variety of ideas, just as people today hold a variety of ideas about the afterlife.  Texts describing the Duat largely occur in funerary contexts. They include the Coffin Texts, Book of the Dead, Book of Caverns, Book of Gates, Book of Two Ways, Amduat, Books of Breathing, etc. All describe the afterlife in slightly different ways. However, in several books the Duat is described as having rivers, islands, and lakes, much as earth. There could also be caverns, gates, mounds, halls or doors through which the deceased had to pass. Often these were guarded by dangerous and weird-looking entities who might threaten the deceased. Different entities and different numbers of caverns, gates or doors, or rooms within rooms are described in different afterlife books and even within one afterlife book there may be seemingly contradictory descriptions. 

Using objects from the Egypt Centre, we shall look at information we have on the Duat and how one might get there. These will include a consideration of fragments from the Book of the Dead, from coffins and coffin fragments, etc. 

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