Hunefer and his Book of the Dead

The Papyrus of Hunefer is one of the most beautiful and famous items in the British Museum’s Egyptian collections, illustrated with detailed coloured paintings of the highest quality. Hunefer (his name means ‘Mr Happy Day’) was an official of high rank. The papyrus was buried with him and contains his personal selection of spells from what we now call the Book of the Dead. He expected the papyrus to help him to reach a happy eternal life, in which he could continue to enjoy the many pleasures of the living world without any of its sorrows or troubles. Hunefer’s papyrus includes lovely, detailed images of various important stages or rites on the way, including the ‘opening of the mouth’ ceremony outside the tomb, in which priests carry out rites to give the mummy back its human senses, and the ‘weighing of the heart’ in which the gods put Hunefer’s heart is on the scales with the feather of truth to show if he had been a good person in life. This book follows Hunefer on his magical journey and, in a very simple, accessible and visual way, demonstrates Ancient Egyptian beliefs about religion, life and death.