Coffin Texts

At a glance

History, context & interpretation

The text and its story

Over 1,100 spells painted inside wooden coffins. They brought royal afterlife magic to ordinary elites and include the Book of Two Ways, the first known map of the underworld.

Traditional attribution

Sacred spells for the protection of the dead.

Historical scholarship

Anonymous; adapted from the Pyramid Texts and painted inside the coffins of officials and nobles.

Context and curiosity

The Book of Two Ways is one of the oldest illustrated 'books' in the world.

Chronology and transmission

This text belongs to Ancient Egypt (Middle Kingdom Egypt). The catalogue gives its approximate dating as c. 2100–1800 BCE and original language or script as Middle Egyptian. The dated manuscript witnesses and traditional claims may not refer to the same historical event.

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Sources and further reading

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts

Historical descriptions are educational summaries. Religious traditions, scholarly interpretations and unverified claims are distinguished where possible; imagery may be illustrative rather than an artifact photograph.