Can you tell me something about the Book of the Dead?
-- Jana, Web post

Dr. dig responds:
The Book of the Dead is the name that modern Egyptologists use for a collection of New Kingdom papyri which the ancient Egyptians called the "Book of Coming Forth by Day." It is a guidebook for dead people that explains exactly how to get to the kingdom of Osiris (the Afterlife, or Egyptian heaven) and what to say when you get there. The journey to the kingdom was a long and dangerous one that involved passing through a series of gates guarded by demons‹the dead had to give the correct passwords. When a dead person did reach the god Osiris, he or she would have to answer a series of questions to prove that he or she was fit to live in the kingdom. Those who failed this exam were eaten by a monster! Those who passed lived forever in a land that was very much like Egypt. But there was no need to panic. All the questions and answers were given in the Book of the Dead. So, anyone who was buried with the book knew that they would make it to the Kingdom of Osiris.