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Passport to the Egyptian Afterlife

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The Book of the Dead of Ramose

Since it arrived at the Fitzwilliam Museum in 1922, the papyrus containing the Book of the Dead written for the supervisor of royal archives, Ramose, has remained in storage, with the exception of two sections that were displayed for about 40 years. As a result, the beautiful colours of the pictures (vignettes) which illustrate the papyrus and the borders have remained in unusually good condition.

Egyptian Books of the Dead were provided as part of a person’s burial equipment to ensure his or her safety in the afterlife.

For the period of the exhibition (this exhibition was held at the Fitzwilliam Museum, 19 June to 16 September 2007) almost the whole papyrus can be viewed for the first time since its burial in Ramose’s tomb in the 13th century BC.

Production of this website has been made possible thanks to the generosity of the Anna Plowden Trust

The project to study and preserve the papyrus was funded through a generous grant from the Getty Foundation.

The support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, The Isaac Newton Trust and The Aurelius Charitable Trust is also gratefully acknowledged.

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