the dead person’s on a balance and weighed it Magic, and the against the feather representing Ma’at, the of justice. The heart had to weigh less than the journey to the feather to allow the person into the afterlife. If the The Egyptian consists of scrolls heart was heavier than Ma’at’s feather, the person of papyrus (a plant made into fl attened strips on would be sent to be eaten by the monster Ammit, which to write) containing more than 200 spells. a word meaning ‘devourer’ or ‘bone-eater’. Ammit These spells were like good wishes or prayers to had the head of a crocodile. From the front, she had help the deceased person survive the journey to the the body of a and from the rear the body of a afterlife. The believed this journey was . full of dangers, such as poisonous snakes, fi re-fi lled lakes and even executioners. Knowing the correct spells was an important safeguard, so they were Working historically often recorded on coffi ns. During the service at the tomb, a priest One of the skills of a historian is locating conducted the important ceremony called the /// information in a source and identifying the ‘Opening of the Mouth’. To do this, his attendants meaning of a source. placed the coffi n in an upright position. The priest It would be hard for you to just look at source 2 and then touched the ears, eyes, mouth, nose, legs magically come up with its meaning. You need to look, and arms of the image painted on it. This ritual think and use your knowledge of Egyptian gods and symbolically ‘freed’ the person’s senses so that he/ the journey to the afterlife. Doing this helps you to: she would be able to hear, see, breathe, speak, smell • locate important information in the source and and generally come to life again. • identify the source’s meaning. The most important test of the journey to the The annotations above and below source 2 provide afterlife was the ‘weighing of the heart’ held in the an example of this. Hall of Two Truths. People believed that the gods put

source 2 An illustration from The Papyrus of Hunefer, created c.1285 BC, showing different scenes from the journey to the afterlife The dead man, Hunefer, Fourteen judges to whom Hunefer will explain his life. offers gifts to the gods. Some judges hold the (symbol of life).

The god Hunefers Anubis weighs the The god The god leads The four sons The god , his leads Hunefer to heart heart against the is the dead person to of Horus atop wife (in red) and the weighing of feather of justice. ready to the afterlife. a lotus ower. her sister Nepthys (in the heart. Ammit is ready to record the Their role was green) are ready to eat the heart if it decision. to protect the welcome Hunefer to weighs more than dead persons the afterlife. the feather. organs.

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