The late Dr. R.O. Faulkner, for many years the assistant of the great Egyptologist, Sir Alan Gardiner, was an
expert in ancient Egyptian military and nautical matters, and was responsible for the publication of the British
Museum's Catalogue of Wooden Model Boats. In the 1960s he taught Egyptian language at University College London,
and after his retirement he produced standard translations of the three principal collections of ancient Egyptian
funerary compositions, the Pyramid Texts, the Coffin Texts, and the Book of the Dead. His Concise Dictionary of
Middle Egyptian is an essential tool for all who are interested in the Egyptian language. He died in 1982.
Summary
The Book of the Dead is the name now given to a collection of religious and magical texts known to the ancient
Egyptians as The Chapters of Coming-forth by Day. Their principal aim was to secure for the deceased a satisfactory
afterlife and to give him the power to leave his tomb when necessary. Copies of The Book of the Dead written on
papyrus rolls were placed in the tombs of important Egyptians, each roll containing a selection of chapters. Many
examples have survived from antiquity, dating mostly from c. 1500 BCE--250 BCE. In this volume, the text translated
by the late Dr. R.O. Faulkner is that found in the papyrus prepared for the scribe Ani which is one of the greatest
treasures in the British Museum. The vignettes are taken from the many finely illustrated copies which are preserved
in the collections of the British Museum.
