The Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian funerary text, used from the beginning of the New Kingdom (around 1550 BCE) to around 50 BCE. The original Egyptian name for the text, transliterated rw nw prt m hrw is translated as Book of Coming Forth by Day. Another translation would be Book of emerging forth into the Light. "Book" is the closest term to describe the loose collection of texts consisting of a number of magic spells intended to assist a dead person's journey through the Duat, or underworld, and into the afterlife and written by many priests over a period of about 1000 years.
The estate of Lysander Dickerman donated fragments A18901(1) and A18901(2) in 1903. It is not known how Dickerman acquired the fragments. Dickerman was born June 8, 1825 in the city of Brockton, Massachusetts. He died June 8,1901. Rev. Dickerman received his education in the schools of his native town and Phillips Andover Academy. He graduated from Brown University in the class of 1851. Rev. Dickerman was an assistant teacher for a short time at Pierce Academy, Middleboro, Mass. He came to Hampton Falls in February, 1852, and took charge of the Rockingham Academy as principal, where he remained for six terms. As a teacher Mr. Dickerman was very popular and much beloved by his pupils. Under his charge the school numbered from sixty to seventy pupils. He graduated from Andover Theological Seminary in 1857. He settled as a pastor in Weymouth, Mass., and later in Rindge and Walpole. He then spent three years in Egypt and at the German universities of Halle and Berlin. In 1873 he was pastor of a church in Quincy, Massachusetts.
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Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Book of the Dead, MS.Egyptian Fragments.Group 1, Brown University Library.
Arranged in accession number order.
Fragments A18076 and A18077 were a gift from an anonymous donor circa 1900. Fragments A18901(1) and A18901(2) were a gift from the estate of the Reverend Lysander Dickerman in 1903. It is not known how Dickerman acquired the fragments.
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Six (6) fragments on papyrus in large archaistic hieratic characters or cursive hieroglyphs arranged in vertical columns in black ink with yellow ochre and red border lines. They are all pieces from the same sheet of papyrus. The text is from Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead. These pieces date from perhaps the Nineteenth Dynasty, 1295 BCE – 1186 BCE. The name of the deceased is not preserved in these fragments. The provenance of these fragments is unknown.
Egyptian Book of the Dead fragments - Chapter 17 (A18076), Nineteenth Dynasty, 1295 BCE – 1186 BCE
Egyptian Book of the Dead fragments - Chapter 17 (A18076), Nineteenth Dynasty, 1295 BCE – 1186 BCE
One (1) fragment on papyrus in hieratic characters in black and red ink with 2 incomplete lines of text from the beginning of Chapter 72 of the Book of the Dead. The date of the fragment is tentatively identified as from the Third Intermediate Period, 1069 BCE - 650 BCE. The name Khamhor is in line 1 of the fragment. The provenance of this fragment is unknown.
Egyptian Book of the Dead fragments - Chapter 72 (A18077), Third Intermediate Period, 1069 BCE - 650 BCE
Egyptian Book of the Dead fragments - Chapter 72 (A18077), Third Intermediate Period, 1069 BCE - 650 BCE
Three (3) fragments on mummy bandage inscribed with hieratic characters from the same mummy and created by the same scribe all in black ink. The name of the deceased was Pede-imhotep, and he was the sone of a woman called Tahut. They date from perhaps the late Persian-Ptolemaic period, 330 BCE – 30 BCE. They were a gift from the estate of Rev. Lysander Dickerman in 1903 along with A18901(2). It is unknown how Dickerman acquired them.
Egyptian Book of the Dead fragments - Chapters 17, 85, 86, 108, 109 (A18901(1)), late Persian-Ptolemaic period, 330 BCE – 30 BCE
Egyptian Book of the Dead fragments - Chapters 17, 85, 86, 108, 109 (A18901(1)), late Persian-Ptolemaic period, 330 BCE – 30 BCE
This fragment shows a scene along the top from Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead below which is ten lines of text also from Chapter 17.
This fragment contains the closing text of Chapter 108 and the beginning text of Chapter 109.
This fragment contains 6 lines of text from the beginning of Chapter 85. On the left side is a drawing of a swallow perched on a mound which is the vignette of Chapter 86.
Two (2) fragments on mummy bandage inscribed in hieratic characters all in black ink. These two fragments are not from the same mummy. Both were a gift from the estate of Rev. Lysander Dickerman in 1903 along with A18901(1). It is unknown how Dickerman acquired them.
Egyptian Book of the Dead fragments - Chapters 1, 93, 136A, (A18901(2)), 330 BCE - 200 CE
Egyptian Book of the Dead fragments - Chapters 1, 93, 136A, (A18901(2)), 330 BCE - 200 CE
The first fragment has at the top right a vignette from Chapter 93. The text underneath is in 2 columns with a total of 13 lines which form a continous text for the beginning of Chapter 136A. The name of the deceased is not preserved but rather referred to only with the generic term “this Osiris.” This dates to probably the Ptolemaic period, 330 BCE – 30 BCE
This fragment contains a scene along the top which is a vignette from Chapter 1. The text is 3 columns of 7 lines each and is a version of Chapter 1. The name of the deceased is Shameky. Based on the handwriting - it dates from roughly Ptolemaic-Roman times, 100 BCE to 200 CE.