
THE BOOK OF THE DEAD
One spell collection known as The
Book of the Dead stresses that all spirits were judged before Osiris. The
dead person's heart was weighed against a feather representing maat-- truth.
If their heart was heavier than truth because they had lead a wicked life
they would be eaten by a monster and die a second death. Those who passed
the judgment became blessed spirits who lived with gods. Such spirits were
still believed to want intact bodies to return to.
Before the dead could reach the paradise known as the Field of Reeds they
had to pass through an underworld full of monsters and demons.
In the Middle Kingdom some coffins
were painted with maps of the underworld and with spells against it's
dangers. In the New Kingdom the spells were written on papyrus scrolls and
placed in the tomb.
In early times burial in hot dry
sand preserved bodies naturally. When coffins came into use some artificial
way of stopping decay was needed. At some periods the process of
mummification was used to preserve bodies.
MUMMIFICATION 