Yuya and Tuya papyrus

Artefact Details

Gallery number: 25-20 – Upper Floor

Period: New Kingdom

Dynasty: 18th Dynasty – Reign of Amenhotep III (1387-1350 BC)

Place of discovery: Valley of the Kings – Thebes

Size: Length: 19,38 meters

This 19.37-meter long papyrus, complete and well-preserved, was found in the tomb of Yuya and Tuya: it contains the «Book of the Dead» written in cursive hieroglyphs. The Book of the Dead whose original name is Book of Coming Forth by Day is a series of around 190 chapters containing magical and ritual spells, illustrated with drawings, intended to help the deceased survive in the Underworld. The texts of this papyrus running from left to right are illustrated by scenes from funerary rituals and mortuary cult like the worship of Osiris and the funeral procession.