Senuseret III (Part III): The Coffin Texts.
Circa 1867 BCE Egypt is flowering, and the aristocracy are taking a greater share in its rewards than ever before. By painting spells, hymns and stories upon their coffins, they gain access to the realm of Osiris, the eternal kingdom of the Afterlife.
How did they realize this dream? What was the afterlife like? And how did they experience it once there? We explore these questions and more...
The Coffin of Gua from Deir el-Bersha, showing the Two Ways into the Underworld (Source: The British Museum).
An offering bearer from the tomb of Gua (Source: The British Museum).
An ivory head-rest from the tomb of Gua (Source: The British Museum).
The tomb of Djehuty-Hotep at Deir el-Berhsa (Source: Osiris.net)
The sister of Djehuty-Hotep on a block from his tomb (Source: The British Museum).
The entourage of Deir el-Bersha (Source: The British Museum).
Bibliography
W.K. Simpson (editor), The Literature of Ancient Egypt, 2006. PDF Copy at Archive.org.
Leonard H. Lesko, "Some Observations on the Composition of the Book of Two Ways," Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 91 (1971). JSTOR link.
Harold M. Hays, "The Mutability of Tradition: The Old Kingdom Heritage and Middle Kingdom Significance of Coffin Texts Spell 343,” Jaarbericht van het Vooraziatisch-Egyptisch Genootschap “Ex Oriente Lux” Vol. 40 (2007). Read Online Free at Academia.edu.
The Fitzwilliam Museum, Egyptian Funerary Literature, website.
Osiris.net, The Tomb of Djehuty-hotep, website.
Margaret R. Buson, Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt - Revised Edition 2001. GoogleBooks Edition.