The Egyptian Book of the Dead is unquestionably one of the most influential books in all history. Containing the ancient ritual to be performed for the dead with detailed instructions for the behavior of the soul in the afterlife, it served as the most important repository of religious authority for some three thousand years. Chapters were carved on the pyramids of the ancient 5th Dynasty, texts were written in papyrus, and selections were painted on mummy cases well into the Christian era. In a certain sense, it represented all history and research of Egyptian civilization. In the year 1888, Dr. E. A. Wallis Budge, then purchasing agent for the British Museum, followed rumors he heard of a spectacular archaeological find in Upper Egypt, and found in an 18th Dynasty tomb near Luxor a perfectly preserved papyrus scroll. It was a copy of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, written around 1500 B.C. for Ani, Royal Scribe of Thebes, Overseer of the Granaries of the Lords of Abydos, and Scribe of the Offerings of the Lords of Thebes.
