EARLY EIGHTEENTH DYNASTY HIERATIC BOOK OF THE DEAD MANUSCRIPTS. AN INSIGHT INTO THE WRITING STYLE AND FORMAT

Document Type : research articles

Author

Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University, Egypt

Abstract

The Book of the Dead was commonly found in the New Kingdom, written in hieroglyphs and cursive hieroglyphs. Few examples recorded in hieratic script date to the early 18th Dynasty. They display an interesting format that differs from the other examples of different scripts. At the time, hieratic was used in the Book of the Dead on the papyrus and the linen shrouds. Before the New Kingdom, a few examples of the Book of the Dead were in written hieratic script as well. From the second half of the 18th Dynasty, writing Book of the Dead in hieratic was stopped and the scribes used only the hieroglyphs and cursive hieroglyphs for the rest of this era. Thus, this paper tackles the reasons behind stopping the Book of the Dead’s writing in hieratic during the rest of New Kingdom. The layout and scribal practices of these examples are presented, focusing on the handwriting and scribes of the long papyrus of Hatnefer. 

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