Pyramid Texts
Old Kingdom scripture
The Pyramid Texts are the oldest known religious writings, carved into the walls of Egyptian pyramids beginning around 2400 BCE.
These hieroglyphic inscriptions contain spells, prayers, and rituals intended to help dead pharaohs navigate the afterlife and join the gods.
Scholars study the Pyramid Texts to understand early Egyptian beliefs about death and resurrection.
Placing deceased underground
- tombUnderground chamber for remains
- sarcophagusCarved stone burial container
- mummificationPreserving bodies after death
- embalmingPreserving dead bodies chemically
afterlife · underworld · rebirth · immortality · eternity · ba · canopic jars · mortuary
Ancient Egyptian picture-writing
- inscriptionsWords carved into surfaces
- carvingsSculpted decorative shapes
- glyphsCarved symbolic figures
- cartoucheOval framing royal hieroglyphs
script · decipherment · pictogram · logogram · phonogram · epigraphy · determinative · utterances
Early Egyptian dynastic period
- pharaohAncient Egyptian ruler
- MemphisTennessee city, ancient Egyptian capital
- NileAfrica's longest river
- HeliopolisAncient sun-worship center
Magical utterances or intervals
- utterancesVocal expressions produced
- incantationsRitual words for magic
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
- prayersReverent petitions to deity
offerings · mythology · cosmology · pantheon · priesthood · sacred · divine · theology
Room for interring remains
- antechamberEntry room before main
- corridorEnclosed connecting walkway
- passageSegment of text
- wallsVertical enclosing structures
ceiling · stars · limestone · royal tomb · inner sanctum · subterranean · sealed chamber
burial
Placing deceased underground
- tombUnderground chamber for remains
- sarcophagusCarved stone burial container
- mummificationPreserving bodies after death
embalming · afterlife · underworld · rebirth · immortality · eternity · ba · canopic jars · mortuary · necropolis
hieroglyphs
Ancient Egyptian picture-writing
- inscriptionsWords carved into surfaces
- carvingsSculpted decorative shapes
- glyphsCarved symbolic figures
cartouche · script · decipherment · pictogram · logogram · phonogram · epigraphy · determinative · utterances · spells
Old Kingdom
Early Egyptian dynastic period
- pharaohAncient Egyptian ruler
- MemphisTennessee city, ancient Egyptian capital
- NileAfrica's longest river
Heliopolis · Ennead · Ra · Osiris · Horus · Nut · Seth · Thoth · Anubis · Isis
spells
Magical utterances or intervals
- utterancesVocal expressions produced
- incantationsRitual words for magic
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
prayers · offerings · mythology · cosmology · pantheon · priesthood · sacred · divine · theology · apotheosis
burial chamber
Room for interring remains
- antechamberEntry room before main
- corridorEnclosed connecting walkway
- passageSegment of text
walls · ceiling · stars · limestone · royal tomb · inner sanctum · subterranean · sealed chamber
- Egyptian tombssarcophagus, mummy, burial chamber, mummies, canopic jar
- Egyptologypharaohs, pharaoh, hieroglyphs, hieroglyphics, mummies
- ancient textsscrolls, scroll, Euclid's Elements, Epic of Gilgamesh, codex
- Egyptian AfterlifeBook of the Dead, Osiris, ba, Anubis, afterlife journey
- Egyptian magicspells, incantations, charms, curses, healing spells
- hieroglyphicshieroglyphics, hieroglyphs, hieroglyph, glyph, glyphs