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Journey Through the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, British Museum | reviews, news & interviews

Journey Through the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, British Museum

Journey Through the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, British Museum

Gods, monsters, mummies, magic spells and the sweet hereafter

The sweet hereafter: Mummy of Katebet c 1300-1275 BC

Those ancient Egyptians, they loved life! So much so that they even conceived of an afterlife that differed hardly at all from the one on Earth, only better: they didn’t get sick and they carried on just as before, to eternity – which might sound like a bore to some, but given that the average life expectancy for an ancient Egyptian - even a very rich one - was 35, a certain reluctance to leave the earthly realm was understandable.

Those ancient Egyptians, they loved life! So much so that they even conceived of an afterlife that differed hardly at all from the one on Earth, only better: they didn’t get sick and they carried on just as before, to eternity – which might sound like a bore to some, but given that the average life expectancy for an ancient Egyptian - even a very rich one - was 35, a certain reluctance to leave the earthly realm was understandable.

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