New Course: The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife

It’s now almost two years since the Egypt Centre hosted its first online course during the COVID-19 Pandemic. During this time, eleven courses have taken place, attracting a combined audience of over 1,500 people. The income generated has been immensely helped in offsetting the losses encountered by the closure of the museum from March 2020 to September 2021. Although the museum is now open again, the demand for these courses among our supporters, particularly internationally, means that they will continue. Income generated from courses this year will be used to purchase a new display case for our writing and maths exhibit, which we hope to have installed this summer. We are grateful to all those who have attended these courses and supported the Egypt Centre over the past two years.

In just under two weeks, I’ll be starting the latest Egypt Centre course, which was chosen by participants at the end of the last one. The ancient Egyptians held a rich and complex vision of the afterlife and codified their beliefs in “books” that were to be discovered more than several millennia later in tombs. The contents of the texts range from the collection of spells in the Book of the Dead (fig. 1), which was intended to offer practical assistance on the journey to the afterlife, to the detailed accounts of the hereafter provided in the so-called Books of the Netherworld. This course looks closely at these works, including the Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, Book of the Dead, Amduat, Book of Gates, Book of Caverns, Book of the Earth, and several others.

Fig. 1: Book of the Dead papyrus of Hapiankh

In order to be as accessible as possible, this 5-week course will be run twice, with sessions taking place via Zoom:

- Sunday evenings 6–8pm (UK time) - Starting Sunday 01 May

- Wednesday mornings 10am–noon (UK time) - Starting Wednesday 04 May

A week before the course starts, you will be emailed the Zoom link, which can be used for both sessions. Therefore, participants will have the option of attending either day, or both!

Schedule

Week 1: (Sunday 01 May or Wednesday 04 May): The Pyramid Texts and the Coffin Texts

Week 2: (Sunday 08 May or Wednesday 11 May): The Book of the Dead

Week 3: (Sunday 15 May or Wednesday 18 May): The Amduat and the Book of Gates

Week 4: (Sunday 22 May or Wednesday 25 May): The Book of Caverns and the Book of the Earth

Week 5: (Sunday 29 May or Wednesday 01 June): The Litany of Re and the Books of the Sky

Cost

This course costs £40, with fees going directly to supporting the Egypt Centre. Additionally, participants have the option of adding an extra donation if they wish. Donations, of course, are greatly appreciated! Tickets can be purchased via the following link. Once you have booked, you will automatically receive a confirmation email from Eventbrite. If you haven’t received anything within 24 hours, please contact me at k.griffin@swansea.ac.uk

Readers to this post may also be interested in a virtual tour of the Egypt Centre and storeroom that I’ll be leading on the 28 April. In this virtual session, I’ll give an overview of the highlights of the two galleries, the House of Death and the House of Life, as well as a look behind the scenes at some of the treasures still in storage (fig 2). I’m happy to take requests for specific objects people are interested in viewing, so please check out the Egypt Centre’s online catalogue https://egyptcentre.abasetcollections.com/to prepare!

Fig. 2: Virtual tour poster

The tour will be moderated by Birmingham Egyptology, a society that brings current postgraduates together with alumni, other students and academics associated with the University of Birmingham, and members of the public to work on a variety of projects. Further details can be found at https://more.bham.ac.uk/birminghamegyptology

This event is free of charge, but donations to the Egypt Centre can be made while booking your ticket. Alternatively, you can use the Egypt Centre's donation page (https://www.egypt.swan.ac.uk/donate-to-the-egypt-centre/), where you can add an additional 25% through Gift Aid if you are a UK taxpayer. All donations are greatly appreciated and will also be used for purchasing a new display case!