The long history of Egyptian afterlife writings began during the 3rd millennium BC, when the body of compositions known as the Pyramid Texts were carved onto the walls and coffins of the pyramids of Old Kingdom rulers at Saqqara, the necropolis of the ancient capital of Memphis. The function of the writings was to ensure that the ‘spiritual’ components of the deceased—the Ba and the Ka—were reunited after separating upon the death of the material body. The unification of these spiritual elements caused the deceased to be reborn as an Akh, which may be described as a transcendent, celestial being. As summarily explained by James Allen (2005:7): “At death, the ka separated from the body. In order for an individual
