Ahatmose Wrote:
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> Hi Byrd thanks for that clarification, however,
> why for goodness sake would they print that
> picture at the beginning of the article explaining
> what was found if it was not really what the
> article was about ?

It's an image from a Book of the Dead. Since they didn't have official photos to illustrate the article with, they went with an "here's a copyright free image to show you what these look like."

>
> However I went searching for the image on Google
> and found many interesting variations. Especially
> intriguing were the two rows of 21 crouching
> "Gods" (I believe.) What would be the best place
> to look for a description of what is actually in
> the scene and a translation of the hieroglyphics
>

The "Book" isn't actually a real book. It's a collection of prayers and rituals and every "Book" differs from all the other "Books" -- it appears that each manuscript was created for unique individuals and so the texts vary as do the images (slightly, mind you, but they vary). Sometimes the variants are minor; sometimes they're major.

The best studied is the Book of Ani... I'd start with that one. It'll give you an idea of what's in each scene and the overall composition and concept of the books. But at an individual level, look for translations of that specific papyrus.

-- Byrd
Moderator, Hall of Ma'at