Hieroglyphic Funerary Texts

Egyptian hieroglyphs were the writing system used in Ancient Egypt. "Hieroglyph" is the Greek translation of "divine words". These floor-to-ceiling hieroglyphic inscriptions are composed entirely of a total of 283 spells. The purpose of these spells (also known as utterances) is to protect the king in his afterlife and ensure a successful journey out of the underworld. Passages ranged from simple texts praising the king to stories of the godly king interacting with other deities. 

Unas was the last king of the Fifth Dynasty (2341-2311 BC). He was the first to add inscriptions to the walls of his burial chamber, with these writings being the oldest surviving religious Egyptian texts. Sixth Dynasty Successors added these utterances to their burial chambers and created new ones; the total number of these spells today is over 759.