There is great variation in the decoration of Egyptian sarcophagi. Some display little more than the names of the occupants and their parents; but others are lavishly covered with hieroglyphs and images. Six examples with moderate-to-long inscriptions are shown here.
[A] { Dienefer }
Text: Cairo JE 46056 ( GEM 3262 ) [ TM 90698 ]
Provenance: Asyut/Lykopolis
Date: Ptolemaic Period
Translated by: S. Baumann ( academia.edu )
Words to be spoken by Osiris of Dienefer, justified, born of Scherit-Bastet, justified: "Rê, he goes to his mother, after he has traversed the west as Atum. He spreads out over those who are there being upside down, after his rays of light extinguished the darkness in the west. He appears in the vicinity of the westerners, after he woke up those who raise their heads with his rays. He calls upon those who are in their caverns after he made stand the sleepers who were on their sides. He lifts up your forehead to praise his ba. He stretches out your back to exalt his forms. He removes the darkness opposite your tomb. He unites your ba with the worthy ones {= the blessed dead}. Your corpse lasts in the beautiful west, as he is received under the praised ones. The creator of the land and the sky is above you. The sand above your tomb will not be removed for evermore, Osiris of Dienefer, justified, born of Scherit-Bastet, justified, glorified spirit in heaven under Rê, the mighty one on earth under Geb. You travel downstream to Busiris as the living ba, you travel upstream to Abydos as phoenix. Your name shall be called upon in the presence of Onnophris on the day of the feast of Sokar. "
[B] { Pawerdiu }
Text: Cairo JE 43617 [ TM 48429 ]
Provenance: Qâw el-Kebîr/Antaiopolis
Date: (?) 3rd century B.C.
Translated by: J. Tattko ( academia.edu )
{ The central inscription }
The revered one by the two lords, the noble one in his nome, who is great in his form, the lord of food with abundant provisions with lots of children both male and female, at the opening of their hours. A perfect burial after becoming old for Osiris of the ḳmȝ-Mwt priest, who embraces the flame, priest of Horus-maati, priest of Horus the Staff, priest of Isis, the perfect one, priest of Osiris in the 10th Upper Egyptian nome, priest of Sobek, lord of the 10th Upper Egyptian nome { Wadjet }, scribe of the two lords, assigned to the 4th phyle, scribe of the king who counts all things, the priest Pawerdiu, justified, born of the mistress of the house Nehemetauai.
{ Formula concerning the Four Sons of Horus }
Yours are those four gods, the children of Horus who Horus installed as the protection of his father. They are behind you, they bring to you all good things in justification, they strike your enemies for you.
{ The inscription on the base }
A royal offering of Osiris who presides over the mekes-scepter, the great god in the 10th Upper Egyptian nome, the excellent ba, the lord of the shetit, the lord of the nomes and ruler of the temples, the king of eternity who rules forever, the great sovereign in the realm of the dead, may he give an invocation offering of bread and beer cattle and fowl, wine and milk, for Osiris of the priest Pawerdiu, justified.
A royal offering of Osiris-Khentimenti, the great one, the lord of Abydos, may he give a perfect burial with oil(?) and ointment?), linen and cloth, incense and cool water, for the ka of Osiris of the priest Pawerdiu, justified, son of the priest Horudja, justified, born of the mistress of the house, Nehemetauai, justified, forever and in all eternity.
A royal offering of Osiris the great god, the lord of Busiris, king of the heaven, prince in the Two Lands, the great sovereign in the necropolis, the great god on the high mountain in the 10th Upper Egyptian nome { Wadjet }, may he unite the ba of Osiris of the priest Pawerdiu, justified, with his body and his mummy and his statue, may he rejoice when he comes every day without being far.
[C] { Tabaiti }
Text: Cairo TR 20/1/21 ( GEM 45817 ) [ TM 90765 ]
Provenance: Saqqara
Date: 370-350 B.C.
Translated by: S. Baumann ( academia.edu )
{ The central inscription: Right Side }
Words to be spoken by Osiris of Tabaiti, born to Tanetkemet, justified: "O the one who fetches, O runner within his hall, great god! May you cause my ba to come to me from any place where it is. If there is a delay in bringing my ba to me from any place where it is, you will find the eye of Horus opposed to you like those watchmen, who do not sleep in Heliopolis, the land with thousands of harbours within it, so that they seize for Her ib-heart belongs to her in the house of the ib-hearts, her ḥȝty-heart belongs to her in the house of the ḥȝty-hearts. Her heart belongs to her. She is content with it. Certainly, she did not eat sand on the eastern side of the gȝyt-region in the ḫwḫt-barque traveling northwards and southwards. The ba of the Osiris of Tabaiti, justified, does not travel northwards in the ḫwḫt-barque you are in. Her mouth belongs to her so that she speaks with it. She is in heaven giving orders for herself in Memphis. One does not keep away her ba from her corpse at the gates of the west, forever.
{ Left Side }
Words to be spoken by the Osiris of Tabaiti, born to Tanetkemet, justified: "Greetings to you, who is in the western district! I know you. I know your name. You may rescue me from the those snakes who are in Rosetau and who live from the bodies of humankind and who sip from their blood because I know them, I know their names."
First command of Osiris, the lord of all: " May her seat be concealed in the dark, the one to whom has been given effectiveness in Rosetau. "
The lord of darkness, who tastes maggots in the west, whose voice is heard though he is not seen, the great one in Busiris, of whom the feeble are afraid. She may come forth with a message from the god's place of slaughter. She came with a report for the lord of all: Horus, he has taken his throne. Praise is given to him.
Lord of protection within the barque, lord of fear within the netherworld. She is Horus. She comes with a message. Let her enter and tell what she saw in Heliopolis! The elders rise for her, they make her greater, the scribes on their mats. The heads, she attaches the heads that made Heliopolis festive for her.
She has seized the sky as her heritage and the earth as her bag. Sky and earth are not taken from her. Since she is Rê, the greatest of the gods, Iah, the great one on the new-crescent feast, the high one in the sky on the festival of the new moon. Her divine images are released from her. Her worms are driven away, since the west is prosperous, the horizon in which he traveled around. She suckled her mother, the one who set herself as her nurse, the one who is in the horizon.
To be said to Thoth after she settled down in the tomb, which is content with its lord Osiris. Horus, he says to Thoth, the reckoner. "Bring the ba to the Osiris of Tabaiti, justified, while disembarking and embarking in the barque of Rê.
Her corpse may last in the netherworld."
{ Horizontal line }
The Osiris of Tabaiti, born to Tanetkemet, justified.
[D] { Tjaihorpata }
Tjaihorpata was an important official ( see AET_4.39 ), and his sarcophagus is covered with an enormous number of inscriptions. Four extracts are shown here, taken from the complete translation by Colleen Manassa.
{ Dedicatory Text }
Regnal year 15, month 3 of Akhet under the Majesty of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, son of Rê, Nectanebo, beloved of Onuris, son of Rê, living forever! The copying of the "Book of the Hidden Chamber" by the commander in Khent-en-Tjaru, kheper-priest of the eastern Horus nome, wer-tjehenu-priest of the western Horus nome, scribe of the god, Horentabat, possessor of reverence, in order to protect the Osiris, count, overseer of Upper Egypt, chief of the banks, overseer of fields, Tjaihorpata possessor of reverence, so that his corpse might become divine in the necropolis, so that he might make any manifestation which he desires forever and ever!
The mysterious caverns of the West, over which this great god passes, in his barque during his haulings by the Underworldly gods. The Osiris, prince, count, priest of Hathor of Warekh-inundation, priest of Min within (?) Pashuty, priest of Amun-Re, lord of the Delta, the economic minister Tjaihorpata, possessor of reverence, son of Ankhhapi, justified, shall pass over them. This is done according to this template in the hidden chamber of the Underworld, in order to learn them by their names. His feet shall not be repulsed from the mysterious portals.
{ On the lid, from Book of the Dead, § 89 }
Recitation by the Osiris, hereditary prince, count, priest, and economic minister
Tiaihorpata, justified, son of Ankhhep, justified, born of Tefnut, justified: "O one who fetches! O runner within his shrine, the great god! May you cause that my ba come to me in any place where it is. If my ba delays in coming to me from any place where it is, you will find the eye of Horus opposed to you like that one { Seth }. O wakeful one, one shall not sleep in Heliopolis, nor land with thousands of harbours within it, until my ba brings me my akh, together with me in any place where it is. Care for my ba, heavenly ones! If what you do is delayed, namely the ba seeing the corpse, then you will find the eye of Horus opposed to you like that one. O gods who haul the primordial barque, who bring heaven to the Underworld, who make distant the Nethersky, who cause bas to draw near to the mummies, whose arms are full bearing the towrope, whose fists bear spears; may you repel the enemy, so that the barque rejoices, and the great god proceeds in peace. Meanwhile, may you place my ba underneath your hind-parts in the eastern horizon of heaven, so that his ba might return to every place in which he was yesterday, in great peace before the West! May he see his corpse and rest upon his mummy, without destruction, damage, or annihilation against his body forever!"
{ Speech of the goddess Nut, on the underside of the lid }
Words spoken by Nut : "I am your mother; I am embracing your perfection As your protection do I exist, Osiris-... . I shall never be far from you. I exist as one who embraces your upper parts, making your limbs sound each day. Just as you shall appear therein with Rê, so shall you rest therein with Atum, with the result that the gods of the firmament follow you. You shall exist, living as a god, without enemies, without being turned away from any place which you desire, forever!"
{ The Hours of Day and Night, on the underside of the lid }
These gods are in this fashion. It is as disks that their heads exist, they being at the upper part of the lower Underworld. This great god passes by in his {solar} disk, so that he might enter the land of his mother as the United Ba, after he perambulates the mysterious doorways. This great god is lifted up upon the arms of those within the portals. The night barque and the day barque traverse Nut in his wake, as they sail with the crew of the divine barque. The seven gods who are in them render praise to his sun-disk, so that he might traverse the eastern horizon of heaven.
They are the hours of the night and the hours of the day in the sky and in the Underworld, beneath the gods, without the dead {the damned} rising up to overtake them and the hours within them. The god goes forth as ba and shade, he is powerful and awesome in the womb of Nut, as the bas and the shades receive him. Heaven approaches the Underworld. O great and majestic gods, may they receive Osiris-... into heaven like Rê. May you cause him to ascend from the Underworld like one of these hours!
[E] { Ankhet }
{ Under a depiction of the winged ba }
Words spoken by Osiris of Ankhet, born to Smithis, justified: "O you those bas, oh you gods who cut the shadows, lords, who are at the head of the living, come and bring the ba of Osiris of Ankhet, born of Smithis, justified, to him, so that his ba may join his body and his heart, may his ba be alive for his body and his heart, so that his ba may provide his body and his heart, bring them for him, you gods in the the House of the Phoenix at Heliopolis to the side of Shu, the son of Atum ! His heart belongs to him like Rê, his heart belongs to him like Khepri. Purity, purity for your body and for your ba, for your corpse, for your shadow and for your mummy, Osiris of Ankhet, born of Smithis, justified."
{ Under a depiction of the four winds }
Recitation: "O Osiris of Ankhet, justified you have raised your face, so that you may behold the circumference of the heaven, so that you may see the four cardinal points of the earth, your nose may breathe the breeze of life every day."
{ Protective Spell }
Recitation: "O Osiris of Ankhet, justified, daughter of the priest, the commander of the army and the mayor of Busiris, Onnophris, justified, born to Smithis, justified, may you be alive, twice, may you be renewed, twice, may you be young twice, without any evil in any place where you are, you will go forth by day and unite with the sun-rays, the god will rest at the place where you are, you will enter to the god without being repelled, you will ascend and descend without your legs being repelled, the doors of the Duat will be opened for you in the realm of the dead, the doors of the hidden land will be opened for you, the door-keepers will place for you their arms on top of their legs, they rejoice here when you come near, you will enter in praise, Osiris of Ankhet, justified, the love for you is with the one you will come to, they receive you in adoration twice, the one is you while uniting with him, they say to you, Osiris of Ankhet, justified, and their hearts are satisfied with you, may you enter in praise, may you go forth in love, he appoints you at the head of them, you will be merciful to him and you may eat from his offerings, what he gives protects you from your evil, hail to you, the excellent ones praise you, and the dead in the necropolis will will follow you, Osiris of Ankhet, justified, those who are in the netherworld come to you in praise, because they recognise their lord in you, the one who sees will see with the head of the god, Osiris of Ankhet, justified, will see with the head of the god, you will give orders for the ones with secret places, and they rejoice because of you, you will not be far from the whereabouts of the god."
[F] { Djedher }
{ Protection Formula }
Words to be spoken by Isis: "O Osiris of the god's servant of Thoth (?), Djedher, born of Wadjetiuti, justified, I am your sister, I protect your body, [I] make divine your bones, I make your heart for you endure in your body, I make your limbs whole, I let your ba look at your corpse. Khentimenti is the protection of your head; the djed-pillar is the protection behind you. The rays of the sun disc have emerged on your tomb, while you are a god, who lives, daily."
Words to be spoken by Nephthys: "O Osiris of the god's servant of Thoth (?), Djedher, born of Wadjetiuti, justified. I am your sister, I protect your body, I make divine your bones, I make your heart for you endure in your body, I make your limbs whole, and I let your ba look at your corpse. Khentimenti is the protection of your head; the djed-pillar is the protection behind you. The sun-ray are established on your tomb, while you [are] a god, who lives in the Duat, forever."
{ Titles }
Words to be spoken by the Osiris of the servant of the burial, servant of the funeral, god's servant of Amun, the great, priest 'who appears', priest 'who is/makes (?) sacred', priest of (?) 'the divine limbs', scribe of the nome of the House of Osiris { Busiris }, scribe of the army of the nome of Ṯb-nṯr, scribe of the district administrator/cultivated land(?) of Ṯb-nṯr, scribe of the place of the writing, god's servant of Isis of the room of Ỉirt, god's servant of the gods, who do not have a god's servant in the temple of the room of Ỉirt, god's servant of Hathor, the mistress of the House of the Cows, god's servant of Onuris, the lord of the House of the Prince, god's servant of Hathor of Hebit, who is in Nṯry, royal scribe, High Priest of his town, Djedher, justified, son of the god's servant of Thoth (?), Wahibra-Meryneith, justified, born of Wadjetiiti, justified:
{ Spell from Book of the Dead, § 89 }
"O one who fetches! O one who runs in his hall, great god! May you cause that my ba comes to me from any place where he is. If bringing my ba to me from any place where he is is delayed, then you will find the eye of Horus standing against you accordingly. O those who are awake! The sleeping ones shall not sleep in Heliopolis, the land of the thousands of harbours within it, to seize my ba for me, and my akh shall be together with me in every place where he is. Care for the one, which belongs to heaven as my ba! If your letting me see my ba on my corpse is delayed, your will find the eye of Horus standing against you accordingly. O gods, who haul the barque of the millions, who bring the upper sky to the Duat, who make distant the lower sky, who let the bas approach the mummies. Your hands are filled with your towrope that you have grasped, your fists hold your spears, so that you repel the enemies, so that the barque jubilees and the great [god] pro[ceeds] in peace. Now, you may let my ba come out underneath your hindparts in the eastern horizon of heaven, to follow to the place in which he was yesterday, in great peace in the west. He may see his corpse; he may rest upon his mummy without his decay, without his annihilation of the body, forever."
{ Spell from Book of the Dead, § 191 }
Words to be spoken: "O you who take the bas away, you who come and who cut the shadows, O all you gods at the top of the living {men}! You may bring the ba of Osiris of the god's servant, royal scribe, Djedher, born of Wadjetiuti, justified. May his body unite with him with joy! May his ba come to his body and his heart, may his ba join his body and his heart, may his ba be provided with his body and his heart. May the gods bring them to him in the House of the Phoenix in Heliopolis, side by side with Shu, the son of Atum. The heart of Osiris belongs to him like that of Rê, his face belongs to him like that of Khepri. Pure, pure for your ka, for your body, for your ba, for your shadow, the Osiris of the god's servant, this Djedher, justified."
{ Pyramid Text spell 369 }
Words to be spoken: "O Osiris of the servant of the burial, servant of the funeral, god's servant of Amun, the great, priest 'who appears', priest 'who is/makes (?) sacred', priest of(?) 'the divine limbs', scribe of the region of the House of Osiris { Busiris }, scribe of the army of the nome of Ṯb-nṯr, scribe of the district administrator / cultivated land (?) of Ṯb-nṯr, scribe of the place of the writing, god's servant of Isis of the room of Ỉirt, god's servant of Hathor, the mistress of the House of the Cows, god's servant of Onuris, who is in the House of the Prince of the temple of Hebit, god's servant of Hathor of Hebit, who is in Nṯry, Djedher, justified, born of Wadjetiuti, justified, Horus has caused you to stand, Geb caused Horus to see his father Osiris in you in your name of the sovereign. Horus has installed all gods so that they enlighten for you your face. Horus has given for you your two eyes, so that you can see with them. Horus has given for you your enemies under you, he has raised you, so that you are not loosened from him. You have come, so that the gods fasten for you your face. Horus has opened for you your eyes so that Attalus' home page
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Any comments?
Text: Cairo, CG 29306 [ TM 109516 ]
Provenance: Saqqara
Date: 346 B.C.
Translated by: C. Manassa ( academia.edu , pp. 283, 376, 395, 400 )
Text: Cairo JE 4739
Provenance: Saqqara
Date: (?) 2nd century B.C.
Translated by: A. Abdelrahman & J. Tattko ( academia.edu )
Text: Cairo JE 17432 ( GEM 2756 ) [ TM 48581 ]
Provenance: (?) Saqqara
Date: (?) 2nd century B.C.
Translated by: V. Altmann-Wendling ( academia.edu )