Besides the spells of the The Book of the Dead, New Kingdom kings had their tombs painted with long illustrated guides to the night journey of the sun through the The Duat and the Sun's Night Journey. Scholars call them the books of the underworld.
Key idea
New Kingdom royal tombs show the sun’s night journey hour by hour, in books like the Amduat, "What Is in the Underworld". They are not the Book of the Dead.
| Book | Where it first appears | How it divides the night |
|---|---|---|
| Amduat | royal tombs of the early 18th Dynasty; complete in Thutmose III’s tomb | twelve hours |
| Book of Gates | the tomb of Horemheb | twelve hours, each ending at a gate |
| Book of Caverns | the Ramesside period | caverns of the underworld |
Why it works
The king hoped to share the sun’s cycle: to enter the Duat at evening, travel through its twelve hours, unite with Osiris in the deepest hour and rise at dawn. Painting the whole journey on his tomb walls gave him a map and made the journey happen for him, night after night. The Amduat names the gods, the dangers and the dead in each hour, so the one who knows it can pass.
In the tomb of Thutmose III (KV34), the Amduat runs around the oval burial chamber in simple line drawings, as if a giant papyrus had been unrolled on the walls. After the New Kingdom, private people could own copies on papyrus too.
Worked example: Telling them apart
A tomb wall in the Valley of the Kings shows the sun’s boat moving through twelve sections of the night. Is it the Book of the Dead?
- A journey of the sun through twelve hours describes the Amduat (or the Book of Gates).
- It is on a royal tomb wall.
- The Book of the Dead is spells on papyrus for many people.
Answer: No: it is an underworld book such as the Amduat.
Worked example: Reading the name
What does "Amduat" tell you about the book?
- Amduat comes from jmj-dwꜣt, "what is in the Duat".
- It describes the underworld and its beings.
- So it is a guide to the Duat.
Answer: It is a guide to what is in the underworld.
Common mistake
Confusing the Amduat (royal tombs, the sun’s journey) with the Book of the Dead (papyri for many people, spells for the dead person’s own needs). Quick check: ask whose journey it describes, the sun’s or the owner’s.