This catalogue of papyri in the British Museum is devoted to a group of late hieratic funerary texts from Thebes known as Books of Breathing. Varying in length and content, they date from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. The classic versions of the First and Second Books of Breathing and the Book of Breathing made by lsis tor her brother Osiris have been supplemented by a number of similar papyri containing otherwise rare or unknown texts, as well as several short versions of the Book of Traversing Eternity.
Most of the fifty or so papyri featured are here published for the first time. The catalogue comprises an introduction to the texts, followed by translations and commentaries, and includes detailed indices. Each papyrus is fully illustrated with photographs and hieroglyphic transcriptions.
This publication makes an exceptional group of papyri available to readers. Including all the Books of Breathing in the British Museum collection within a single volume will also facilitate the study and comparison of similar documents in other museums around the world. With 156 plates.