The Tomb and Beyond

The tombs, with their scenes, inscriptions, objects and human remains, represent our richest source of information for the understanding of Egyptian beliefs and practices, art and architecture and of many aspects of daily life. Detailed, scholarly reports on individual cemeteries and tombs are abundant but in this fully illustrated, more general work Kanawati, reproduced in this facsimile edition, provides an invaluable introduction to, and overview of, the key elements of Egyptian tombs from Predynastic to the Late Period. The Egyptian dead enjoyed a continued existence in both the Netherworld and the land of the living - the individual possessing multiple entities which experienced different destinies after death. The tomb provided an everlasting earthly dwelling and consisted of a chapel above ground where the deceased's cult was maintained and offerings presented, and a burial chamber for the body. Either or both could be richly decorated with paintings, reliefs and inscriptions. Kanawati describes and illustrates the principal forms and features of architecture and nature and subject matter of decoration and demonstrates how tomb design and decoration changed through time.