In 1889, Andrew Dickson White's extensive travels found him in Cairo, where he purchased an 8-foot-long papyrus scroll found in an ancient tomb. A museum conservator told White it was Spell 125 from the "Book of the Dead," a traditional Egyptian funeral text. It quotes parts of the "Book of the Dead," but, as far as scholars know, it is an original text from the Ptolemaic period and dates to around 330-320 B.C. The papyrus belonged to a Ptolemaic priest named Usir-Wer, and it describes what will happen to his body and soul (or "ba") after death. Read more