Death at the Pyramids. The Egyptian Funeral Rite in the Epoch of the Old Kingdom

This book is dedicated to the ancient Egyptian funeral rite of the mid to late 3rd millennium BC, the period of the first flourishing of the Egyptian state and the construction of the Great Pyramids. Based on archaeological, visual, and written sources obtained during the study of capital and provincial necropolises, including the work of the Russian archaeological expedition of the IVM RAS in Giza, the features and evolution of the funeral rite of the nobility, middle, and lower classes of Egyptian society are examined, as well as the rituals performed in the necropolises at various stages of funeral practices. The monuments studied allow us to delve into the worldview of the ancient Egyptians, revealing their views on life and death, as well as tracing the genesis of new trends in funeral culture, such as mummification, which later became one of the distinctive features of ancient Egyptian civilization. The book is intended both for specialists in ancient history and archaeology and for a wide range of readers interested in the history and archaeology of Ancient Egypt.