Book of Caverns
An ancient Egyptian netherworld book depicting the sun god's passage over six caverns of the underworld. No author is recorded in the tradition.
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- Original byline
- Anonymous
- Published
- Date not recorded
- Form
- Other works
- Authorship
- Still unknown
- Reason for anonymity
- Unrecorded
- Copyright
- Public domain
- Reference
- Wikipedia · Wikidata
The authorship story
The Book of Caverns is a New Kingdom funerary composition that divides the underworld into six caverns through which the sun god passes, confronting the enemies of order and promising annihilation to the damned. It appears in royal tombs of the Ramesside period. As with all Egyptian funerary literature, it carries no author's name. These texts were institutional and cumulative, composed and revised by priesthoods over centuries, and the culture recorded no individual creator.
Questions readers ask
Who wrote Book of Caverns?
Nobody knows. No author for Book of Caverns has been identified in the documented record.
Can I read Book of Caverns for free?
Yes. Book of Caverns is in the public domain and the full text is free to read at the Internet Archive.
Related works
- Still unknown
Amduat
An ancient Egyptian netherworld book describing the sun god's journey through the twelve hours of night. Like all Egyptian funerary literature, it names no author.
- Still unknown
Book of the Dead
The ancient Egyptian collection of funerary spells guiding the dead through the afterlife. Tradition associates such texts with the god Thoth; no historical author exists in the record.
- Still unknown
Book of the Earth
An ancient Egyptian funerary composition showing the sun's night journey through the earth god Aker. Anonymous, like all Egyptian netherworld books.
- Still unknown
Book of the Heavens
A group of New Kingdom compositions charting the sun's passage across the sky and through the body of the sky goddess Nut. No author is recorded.