Long before the Coffin Texts and the Book of the Dead, Egyptian priests and scribes were writing down what they believed happened to a king after death. They carved it directly into stone, in the burial chambers of royal pyramids at Saqqara, in columns of hieroglyphs that have survived for roughly 4,300 years. We call this body of writing the Pyramid Texts.
They are often called the oldest religious literature in the world, but the claim needs care. They are the earliest large, well-preserved corpus of Egyptian religious texts, and the earliest extensive funerary literature. Some Sumerian temple hymns and other Mesopotamian writings are of comparable age, so "oldest" depends on how religious literature is defined. Either way, they are among the earliest religious writings humanity has left, and nothing comparable survives from the same period in Egypt.
What are the Pyramid Texts?
They are not a single book. They are a collection of individual spells, usually called utterances, composed in Old Egyptian and carved on the walls of pyramid chambers and corridors. In the standard edition by Kurt Sethe, later expanded, about 759 utterances are known, but no single pyramid carries them all. Unas's pyramid, the earliest inscribed, has roughly 230 by most counts; the pyramid of Pepi II has the largest set.
They were reserved for the king, and sometimes for queens in later pyramids. Unlike the Coffin Texts and Book of the Dead, the Pyramid Texts were never illustrated, and they were written for a person in a sealed chamber that few living people would see again. Their use began in the late Fifth Dynasty and continued through the Sixth Dynasty and into the short Eighth Dynasty, after which royal pyramid-building largely declined.
What do the Pyramid Texts say?
The spells share one purpose: to protect the dead king, affirm his divine status, overcome the dangers of the afterlife, and secure his rebirth among the gods. At its center is the king's reunion with the sun god Ra and his place among the circumpolar stars, which the Egyptians called the Imperishable Ones because they never set. Several spells describe him ascending by a ladder or stairway, being ferried by a divine boatman, or carried on a falcon's wing; others ward off snakes and a second death.
Some are strikingly direct. In the translation of R. O. Faulkner (1969), Utterance 267 promises that "a stairway to heaven shall be laid down for him". The so-called Cannibal Hymn, Utterances 273-274, preserved in the pyramids of Unas and Teti, describes the king as "the bull of heaven, who (once) suffered want" and then devours the gods to take on their power. Such spells make the corpus read less like a prayer book and more like an instruction manual for a perilous journey.
See the Pyramid Texts at Saqqara
Photographs of hieroglyphs are everywhere, but the chambers where the Pyramid Texts were carved are another matter. These Egypt Sun Travel tours take you to Saqqara with a licensed Egyptologist; interior access varies by day, so ask us to check before you go.
Who discovered the Pyramid Texts?
For decades, Egyptologists assumed pyramid interiors were left bare. Auguste Mariette, the leading figure of French Egyptology in Egypt, is quoted as saying that in thirty years of excavation he had never seen a pyramid whose underground rooms carried hieroglyphs; the anecdote is often told as a deathbed remark, though accounts differ, and he died in January 1881, around the time the first inscribed chambers were being opened. His successor Gaston Maspero began work at Saqqara in 1880, and during 1880-1881 his team opened the pyramids of Pepi I, Merenre, Unas, Teti and Pepi II and recognized the inscriptions in each. Accounts of the exact order differ slightly.
The Pyramid of Unas, opened in 1881, was the first to show the corpus in such clear and well-preserved form: columns of sunken hieroglyphs painted blue-green against pale limestone, under a ceiling of stars. Maspero began publishing translations in 1882, and the name Pyramid Texts, taken from where the writing was found, has stuck since.
Pyramid Texts vs Coffin Texts vs Book of the Dead: what is the difference?
The three are related stages of one tradition. The Pyramid Texts (Old Kingdom, about 2350-2150 BCE) were royal, carved on pyramid walls, unillustrated, and roughly 759 spells in total. After the Old Kingdom collapsed, provincial governors and wealthy officials adapted large parts of this royal corpus and wrote it on wooden coffins. These Coffin Texts (First Intermediate Period and Middle Kingdom, from about 2100 BCE) run to over a thousand spells and added new material, including early guides to the geography of the underworld.
The Book of the Dead, more accurately the "Book of Coming Forth by Day", appeared from the New Kingdom, about eight centuries after Unas, on papyrus scrolls placed with the mummy. It reworked material from both earlier collections into roughly two hundred chapters, illustrated with vignettes, and was available to anyone who could afford a copy. In short: the Pyramid Texts were for the king alone, the Coffin Texts reached the elite, and the Book of the Dead reached many Egyptians who could pay.
Why do the Pyramid Texts still matter?
They are the earliest moment at which a civilization's beliefs about death, divinity and the cosmos were written down on this scale in a form that survives largely as composed. Earlier societies certainly held beliefs about the afterlife, but none left an extensive, coherent and well-preserved record in its original setting. They let modern readers meet Old Kingdom theology in something close to its own words.
They also change how Saqqara reads. The Step Pyramid of Djoser, built about three centuries before Unas, marks the architectural beginning of pyramid building. The Great Pyramid at Giza, about two centuries before Unas, has no inscriptions inside; the Pyramid Texts show the moment when the pyramid also became the carrier of a written theology of resurrection.
Where can you see the Pyramid Texts?
The most accessible set is in the burial chamber of the Pyramid of Unas at Saqqara, which our monument guide covers in detail, including the ticket, causeway and the narrow, steep descent. Access to the chamber has at times been restricted for conservation, so confirm on the day. Texts survive in other Saqqara pyramids too, and the chambers of Teti's pyramid have sometimes been open, but they are more fragmentary or harder to visit; check locally. Use the Saqqara necropolis guide to plan a wider day.
The utterances are written in compressed classical Egyptian and refer to myths never explained outright, because the intended audience, the gods and the dead king, already knew them. A guide or a printed translation, such as Faulkner's, turns the walls from decoration into a text you can read.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Pyramid Texts?
They are collections of spells carved inside royal pyramids at Saqqara from about 2350 BCE. They protect the dead king and help him ascend to the sky and join the gods. They were reserved for kings and, later, some queens.
Are the Pyramid Texts the oldest religious texts in the world?
They are the earliest large corpus of Egyptian religious texts and the earliest extensive funerary writing known, but some Sumerian temple hymns are of comparable age. Whether they are the oldest overall depends on how religious literature is defined.
Where can you see the Pyramid Texts?
Mainly in the burial chamber of the Pyramid of Unas at Saqqara, reached by a narrow, steep passage. Access has sometimes been restricted, so check on the day; chambers in other Saqqara pyramids may be harder to visit. The Giza pyramids have no inscribed chambers.
Who found the Pyramid Texts?
Gaston Maspero's team at Saqqara in 1880-1881, opening the pyramids of Pepi I, Merenre, Unas, Teti and Pepi II. Maspero began publishing them in 1882.
What is the difference between the Pyramid Texts, the Coffin Texts and the Book of the Dead?
The Pyramid Texts were royal spells on pyramid walls (Old Kingdom). The Coffin Texts, from the Middle Kingdom, were adapted for officials on wooden coffins. The Book of the Dead, from the New Kingdom, was written on papyrus for any Egyptian who could afford it.
Can you read the Pyramid Texts in English?
Yes. R. O. Faulkner's translation, The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts (1969), is the standard English version. Online editions also provide translations of the Unas texts.
