Funerary Customs Much of our knowledge about ancient Egyptian culture comes from archaeological evidence uncovered in tombs. Objects, inscriptions, and paintings from tombs have led Egyptologists to conclude that what appeared to be a preoccupation with death was in actuality an overwhelming desire to secure and perpetuate in the afterlife the "good life" enjoyed on earth. Over the more than three thousand years of ancient Egypt's history, traditional beliefs about the transition to eternal life …showed first 75 words of 351 total…

…showed last 75 words of 351 total…were written in the papyrus or linen "Book of the Dead." All ancient Egyptians believed in the afterlife and spent their lives preparing for it. Pharaohs built the finest , collected the most elaborate funerary equipment, and were mummified in the most expensive way. Others were able to provide for their afterlives according to their earthly means. Regardless of their wealth, however, they all expected the afterlife to be an idealized version of their earthly existence.