The Book of the Dead (Egyptian: 𓂋𓏤𓈒 𓏌𓏤 𓉐𓂋 𓏏𓂻 𓅓 𓉔𓂋 𓅱 𓇳𓏤 rw nw prt m hrw; Arabic: كتاب الموتى‎ Kitab al-Mawtaa) is an ancient Egyptian funerary text generally written on papyrus and used from the beginning of the New Kingdom (around 1550 BCE) to around 50 BCE.