Rare fragments from the Book of the Dead belonging to ancient Egyptian chief architect Amenhotep have been discovered after one of the scraps was found on exhibition at Queensland Museum in Australia, Nevine El-Aref reports oincidence often plays a major role in the discovery of archaeological sites, tombs and genuine objects that were buried for millennia in the sand. This time the discovery was made at the Queensland Museum in Brisbane, Australia, when British Egyptologist John Taylor stumbled upon some fragments of the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead that belonged to top architect Amenhotep, son of Hapu, who held several titles and positions during the reign of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. He was a priest, a scribe and public official, and he led the construction of the Great Temple of Amun-Re at the Karnak temple complex on Luxor's east bank and the mortuary temple of Pharaoh Amenhotep on the west bank. The colossi of Memnon are the only remaining features of this temple. The discovery was made accidentally, when Taylor found a shred of papyrus bearing the hieroglyphs of Amenhotep on display at the new mummies exhibition at the Queensland Museum in Australia. Early examination of this fragment reveals that the scrap is the missing part of a larger papyrus of Amenhotep's Book of the Dead, for which Egyptologists have been searching for more than 100 years. Several parts of this priceless papyrus are on display in several museums around the world. They have been found in the collection of the British Museum in London, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Meanwhile, the other parts were still missing, and this has stood as an obstacle to rejoining all the pieces together and forming a complete version of the book. Anxious about the discovery, Taylor asked the Queensland Museum if it had more similar fragments in storage. This opened something of a Pandora's box. A search was made, and altogether 100 fragments were found in the museum's store. "It is a very important discovery," Taylor told France 25 TV. "This is not the papyrus of just anybody, it is one of the top officials at Egypt's peak and most flourishing era. It is a once-in-a-lifetime find." He went on to say that Amenhotep's Book of the Dead had several unusual features only found in four or five other papyri. It includes borders depicting five stars and sun disks at the top and bottom, as well as a large inscription written in one line on the back of the papyrus that indicates a person of importance, a top rank and wealth. The Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian manuscript written on papyrus, sometimes up to 20 metres in length, of magical spells that were commissioned by families upon the death of their loved ones to guide them on their hazardous journey into the afterlife. In a press statement Ros Bates, minister for science, information technology, innovation and the arts, said that the fragments came into the possession of the Queensland Museum in 1913 when an Australian citizen offered them to the museum from his private collection. She stressed that the sections in the Queensland Museum had been donated and had been in the care of the museum for more than 100 years. "It is so gratifying to find that it is our own Queensland Museum team that have been the guardians of this tomb secret, preserving such incredibly fragile and rare artefacts for over a century," Bates said in the statement. She said that once Taylor returned to London, he would like to start trying to piece the Queensland Museum fragments into the British Museum's manuscript electronically. "Reuniting manuscripts like this is incredibly important and meticulous work and we hope by piecing together the fragments we will be able to see what mysteries they reveal," Taylor said in the release. "Archaeologists do not find manuscripts like this so often nowadays. It is finds like this and bringing the pieces together that provide the most significant discoveries."
