Pyramids , temples , tombs , the burials of kings , nobles and the common people , all express the unique Ancient Egyptian idea of death . Ancient Egyptians believed in the resurrection and the hereafter perhaps more than any other ancient society . According to Egyptians , death was not simply the end , but was just one of the transformations in life’s natural cycle . The Ancient Egyptians saved a part of their wealth to prepare their tombs and to enjoy the afterlife inside it .
In Ancient Egypt , Egyptians believed that man consists of many parts: for instance , man's physical body was know in Hieroglyphics as HT , his name as RN , his heart as IB , his soul as BA and his shadow as SW .
Cemeteries of the Pre-Dynastic Period provide us with the earliest evidence of Egyptian funerary beliefs and customs . The dead were separated from the living not only by the fact of their being dead , but also by being laid to rest in sets of graves at some distance from towns and villages , on the edge of the desert . Within the grave , the deceased was placed facing to the west and was accompanied by pottery vessels filled with food and drink , clothing , personal adornments and other equipments
. In some cases , we found the deceased buried in a squatting position like the embryo in his mother's womb . Also found are some shells behind the deceased intended to help him to be resurrected in the afterlife . In other cases , we found a little statue of a woman to help in the rebirth of the body again .
Later , the offering formula which appeared in the tombs was responsible for turning the lists of offerings inscribed on the tombs' walls into real objects . Offerings usually consisted of bread , beer and oxen . Grave contents varied in quantity and quality according to the status of the tomb's owner .
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