Book of the Dead Fragment Found in Australian Museum
From CBCnews
Fragments from an Egyptian funerary text known as a Book of the Dead were discovered at Brisbane's Queensland Museum by a visiting Egyptologist. Photo by: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Papyrus fragments from an Egyptian funerary text known as a Book of the Dead have been discovered in the archives of the Queensland Museum in Brisbane, Australia.
"We are incredibly surprised that we had such a significant object in our collection," museum CEO Ian Galloway told Australian press.
The discovery was made recently during a visit to the museum by British Museum Egyptologist John Taylor.
While on a tour of the Australian venue's Egyptian collection ahead of its new exhibit Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb (which opened Thursday), Taylor noticed a familiar name — Amenhotep, a well-known ancient Egyptian head of builders — on a fragile piece of papyrus long ago conserved by Queensland Museum curators.