The Greenfield Papyrus

Funerary Papyrus of a Priestess at Karnak Temple (c. 950 BCE)

By (author) G. Lenzo

Book cover: The Greenfield Papyrus

Extent: 491 pages

Publisher: Peeters Publishers

Subjects: Ancient Egypt

Series: British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan

Series volume number: 15

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(September 2023)

ISBN: 9789042948426

Price: $244.00

In stock

PDF (Published)

(September 2023)

ISBN: 9789042948433

Price: $305.00

The Greenfield Papyrus (P. BM EA 10554), at more than 37m in length, is the longest funerary papyrus surviving from ancient Egypt. Its content is highly original because it combines spells from the Book of the Dead with a “mythological” section, as well as with hymns and litanies stemming from the context of temple liturgies. Furthermore, the selection of spells from the Book of the Dead provides very important insights into the Third Intermediate Period (1069-664 BCE). The Greenfield Papyrus is also of central importance to an understanding of the evolution of the Book of the Dead, after the New Kingdom (1539-1069 BCE) and before the Late and Ptolemaic Periods (664-30 BCE). The owner of the papyrus, Nestanebetisheru, occupied a very important position as priestess in the temples of Karnak. Since this role probably gave her access to temple archives, she may have selected the texts of her papyrus herself.


The Greenfield Papyrus (P. BM EA 10554), at more than 37m in length, is the longest funerary papyrus surviving from ancient Egypt. Its content is highly original because it combines spells from the Book of the Dead with a “mythological” section, as well as with hymns and litanies stemming from the context of temple liturgies. Furthermore, the selection of spells from the Book of the Dead provides very important insights into the Third Intermediate Period (1069-664 BCE). The Greenfield Papyrus is also of central importance to an understanding of the evolution of the Book of the Dead, after the New Kingdom (1539-1069 BCE) and before the Late and Ptolemaic Periods (664-30 BCE). The owner of the papyrus, Nestanebetisheru, occupied a very important position as priestess in the temples of Karnak. Since this role probably gave her access to temple archives, she may have selected the texts of her papyrus herself.

  • By (author) G. Lenzo