The Book of the Dead grew out of a long tradition of funerary texts, the first examples of which are known as the Pyramid Texts because they were written on the walls of the burial chambers in the pyramids of the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom – the earliest known example was discovered in the Pyramid of King Unas at Saqqara and dates from around 2345 BC. The purpose of the Pyramid Texts was to help the deceased pharaoh take his place among the gods, and to this end they included hymns, prayers and magical spells to ward off the dangers encountered in the afterlife.
