The Scribes of the hieratic Book of the Dead Papyri of Hatnefer A palaeographic investigation

Very few copies of the hieratic Book of the Dead texts were preserved in the New Kingdom. Hieroglyphic or cursive hieroglyphic scripts were used to write the majority of the copies. The hieratic script was used on a small scale at the end of the 17th dynasty and the beginning of the 18th dynasty. Later on, the hieratic script was abandoned for the sake of the previously mentioned scripts. The two papyri of Lady Hatnefer are among the most intriguing specimens of hieratic art that have survived. They were written in horizontal hieratic script in their entirety. We are unaware of the identity or number of the scribes who created these texts. We are unaware of the identity or number of the scribes who created these texts. This research will thus attempt to ascertain the number of scribes who were engaged in producing this text based on paleographic examination and handwriting analysis. The peculiarities of the handwriting of each scribe in comparison to the other scribes will be presented as well .