These texts served as a guide for the dead to use on their journeys to the afterlife. Each was prepared by scribes for burials, with varying quality depending on the scribe's skill, and some were prepared with blank spaces to later fill in the name of the dead.

During the New Kingdom period (roughly 1539 to 1075 B.C.), the Book of the Dead became available to all who could afford a copy and, by extension, gain access to the afterlife. Scholars hope that the newly joined fragments will reveal more information about ancient Egyptian funerary practices.