Decree of the Priesthood of Amun‑Ra on the Inviolable Rest of the Royal Kings and Queens of the Two Lands


By the voice of the Great House of Amun, Lord of Thrones, King of the Gods, We, the high priests, guardians of Maat, and keepers of the covenant between the Thrones of Upper and Lower Egypt and the divine powers, proclaim to all lands and to all generations yet unborn:

The bodies of the Kings of Upper and Lower Egypt, Lords of the Two Lands, Sons of Ra, Heirs of Horus of the Two Horizons, together with the Great Royal Wives, Noble Consorts, and Queens Regnant who bore the uraeus in majesty, are not trophies for the eyes of the multitude. They are consecrated vessels of the ka, sealed by the rites of the horizon, prepared to pass unbroken through the Duat. The stone seals upon their tombs are their will; the words of power and protection are their voice.

Thus we decree, in the name of Amun‑Ra, whose light renews the world each dawn:

1. Let no mortal expose the bodies of the Lords and Ladies of the Two Lands as one would set forth an ornament. Such is transgression against the gods and the eternal order.
2. Let them abide in darkness and stillness, guarded from the wasting breath of light, heat, and unmeasured gaze, that the craft of their embalmment endure and their journey in the afterlife remain undisturbed.
3. Let any study be rare, necessary, and reverent, permitted only when the gain in knowledge is truly great, the method without harm, and the hand that seeks it as gentle as a shadow.
4. Let their likenesses and histories be shown only by image, craft, and word, so that the living may learn without profaning their sacred forms.
5. Let all keepers of their rest be answerable to the law of men and the law of the gods, that Maat remain unbroken and the balance of the Two Lands endure.
   
   

So it is bound by the seal of the High Priesthood of Amun‑Ra, in the presence of the Names of all sovereigns who have worn the Double Crown and of all queens who have shared in that divine burden. As long as the sun rises over Ipet‑sut and the Nile swells in its season, let none break this decree, lest they summon the judgment of the gods upon themselves!