Innovation No. 69 of 77 in the book
The World’s First Sacred Scripture
The Pyramid Texts as the first documented scripture with dated physical evidence
- When
- c. 2400 BCE
- Dynasty
- 5th Dynasty
- Era
- Old Kingdom
The oldest religious scripture in the world with a firm date is carved inside an Egyptian pyramid: the Pyramid Texts, cut around 2400 BCE for King Unas.
Column after column of spells line the burial chamber walls — the earliest large body of sacred writing anywhere, meant to carry the king safely into the afterlife.
Unlike myths written down much later, these are original sacred texts on dated stone you can still stand in front of and read.
Written scripture begins on the walls of an Egyptian tomb.
The texts were found in 1881 inside the pyramid of Unas at Saqqara. The subterranean burial chamber is covered floor to ceiling in vertical columns of blue-green hieroglyphs holding hundreds of separate spells, called utterances. The dating rests on the architecture itself, which is what makes this the oldest documented body of religious writing anywhere — earlier in surviving written form than the Vedic hymns, the Hebrew Bible or the Mesopotamian epics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Aren't other religious traditions older?
As oral tradition, quite possibly. The claim here is narrower and physical: this is the earliest large corpus of sacred text that survives in writing, on stone that can be dated, and that you can still stand in front of and read.
What is the Cannibal Hymn?
Utterances 273 and 274, among the strangest in the collection. They describe the dead king rising to heaven as a hunter who catches, cooks and eats the gods, taking their organs to absorb their magical power — an archaic layer of belief preserved by accident.