After the mummy and coffin were in the tomb, the deceased began his or her spiritual
journey to the afterlife. This scene from The Book of the Dead shows the most important event on the journey—the Weighing of the Heart. The deceased would stand before a group of gods and claim his or her innocence regarding all crimes against the gods or humanity. In this picture, the god Anubis kneels before the scales and the god Thoth writes down the outcome of the test. The heart of the deceased was placed on one side of the scales, and
the “feather of truth” on the other. If the weight of the heart was equal to the feather, the deceased was innocent and could live for eternity. But if the heart was heavier than the feather, the deceased was guilty of crimes and was devoured by the monster Ammit.

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