Ushabti: Ancient Egypt's Afterlife Workers

The ancient Egyptians didn't bury their dead with servants. They buried them with an army of

tiny workers called ushabti. These miniature statues flooded tombs across Egypt from the Middle

Kingdom onward, around 2000 BCE. Carved from faience, wood, or stone,

each ushabti was inscribed with spells from the Book of the Dead. Their purpose?

To magically come alive in the afterlife and do hard labor, farming, digging,

or building for the deceased so they could rest eternally. Tutankhamun was buried with

413 of them. Most people think mummies were the most important part of burial.

Wrong. Without ushabti, you worked forever.