Abstrakt
The burial chamber decoration of the shaft tomb of Iufaa at Abusir (dated to the turn of 26th/27th Dynasties) is exceptional with regards both to its extent and used topics. All walls of the chamber as well as the outer and inner sarcophagi are covered by excerpts from the Pyramid texts, Coffin Texts, Book of the Dead and other ritual or liturgical texts.
Some of the spells and their illustrations have not been identified yet, or represent rare or even earliest attested versions (Uroboros, Tutu). In this paper, we present the main text from the elaborate "snake encyclopaedia" that extends over the western and parts of the northern walls of the burial chamber of Iufaa and is accompanied by an image of the uroboros (named Fendju) flanked by two hippopotamus deities (Reru and Reret).
The text contains a description of the uroboros as a primeval deity, and a brief myth of the creation of the world by Re-Atum in his snake form. We present an analysis of the text and image, and consider their place in the tomb of Iufaa as well as in the religious thought of the Saite-Persian period.