Just a month before the decipherment of the hieroglyphs in 1822,
professor of latin Børge Thorlacius gave a lecture in Copenhagen on
‘The Underworld and the state after death.’ Drawing, among other
sources, on the rich material found in the magnificent volumes of
Description de l'Égypte, he invited the audience to join him on a walk
among the remains of the dead, ‘if you dare.’ Jørgen Podemann Sørensen
accompanies the reader on this promenade.