\paperw4260 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 The objects deposited in tombs frequently included \i ushabti\i0 statuettes, placed in special caskets.\par
They represented figures
in the form of mummies. Their function was to take the dead manÆs place in the labor that he had to carry out in the other world. It was believed that this work was agricultural in nature and the \i ushabti \i0 are provided with such implements as hoes,
picks and baskets.\par
The inscriptions that cover these statuettes contain the text of the sixth chapter of the \i Book of the Dead\i0 , which describes the role of the \i ushabti\i0 in the afterlife.