False Doors: The Gateways to the Egyptian Underworld

As the name would suggest, a false door is an imitation door usually found in mortuary temples and tombs across ancient Egypt.  Facing west, these doors served as an imaginary passage between the world of the living and the world of the dead, and were believed to allow the Ka (an element of the soul) to pass through them. The deity or the deceased could interact with the world of the living either by passing through the door or by receiving offerings though it.  The false door is one of the most common elements found within Egyptian tomb complexes, and is also one of the most important architectural features found in royal and non-royal tombs, beginning with Egypt's Old Kingdom.

Egyptian false door, c 2400 BC (Sharron Mollerus / Flickr)