Photo: Ancient Semitic Snake Spells Deciphered in Egyptian Pyramid

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Archaeologists say they have finally deciphered a set of mysterious passages from the pyramid of King Unas, a crumbling monument near the Step Pyramid of Djoser (left) in Saqqara, Egypt.

The passages, which contain spells for repelling snakes, are written not in Egyptian but in a Semitic text closely resembling the language of the Bible's Old Testament. The text shows that the proud Egyptians turned to their neighbors for assistance in matters of magic and sorcery, experts say.

Photograph by Kenneth Garrett/National Geographic/Getty Images

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