There was no single or canonical "Book of the Dead". The surviving papyri contain a varying selection of religious and magical texts and vary considerably in their illustration. Some people seem to have commissioned their own copies of the "Book of the Dead", perhaps choosing the spells they thought most vital in their own progression to the afterlife. The "Book of the Dead" was most commonly written in hieroglyphic or hieratic script on a papyrus scroll, and often illustrated with vignettes depicting the deceased and their journey into the afterlife.