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Offering Incense
If Ancient Egyptians wanted a good afterlife, they had to offer the right gifts to the myriad of Gods. Inside his own tomb, Ramesses III is pictured with a gift of incense.
The Ancient Egyptians had a complex religious system which pivoted around their belief in immortality.
They saw death as a temporary interruption to life, rather than as an endpoint. But, there were several catches: the form of one’s afterlife depended on one’s social status in this life; ensuring eternal life required paying appropriate homage to the various gods; and – perhaps most importantly – the spirit needed to be able to find and reenter the correct body after corporeal death.
These beliefs lead to incredibly complex mummification processes and funerary rites. The funeral ceremony helped the dead to bridge the physical world to the eternal world of the afterlife.
We know all this because the texts describing the processes of mummification, the magic spells to protect the ‘deceased’ on their journey, and the rituals and protocols required of them and the living mourners, were all painstakingly rendered on the walls of the tombs of the most affluent and most revered of the Ancient Egyptians: the Pharaohs (see: The Writing on the Walls).
Since the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799, Egyptologists have been meticulously interpreting the hieroglyphs that cover the walls of the Pharaohs interred in the Valley of the Kings across the Nile River from Luxor, giving us all a richer understanding of the lives (and deaths) of peoples who lived some 3000 years ago.
Join me for a glimpse into the tombs of Merenptah, Rameses III, and Tut Ankh Amun.
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Works Ongoing
The Valley of the Kings is an extensive area across the Nile from Luxor (Thebes). For about 500 years, it was the burial site of most of Egypt’s Pharaohs from the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties. Almost all the known 63 tombs and chambers were opened and robbed in antiquity, but exploration and restoration continues today.
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Workers on the Hillside above the Tomb of Pharaoh Merenptah
The whole area of Thebes, with its temples and palaces at Karnak and Luxor, and the necropolises of the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, is UNESCO-listed. This (hopefully) also protects the conditions of workers in the suffocating heat.
Walid Explaining Tomb KV5
The guides don’t enter the tombs, but use the explanatory signboards outside to explain the layouts, the artworks, and the significance to their groups.
Entry to the Tomb of Pharaoh Merenptah
I opted to climb up the hill to explore the Tomb of Pharaoh Merenptah.
Hieroglyphs in the Tomb of Pharaoh Merenptah
The minute you step inside the tombs, you are in another world.
Entering Tomb KV8
The Tomb of Pharaoh Merenptah (Merneptah) or Rameses IX is steep, descending deeply into the surrounding limestone.
More Hieroglyphs
The walls all have a story to tell.
Calcite Sarcophagus
Merenptah was unusual among the Pharaohs in that he was interred inside four nested sarcophagi. Reduced to fragments more than 3,000 years ago, the outermost sarcophagus was the largest ever found, at 4.1 meters (about 13 1/2 feet) long.
Exit from Merenptah’s Tomb
The tombs are all incredibly dark – but no cooler than the blinding morning outside.
Guard at the Exit
A ticket to the Valley of the Kings gains you entry to three tombs. Although everyone cheerfully snaps phone-pictures, if you want to use a camera, you pay extra! Attendants make sure the rules are adhered to.
Man in a Coffee Shop
God at the Entry
The Gods are everywhere – this one is just inside the Tomb of Pharaoh Rameses III.
Incense Offering
The crook and flail, both used by early shepherds, symbolise the power and majesty of the kings of Ancient Egypt.
The Serpent and the King
The funerary texts depicted on the walls of the tombs helped to explain the expectations of Egypt’s deceased. Snakes and serpents – representing transformation and change – feature heavily.
Funerary Boat in the Tomb of Rameses III
Boats transported the dead person from this life into the afterlife.
Hieroglyphs on the Columns
KV 11 is one of the most popular tombs in the valley, and even during a quiet season crowds file past the decorated columns.
Hieroglyphs
It is also one of the best preserved.
Corridor in the Tomb of Rameses III
There is plenty to appreciate.
Inner Tomb of Tut Ankh Amun
The last tomb I visited was that of the Boy King Tut Ankh Amun. (iPhone6)
Mummy of Tut Ankh Amun
This small tomb is on a separate ticket which didn’t include my camera. Like the other visitors, I relied on my phone. (iPhone6)
Workers in the Valley
Back outside, the sun continues to bounce off the stony landscape, and the workers continue their labour.
Explaining the Restorations
The air-conditioning in the Valley of the Kings Visitors Centre was exceptionally attractive after a morning out in the oppressive heat of the valley; pausing to read the posters made for a good excuse to enjoy it!
The beauty of the functional artworks – and the complexity of the belief system behind them – is just mind-boggling.
But, the heat – dry as it might be – is enervating. With images of eyes and birds and serpents and kings swirling around my head, I was glad to return to the air-conditioned comfort of my bus.
Wishing you safe travels – in this life and beyond.
Pictures: 07October2019
[…] a hot morning in the tombs of the Valley of the Kings (see: The Writing on the Walls and Take me to the Afterlife), a stop in an air-conditioned alabaster factory was a welcome […]