EGYPT - PART FOUR

 THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS

Before we toured The Valley of the Kings, we had a pre-dawn activity that I'll cover in my next and final Egypt Pos t- Epilogue.  

The Valley of the Kings is located across the Nile from Luxor and Karnak.  During the New Kingdom the Pharaohs decided that the expense of building great monuments like the Pyramids to send their spirit to the afterlife, and the fact that so many were being robbed and the mummies taken, they would create a common burial ground.  The mountain at the head of The Valley of the Kings was a natural pyramid, and if tombs were dug into the valley walls then they all would be under a Great Pyramid.  The tombs could be sealed to look undisturbed, and the entire valley could be protected.  A win win for all - so they thought.  Unfortunately, except for Tut Ankh Amun's tomb they all were robbed.  That's why they started putting the mummies separate from the tombs, and why the museum in Cairo has such a great collection now.  At least then the gods could at least find the person/spirit.

They rotate which tombs are open to limit the impact.  We visited three of the tombs, and got a special entry ticket to visit Tut Ankh Amun's, the most famous of them all.  Guides are not allowed in, so Ahmed gave us instructions before we entered each.  They all follow a similar pattern and each are beautiful in their own way.  But the history of Tut Ankh Amun's is the most interesting so will spend more time on that.  

Map of Valley of the Kings.  We entered pathway on far left.

Entry to Valley of the Kings.  Pyramid mountain top was for all Kings.

RAMSES IX TOMB 

Typical entry to tomb from valley floor

The burial chamber is reached through a long, down slopping corridor completely
decorated with gods, pharaoh, deeds and hieroglyphics.  

Example of Nubian enemies with
black skin, short hair and arms bound behind.

Images of gods, sun disks, slaves (short people) and vanquished enemies below.

Colorful gods presenting Ankhs and their cartouches.

Fully decorated burial chamber for mummy

One of several stories of where the sun goes at night.
In this case a dung beetle pushes the sun from west to east under ground where is rises again.
Remember, from their perspective the sun is about the size of your fingernail.

RAMSES V/VI TOMB

Many tombs had multiple occupants.  Sometimes to replace the previous, sometimes to use the entry for a separate chamber, and sometimes for efficiency.  

The entry corridor with the panel above a ramp.

Overwhelmingly beautiful writing and images.
All the hieroglyphics have been recorded and translated by scholors thanks to the Rosetta Stone.
This and the papyrus is how we now know the history and various lineage of the Kings and their deeds.

One of the burial chambers.  The mummy long gone being busted out of the sarcophagus.  

The highly decorated burial chamber taken with Panoramic Lens. 
Far left and right are actually opposite each other in a long room.  

The burial chamber ceiling.  Again, too vast for normal lens so taken with Panoramic lens. 
This was one of our favorite rooms as the goddess Nut, in yellow down the center, spreads over the blue world on each side. See previous chart on gods.  She's quite lovely.

Ascending the chamber on the way out.

TAUSERT/SETNAKHT TOMB

Another shared tomb.  

The entry corridor to the tomb.  While beautiful, it can be overwhelming.

Long haired Egyptian slaves with gifts.

End wall of burial chamber.  The eagle is the goddess Nekhbet of Upper Egypt 
who's outstretched wings represent the protection of the Pharaoh.  
The eagle is usually displayed with one wing pointing to the side, while the other is down.

One of the sarcophagus in the burial chamber for two.

TUT ANKH AMUN TOMB

We had a special ticket to TutAnkhAmun's tomb.  The corridor to the entry is much shorter than others, and not carved or decorated.  Once inside, the burial chamber is rather small, but nicely painted.  However, the treasures found undisturbed for 3000 years are remarkable.

Entry corridor/ramp burial chamber.
When discovered this was filled with rubble from departing thieves.

King Tut's mummy has been thoroughly examined in the years since.
However, they no longer unwrap mummies but use MRIs and CAT Scans.  

Where our group is standing was a wall separating the treasury form the burial chamber beyond.
The platform is above the original ground level access to the chamber.

Panorama of chamber with replica of outer sarcophagus.

When egyptologist Howard Carter of Britain discovered King Tut Ankh Amun's tomb in 1922 it was an immediate cultural phenomenon - Egypt-mania it was called.  In many cities new movie theaters, then the rage, were built in Egyptian themes (The Moore Egyptian in Seattle for example).  Fashion took on Egyptian dress style, jazz music incorporated Middle Eastern themes, and and in major cities Egyptian balls were all the rage. King Tut became shorthand for Cool.

Songs celebrating the culture

Women fashions (Men too)

The Egyptian theatre in Boise, ID, among many.

Likewise, when several of those working on the site, including Carter died shortly after the discovery there became the popular myth of the Curse of the Pharaoh.  I remember several 50s and 60s TV episodes about the curse on serialized programs.  This is still exploited in many movies up to the current day with movies entitled The Mummy, The Curse of the Mummy, and the Mummy returns. 

Sex, Violence, Conspiracy, Curses, what's not to like - and sell.

His real life is more fascinating.  King Tut (I'll write it this was to save on typing, though his longer name is more revealing) took the throne at eight or nine years old, and ruled with a vizier only from 1332 - 1323 BCE.  He was the last of his dynasty.  From physical and genetic analysis we know he was born with a deformed left foot, bone necrosis needing a cane (several of which were in his tomb), scoliosis, and several strains of malaria.  

There was much speculation after analysis of the body in the 1930s when they found he had a blow to the head.  The assumption was he was murdered. However with new techniques, they discovered only recently that his broken leg had embalming fluid in the break; meaning it broke at the time of death before the mummification.  The conclusion now is that he fell off his chariot smashing his head and breaking his leg.  In carvings of King Tut as a god he is shown in vigorous activities:  riding a chariot, shooting with bow at enemies, etc. The assumption now is was was riding his chariot at the time of death, but his infirmaries could not support him and fell out.

King Tut is not only famous because of his treasures, but his father Akenh Aten changed the religion from worshiping Amun to Aten.  King Tut's original name ended with Aten, and he changed it to Tut Ankh Amun and returned the religion to that god and the capital to Thebes, thus he was highly revered.  And it is speculated that his mother was Nefertiti.  

Nefretiti (Translated as "A beautiful woman has come")

So why was his tomb so modest in size, yet filled with treasures?  As mentioned, when a person became a Pharaoh/God, they immediately begin constructing their tomb.  Most Pharaohs had several decades to build theirs as evidence by the size of the Pyramids, and the lengthy decorated corridors and chambers in other tombs in The Valley of the Kings. However, King Tut died very young, after only nine or so years on the throne.  Only 70 days was allowed between death and burial for mummification and ceremony.  They speculate the royal buriers took over another noble's tomb already under construction.  While it is small and modestly decorated, it was lavishly furnished, and his inner sarcophagus alone was made from 250 pounds of solid gold.  His famous mask is 22 pounds of gold decorated with inlaid with blue glass.

King Tuts mask was directly laid over his face inside of three coffins and a gilded box,
shown behind the mask.  All are now in the Cairo museum shown below.

In the 1970s the mask and a few of the funerary object went on tour in the US and I was anxious to see them as I'm sure many of our generation in Seattle did. They were stunning objects.  However, seeing them out of context individually and seeing them as a collection is a heightened experience.

Layout of King Tuts tomb.  Treasury to left and burial chamber to right with gilded outer sarcophagus filling the room, and three inner sarcophagi inside. A small anteroom is to side of burial chamber.

Outer gilded sarcophagus being restored in the museum.

Solid alabaster goddesses to accompany King Tut to the afterlife. 

Gilded and inlaid chair from the treasury.

Howard Carter had been looking for King Tut's tomb for several years.  He believed it had to be nearby because earlier they found cached alabaster amphora with engravings indicating it came from his tomb.  Inscriptions on other tombs also provided information about his relatives and role.  When Carter finally found the entry passage it was filled with rubble supporting his theory that robbers had gotten their first, taken the alabaster amphora, and hid them intending to return.  When Carter reached the treasury, the outer room as it's now called, they found all the artifacts just tossed about.  On the far wall, where I previous wrote my travel companions stood, he noticed a small hole that was plastered over.  Perhaps, indicating the robbers saw what was behind it, and made a hasty retreat intending to return, but never did. 

Here in Carter's words is what happened at the discovery.  Lord Carnarvon and Lady Callender were his financiers. 

"With trembling hands I made a tiny breach in the upper left-hand corner. Darkness and blank space, as far as an iron testing-rod could reach, showed that whatever lay beyond was empty, and not filled like the passage we had just cleared. Candle tests were applied as a precaution against possible foul gases, and then, widening the hole a little, I inserted the candle and peered in, Lord Carnarvon, Lady Evelyn and Callender standing anxiously beside me to hear the verdict. At first I could see nothing, the hot air escaping from the chamber causing the candle flame to flicker, but presently, as my eyes grew accustomed to the light, details of the room within emerged slowly from the mist, strange animals, statues, and gold—everywhere the glint of gold. For the moment—an eternity it must have seemed to the others standing by—I was struck dumb with amazement, and when Lord Carnarvon, unable to stand the suspense any longer, inquired anxiously, 'Can you see anything?' it was all I could do to get out the words, 

 

'Yes, wonderful things.' "

Tomb's treasure with items tossed about.

Entry to the burial chamber.  The gilded outer sarcophagus shown in the museum pictures.
This is the wall where our tour group stood on a platform several feet above. 

Carter and aid opening inner sarcophagus

Next Post:  EGYPT - EPILOGUE