|
Valley of The
Queens (Biban Al-Harim):
The
Valley of the Queens is an isolated cemetery, at the southern part of
the vast necropolis of Thebes.
It
includes a number of royal tombs belonging to the Nineteenth and
Twentieth Families. The total number of these tombs is seventy, yet most
of them are unimportant, void of writings or inscriptions. This valley
can be reached either through Habo town or its cathedral. As far as we
know, King Ramsis I of the Nineteenth Family was the first to build a
tomb for his wife in the Valley of the Queens. It contains about 70
tombs, mainly belonging to Queens, Princesses, Princes and Nobles, who
lived during the XIX and XX Dynasties.
In
general, these tombs are smaller than the ones of the Kings. The plans
of these tombs usually consist of a small antechamber, a long narrow
corridor with several side chambers, and at the end - the burial
chamber.
One of the most important tombs in the valley is the one that belongs to
the famous Queen Nefertari, the principal consort of King Ramses II.
This is
tomb number 38 which belongs to Set Raa. King Ramsis II also buried his
wife, the beautiful Nefetari there along with three of his daughters. It
is also known that Ramsis III from the Twentieth Family buried his wife
Isis, and four of his sons.
This
beautiful tomb was in a bad condition because of the salt crystals
seeping through its poor quality limestone. It was restored and reopened
for visitors, though nowadays it is closed to the general public because
of the high CO2 levels, and water in breath particles, which were
damaging the beautiful artwork. Her tomb consists of a stairway leading
down to a hall, where on the walls, there are representations of the
Queen with different Gods and Goddesses. This hall leads to an inner
side chamber decorated with religious scenes such as Queen Nefertari
burning incense, and giving offerings to the Gods Osiris and Atum. A
corridor then leads to the burial chamber, whose walls are decorated
with scenes of the “Book of the Gates”.
As for
the rest of the tombs, they perhaps hide the families of the kings who
followed King Ramsis III -- yet afterwards, the valley seems to have
been abandoned as a royal settlement.
|
