Saturday, February 4, 2017

KV16 – Tomb of Ramses I .. ( Part 12 )

We now return to what may be reckoned the central area of the valley, and passing the tombs of Ramses III and Amenmesses, we come to that of Ramses I, which, with No. 17 ( Seti I ) and No. 18 ( Ramses X ),
form a small group near the beginning of the path which here leads away to the right towards the tomb of Tuthmosis IV ( No. 43 ) and those of Queen Hatshepsut ( No. 20 ) and Prince Mentu-hir-khopshef ( No. 19 ) .



The tomb is lighted and small, and is approached by a double flight of steps . Ramses I, who succeeded Haremheb, and may be regarded as the first king of the 19th Dynasty, reigned only a very short time ( possibly only one year, 1320 or 1314 B.C. ) . His tomb was therefore never finished .



The stylistic resemblance frescoes with the tomb KV57 of Horemheb is very clear, and the reliefs are in very good condition with beautiful colours, including texts and scenes from The Book of Gates, and it is built on a fairly simple plan .



His burial-chamber was made at the foot of the second flight of steps ; but the tomb was evidently meant to have been a large and important one, and it is interesting from the development which its paintings show from those of the 18th Dynasty . The complete painting of the figures which we see here, in contrast to the outline work seen in tombs like those of Tuthmosis III and Amenhotep II, is a stage on the way to the coloured relief work which is found in the next tomb, that of Ramses' son and successor, Seti I .



A flight of steps brings us down to an entrance, which admits us to a sloping corridor . A second flight of steps brings us to the sarcophagus-chamber, where stands the granite sarcophagus, with figures and inscriptions in yellow paint .



The walls of the chamber have a grey ground, on which the scenes and inscriptions are painted in colour . On the right as we enter, is the goddess Maet, and the king offers wine to Nefertum .



On the left, Maet again appears with the king, who is before Ptah, near whom is the Tet symbol, which represents the backbone of Osiris .



On the west wall the boat of the sun is towed by four figures, and below the boat the god Atûm slays the evil serpent Apep . The inscriptions are from The Book of Gates .



Behind the sarcophagus ( south ) the king, with Atûm and Neith behind him, is led by Horus-Son-of-Isis, to Osiris, who has Horus-Supporter-of-his-Mother before him .



A recess in this wall has over it the kneeling figure of Ramses, between the jackal-headed and hawk-headed figures which represent the spirits of Pe and Nekhen, the archaic capitals of Lower and Upper Egypt . In the recess itself is a figure of Osiris, between a ram-headed god and a sacred serpent, the cobra Nesret, god of the harvest .



On the left ( east ) wall, Ramses appears between Anubis and Horus . The inscriptions and other representations are from The Book of Gates .





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