Tomb KV7 (Tomb of Ramesses II)

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Tomb KV7 in the Valley of the Kings was the final resting place of Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II ("Ramesses the Great") of the Nineteenth Dynasty. It is located in the main valley, opposite the tomb of his sons, KV5, and near to the tomb of his son and successor, Merenptah, KV8.

Overview

Tomb of Rameses II, the entrance to the fourth corridor which descends further into the tomb towards a vestibule and the burial chamber. The tomb was built by Ramesses the second for himself, but he wasn't found to be buried here. KV7 follows the bent-axis plan of tombs of the earlier Eighteenth Dynasty. Unlike other tombs in the area, Tomb KV7 was placed in an unusual location and has been badly damaged by the flash floods that periodically sweep through the valley.

Architecture

circa 1279 BCE

Relief Carvings
Decorations inside the KV7 consist of scenes from the Book of the Gates, Book of the Dead, Book of the Heavenly Cow, Imydwat, Litany of Ra, Opening of the Mouth Ritual. Also, scenes of the king and deities were seen with representations of many funerary objects in the burial chamber. Only a few pieces of funerary equipment were found in the tomb, including a wooden shabtis, a damaged cast bronze shabti, fragmentary Oshabty, fragments of statues, fragments of faience, bits of glass, calcite and limestone lids of vessels, among other fragments.

circa 1279 BCE

Burial Chamber
The burial chamber has a sunken central area and a vaulted ceiling. Much of the decoration has been damaged beyond repair – its section of the Valley is particularly susceptible to flash floods – but it would have been decorated with the standard Book of Gates, Amduat and Litany of Ra. The mummy of Rameses was relocated to the mummy cache in DB320, and the tomb was reused in the Third Intermediate and Roman periods for burials and by early tourists.

See Also

References

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