From the Mortuary Temple of Sethos I a good road runs 3mi/5km southwest to the Valley of the Kings, above which rears a rocky peak in the shape of a pyramid. The valley takes its name from the sumptuously furnished tombs constructed here for kings of the 18th, 19th and 20th Dynasties. In contrast to the pyramid tombs which had previously been favored, these tombs consist of a series of passages and chambers hewn from the rock. Like the chambers within the pyramids, these were intended only for the reception of the sarcophagus: the temples dedicated to the cult of the dead kings were built in the plain. The tombs usually have a succession of three corridors leading into their innermost recesses. The first corridor sometimes has small side chambers opening off it; in the second and third are niches for grave goods. The third corridor leads into an antechamber, beyond which is the main chamber, its roof often supported by pillars, with a cavity in the floor in which the heavy granite sarcophagus was deposited.
Adjoining the main chamber are various subsidiary chambers. Since it was believed that the dead man, accompanied by the sun god (or perhaps having become one with the sun god), sailed through the Underworld at night in a boat, the walls of the tombs were frequently adorned with texts and scenes depicting this voyage and giving the dead man instruction on its course.
The scenes and texts were chiefly taken from two books closely related to one another. The first is the "Book of what is in the Underworld", which has 12 chapters, since the Underworld (Duat) was thought of as being divided into 12 parts or caverns, corresponding to the 12 hours of the night. In the center of each of these scenes is a river on which the ram headed sun god and his train are sailing in the solar barque, briefly dispensing light and life. The banks of the river, above and below, are populated by spirits, demons and monsters which greet the sun god as he passes and fend off his enemies.
The second book is known as the "Book of the Gates", which also deals with the sun's nocturnal voyage through the 12 parts of the Underworld. Between these various parts are massive gates guarded by giant snakes, whose names the dead man must know. Two gods and two firebreathing snakes guard the approach and greet the sun god. In other respects the conception of the Underworld is similar to that of the first book.
A third work can be called "The Sun God's Journey through the Underworld". lt depicts the sun god addressing the spirits and monsters of the Underworld, who are exactly portrayed in long rows.
Other texts used in decorating the walls of the tombs were the "Praising of Re" (or "Litany of Re") and the "Book of the Opening of the Mouth". The former, which appears in the first two corridors, contains a hymn to the sun god, whom the dead man had to invoke under 75 different names when he entered the Underworld in the evening. The latter teaches the various ceremonies which had to be performed in front of the statue of the dead man so that it could eat and drink what had been set out for it in the tomb.
Strabo knew of 40 tombs which he described as worth seeing; the English traveler Richard Pococke (1737), who wrote the first account of the valley in modern times, describes 14; the number now known is 62. Pausanias, Aelian, Heliodorus, Ammianus Marcellinus and other ancient writers, as well as the Greek inscriptions in the tombs themselves, call them "Shepherd's pipes", from the resemblance of the long corridors to the reeds of a pipe.
A visit to the Valley of the Kings is one of the high spots of any tour of Egypt; but the swarms of visitors and the great heat, particularly during the summer, make the trip quite a demanding one. There is, however, a rest house where refreshments can be obtained. The order in which the tombs are visited may vary according the waiting time involved, and tombs are opened and closed in rotation. The entrances to the various tombs open to visitors can be reached on easy paths.
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Original paint on hieroglyphic in Valley of the Kings.
Ruins in front of the Tomb of the Nobles.
The Valley of the Kings, near Luxor.
Inside a tomb at the Valley of the Kings near Luxor.
Overview of Valley of the Kings near Luxor.
