Due to the various reconstructions and stabilization occurring in Egypt to preserve Ancient sites and texts, the places in the Valley of the Kings have a designator that begins with KV, for Kings’ Valley, for the sake of differentiation. Tomb of Ramesses IV is known as KV2 and is somewhat different from most other royal tombs built. This may have been due to the economic decline occurring in Egypt and the fact that he was assassinated six years after he started his rule.
A Modest End
Tomb of Ramesses IV is as the pharaoh’s tomb, importance was still given to it despite the lack of pillars and other ornate carvings present in other tombs. So, there is a minimal decline in the tomb itself despite the passage of time except for the many Coptic and Greek graffiti on the tomb walls as it was often utilized as a hotel by early explorers and a significant Coptic Christian dwelling.
There is a split staircase at the entrance on either side of the ramp that leads to three corridors, the last of which leads to a small hallway and then to the burial chamber. This one also had an unusual width and height from all the tombs, being some three meters or 10ft wide and four meters or 15ft in height. The tomb’s façade is decorated with scenes of his coronation, as well as a set showing Isis and Nephthys venerating the sun disk. There are also scenes and texts from the Litany of Ra, which is proceeded by a typical painting of the king worshipping the falcon-headed sun god, Re-Horakhthy.
Images of vultures, falcons and winged scarabs decorate the ceiling. The third corridor has various imagery from the ‘Book of Caverns’ and a simple ceiling decorated with stars. In the antechamber are also scenes from the Book of the Dead though it mainly caters to the scenes with the judgment of the dead while the burial chamber contained an unusual large sarcophagus which could likely fit two people at once though the mummy of the pharaoh would not be visible as it was moved to the Museum of Cairo.
The Important Books of Ancient Egypt
Still, despite the plainness of the area, the number of carvings and depiction are enough to cover all the walls in their entirety, and the focus seemed to be on the books held in high prestige by the Ancient Egyptians as even the Book of Gates, the Book of Nut, the Book of the Night and the Book of Caverns. The burial chamber ceiling is also unique in that the figures depicted in it represent Nut rather than having the usual stellar constellations.
The annex behind this chamber is painted with burial offerings such as beds, shrines, and canopic jars, but the rest remains oddly bare.
Visiting the Tomb of Ramesses IV is a Trend
Out of many of the tombs in the Valley of Kings, the tomb of Ramesses IV is a destination of many Luxor tours. Due to the large disparity and uniqueness of it and other tombs of pharaohs, it has created a sense of mystery around it.
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