Valley of the Queens - Luxor

The Valley of the Queens (Egypt .: Ta-set-neferu "the place of beauty") is a necropolis of ancient Thebes in Egypt.

The Valley of the Queens lies south of the Valley of the Kings in West Thebes. The close relatives of the rulers of the late 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties were buried here in over 90 graves. The term was chosen to be analogous to “Valley of the Kings”, but this term is misleading as not only queens were buried here. The most important tomb is that of Nefertari (QV66), the great royal wife of Ramses II (19th dynasty).

In 1979 UNESCO added the Valley of the Queens, Valley of the Kings, Karnak, Luxor and other sites in Thebes to the list of World Heritage Sites

topography

The valley is a cut running from east to west into the Theban Mountains. Its entrance is almost exactly behind Medinet Habu and the mortuary temple of Ramses III. In contrast to the Valley of the Kings, the necropolis is not hidden between the rocky mountains, but is accessible without any obstacles, which made it easier to plunder the graves in ancient times. The side wadis also contain tombs, so that the Valley of the Queens is just one of several burial sites.


An important reason for choosing the location, as with the Valley of the Kings, was obviously the mountain el-Qurn in the background of the wadi, the shape of which gives the impression of a huge natural pyramid. Another reason was probably a cascading cave in the background of the valley. When it rains heavily, a small waterfall pours over the grotto, and the specially shaped incision of the grotto absorbs the water masses. There is a connection to the goddess Hathor, the patroness of grottos and rock chapels. This is proven by various wall paintings in the cave-like incision, in which Hathor is shown in her human form or as a cow.

history

The early graves, which date to the end of the 17th and early 18th dynasties, are mainly simple shafts with one chamber. During this time, high officials were mostly buried here, for example a vizier (QV46) or a stable master (QV30). The first tomb of a queen may belong to Mutnedjemet, the wife of Haremhab, who may have had her tomb in QV37.

It was not until the 19th dynasty that the place became a regular burial place for royal wives. The first safe queen to be mentioned is Satre, the wife of Ramses I, whose tomb was never completed. From this time on, the graves were also decorated with reliefs and paintings, while before they were always without decoration. With Mut-Tuya, the wife of Seti I, another queen received a grave in the valley. In the following generation, under Ramses II, five of the ruler's seven main wives were buried here.

In the period that followed, however, only a few queens such as Titi or Tanedjemet were buried, whose precise classification in Egyptian history is still uncertain. Under Ramses III. Finally, some princes were buried here, who could call relatively large and richly decorated tombs their own. A final phase of use dates to the Third Intermediate Period. At that time, some of the old graves were used as mass graves.

architecture

Three basic types of graves can be identified:

The graves of the 18th dynasty: These oldest systems are simple, undecorated shaft graves. These usually only had one room, more rarely one or two side chambers. They are neither relief nor painted, which often makes it difficult to identify the owner. They are mainly princes, but also princesses, dignitaries and officials.
The graves of the queens of the 19th and 20th dynasties: In contrast to the graves of the 18th dynasty, these graves were laid out as real burial homes and form a veritable counterpart to the Valley of the Kings. They usually consist of two large rooms, one behind the other. There were up to five secondary chambers. They are usually richly decorated. The representations follow a specific iconographic program: the journey of the deceased into the realm of Osiris (beyond) and to the light of Re (this world).
The prince graves of the 20th dynasty are long, tube-like structures, of which only the last room, the burial chamber, is slightly larger. Adjoining rooms can be accessed from all rooms.

A special feature of these graves is the lack of any trace of superstructures. Neither signs of small cult buildings nor of grave steles were found in the vicinity. First you have to consider that there never was any superstructure and that there was never a grave cult, which is unlikely given the noble rank of the buried people. Another possibility would be that burial chapels were built and eventually destroyed, but in this case traces should have been found. There is still a third possibility: there was a clear separation between the grave and the cult building. The latter could have been in a completely different location than the necropolis, perhaps near the million year houses of the 18th dynasty.
exploration

Some representations in the graves were copied by the Italian Ippolito Rosellini around 1828/29. Other visitors were members of the Lepsius expedition in 1840, who in turn copied individual scenes and described various tombs. Systematic excavations took place between 1903 and 1905, mainly by the Italian Ernesto Schiaparelli, who also discovered the grave of Nefertari (QV66). In 1924 and from 1936 to 1937 Giulio Farina undertook further investigations, which remained relatively unsuccessful and so he returned the Italian excavation concession to the antiquities administration.

Although the most important graves have been well documented and prepared for tourism, dozens of other graves are lacking thorough documentation and adequate restoration work. In order to do justice to this, the CEDAE (Center d'Etude et de Documentation sur l'ancienne Egypte) has been working in collaboration with the CNRS (Center national de la recherche scientifique) to take thorough protective measures to preserve the graves in the Valley of the Queens .

List of graves

QV1 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV2 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV3 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV4 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV5 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV6 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV7 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV8 - Prince Hori and unknown princess, 18th Dynasty
QV9: 16 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV17 - Princess Meritre (I) and Urmerutes, 18th Dynasty
QV18: 29 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV30 - Nebiri, 18th Dynasty
QV31 - unknown princess or queen, 19th Dynasty
QV32 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV33 - Tanedjemet, 19th Dynasty
QV34 - unknown princess or queen, early 19th Dynasty
QV35 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV36 - unknown princess or queen, early 19th Dynasty
QV37 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV38 - Satre (mother of King Sethos I), early 19th dynasty
QV39 - unknown
QV40 - unknown princess or queen, early 19th Dynasty
QV41 - unfinished tomb, 20th Dynasty
QV42 - Paraherwenemef, 20th Dynasty
QV43 - Sethherchepeschef, 20th Dynasty
QV44 - Chaemwaset, 20th Dynasty
QV45 - unfinished tomb, 20th Dynasty
QV46 - Vizier Imhotep, 18th Dynasty
QV47 - King's daughter Ahmose 17th-18th centuries dynasty
QV48 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV49 - unknown, 19. – 20. dynasty
QV50 - unknown, 19. – 20. dynasty
QV51 - Isis II (Isettahemdjert), 20th Dynasty
QV52 - Titi, 20th Dynasty
QV53 - Ramses-Meriamun (Prince's tomb of Ramses IV.), 20th Dynasty
QV54 - unfinished tomb, 20th Dynasty
QV55 - Amunherchepeschef, 20th Dynasty
QV56 - unfinished tomb, 19th Dynasty
QV57 - unfinished tomb, 19th Dynasty
QV58 - unknown, 19th Dynasty
QV59 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV60 - Nebettaui, 19th Dynasty
QV61: 65 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV66 - Nefertari Meri-en-Mut, 19th Dynasty
QV67 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV68 - Meritamun, 19th Dynasty
QV69 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV70 - Nehesi, 18th Dynasty
QV71 - Princess Bintanat, 19th Dynasty
QV72 - Princess Neferhat and Prince Baki, 18th Dynasty
QV73 - Henut-taui, 19th Dynasty
QV74 - Tentopet (Duatentipet), 20th Dynasty
QV75 - Henut-mi-Ra, 19th Dynasty
QV76 - Princess Meritre II, 18th Dynasty
QV77 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV78 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV79 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV80 - (Mut-) Tuja, 19th Dynasty
QV81 - Heka- (..), 18th Dynasty
QV82 - Prince Minemhat and Amenhotep, 18th Dynasty
QV83 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV84 - unfinished tomb, 20th Dynasty
QV85 - unfinished tomb, 20th Dynasty
QV86 - unfinished tomb, 20th Dynasty
QV87 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV88 - Ahmes (Prince), 18th Dynasty
QV89: 94 - unknown, 18th Dynasty
QV95 - unfinished tomb, 20th Dynasty