Roaming Royal Relics - part 1

The taste in tombs, style and content, we were told, changed from time to time in ancient Egypt.  In the New Kingdom era, rather than build pyramids, the deceased preferred to be buried in tombs sculpted out of or rather into limestone mountains.  The result is "The Valley of the Kings" on the West Bank of the Nile, across from Luxor.  Our day 5 excursion led us to this desolate location to explore what remains of this royal fad of long ago.

The road to the Valley of the Kings

The Regal Cemetery

The number of royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings is 62.  All of them, with the exception of #62 were pillaged and desecrated in ancient times so that all that remains are the rather amazing and beautifully decorated passageways that once lead to the burial chambers, usually at the very end of the tunnel.  We were able to enter three tombs the day we were there.  Different tombs are open on different days, and some are never open.  There are carefully monitored restrictions against any picture taking within the tombs to preserve the funerary art which still exists and impresses after 2,500 years.  I purchased some professional photographs of the interior of some of the more spectacular tombs and at some later date, I may try to scan them and insert them into this account.  But not today.

Entrance to Tomb of Rameses (sic) IX with photo ban sign and enforcer

Tomb #62 is, of course, that of Tutankhamen, discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter.  Miraculously it had been mostly overlooked by the ancient thieves and contained many artifacts and burial items untouched.  It is that treasure which has been on world tour and astounded any who have seen it.  King Tut was by any standard a fairly minor holder of the royal office and reigned less than 10 years.  So, the question for speculation is: If this minor boy king was buried with this much loot, what must have been in the tombs of his more influential and powerful predecessors?  We shall never know!

No caption required!

Map of the Royal Tombs in Valley of the Kings

Howard Carter's house from which he carried out his several years of excavations is located at the entrance of the Valley of the Kings.  It was one of our stops, though I'm still not sure what it was we were supposed to gain from our time there.  The interior was what would be expected of a foreign aristocrat in the 1920's.  The one item which I found interesting was the camera which was used to take all the famous photographs of the discovery, an historical artifact in its own right, I gather.

The Howard Carter Home

Howard Carter's Camera

Back in Luxor. mid afternoon, we traveled to what was called "The Papyrus Museum."  In reality, it was a tourist shop that sold quite beautiful and expensive traditional artwork done on papyrus.  But, it did include a demonstration of how papyrus is made.

I'm sure it will come as no surprise that I purchased three pieces for display (somewhere?!?) in my condo: one showing the Egyptian version of "the Last Judgement," one of a particularly attractive and colorful scarab, and one containing a cartouche which says, Gary Lawler flanking a drawing of Ramses I receiving the gift of wisdom from Thoth.  I'm hoping that I'll gain some benefit from mere proximity to that divine benediction!