Seti II.
Seti II, the fifth ruler of the 19th dynasty of Ancient Egypt, ruled from 1204 to 1198 BC. His short reign was marked by numerous conflicts for the throne with Amenmesse, who also ruled for a short period of two or three years.
Seti II was the son of King Merneptah and Queen Isetnofret. His royal name was Userkheperure Setepenre, which means “Powerful are the manifestations of Ra” or “Ra’s chosen one.” His wife Tausret was buried near his tomb. He had only one son, Seti-Merneptah, who died before him.
The first exploration of his tomb was carried out in 1738 by Richard Pococke, an English priest, traveler, and writer. However, it was not until 1904 that Howard Carter, the renowned English archaeologist and Egyptologist, fully excavated the tomb. The tomb then served as a workshop for cleaning the objects found in King Tutankhamun’s tomb.
Seti II’s tomb, KV15, is 298 meters long. and was built according to a simple plan. The simplicity of the construction and the unfinished state of the tomb reflect the chaotic atmosphere during the reign of Seti II. Upon the discovery of his tomb, only an open sarcophagus was found, without a lid. Interestingly, the lid with the inscription “Seti II” was found on the sarcophagus that contained Amenhotep III, while the mummy of Seti II was found in tomb KV35, which was used as a sort of storage for mummies. This was not a rare occurrence, as priests would move the mummies to a “safe” place. It is believed that his sarcophagus is the smallest ever found in the New Kingdom.
It is also interesting that in 1908, the Egyptologist Edward R. Ayrton discovered a small tomb, KV56, in the Valley of the Kings, which contained a small collection of jewelry engraved with the name of Seti II.
The tomb of Seti II consists of three long corridors that lead to the burial chamber. Between the corridors and the burial chamber, there are two more chambers: one smaller and one larger.
The first corridor is decorated With sunken and raised reliefs, while the decoration of the rest of the tomb was probably completed only after the king’s death and was executed only through painting.
Vivid depictions of the pharaoh himself offering gifts to the god Ra and Sokar (a deity with the form of a falcon, also associated with Osiris and Ptah), as well as depictions of the seventy-five manifestations of the sun god in the third corridor. On the ceiling of the third corridor, there is a bird with the head of a ram, representing the soul of the god Ra. The power of the symbols leaves one speechless once again.
The last two chambers that precede the burial chamber are even more interesting. In the smaller one, there are numerous mysterious depictions of Pharaoh Seti II, reminiscent of the statues found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun. Some of them depict the pharaoh on the back of a panther, on a papyrus boat; but also deities such as Ptah, Osiris, Anubis, Horus, Geb, Shu, whose symbolism points to the connection between two lives: earthly and heavenly.
The burial chamber is probably the smallest of all. On its walls, there are elaborate decorations depicting various scenes from the life of the pharaoh. The jackals are depicted as symbols of Anubis, and above the sarcophagus, if we look up, we will see the depiction of the goddess Nut with spread wings – a symbol of the Sky, who seems to be waiting for the pharaoh’s soul, to embrace it and facilitate its transition into her kingdom.
Tausret and Setnakht Tombs
This tomb, identified as KV14, represents one of the most unusual and largest in the Valley of the Kings. Although it was discovered in ancient times, it is known that it was studied by the French Egyptologist Victor Loret, who found many pharaohs’ mummies from the XIX and XX dynasties in it, but it was more thoroughly studied only from 1983 to 1987.
It encompasses two tombs, one belonging to Tausret, the last queen of the XIX dynasty, the wife of Pharaoh Seti II, and the other to Pharaoh Setnakht, the first king of the XX dynasty.
The tomb was originally built for Tausret. Construction began during the lifetime of her husband Seti II, and continued during the reign of his successor, The son of Pharaoh Siptah passed away.
Around 1190 BC, Tausret becomes Siptah’s co-regent and begins work on a second burial chamber, whose dimensions correspond to those of a female ruler. The entrances to the tomb and the corridors themselves were adapted to accommodate a lavish royal sarcophagus. When Tausret became pharaoh around 1187 BC, she ordered modifications to the tomb, including scenes that depicted her newly acquired status. Tausret ruled Egypt for seven years, including the years ruling alongside her stepson. Her reign ended with unrest and civil war. The throne was then taken over by Setnakht, the founder of the 20th dynasty.
For unknown reasons and contrary to previous customs, Setnakht was buried in the tomb intended for Tausret. He added cartouches with his own name to the tomb while erasing some of Tausret’s. After all the changes, this tomb became one of the deepest and longest in the Valley. I see that you have already provided a translation of the Croatian text. If you have any other questions or need assistance with anything else, feel free to ask. The Tomb of Nefertari is the most beautiful one. It was nicknamed the Sistine Chapel of Ancient Egypt and belongs to Queen Nefertari Meritmut, the first wife of Ramesses II, Ramesses the Great, the third pharaoh of the 19th dynasty.
When it was discovered in 1904 by Italian archaeologist Ernesto Schiaparelli, only a few remaining objects were found inside, such as decorative figurines, vases, a pair of well-preserved sandals, remains of a golden bracelet, parts of the queen’s mummified legs… and 483 square meters of walls unbelievably painted with depictions of deities: Osiris, Anubis, Isis, Hathor, Maat, Ra, Amun… and among them, the exceptionally beautiful Queen Nefertari. The rose-colored granite sarcophagus was destroyed, and what happened to the queen’s mummy is still unknown. Some of the objects from this tomb are currently housed in the museum in Turin, while others are in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
Married to fifteen-year-old Ramesses II before he became ruler, thirteen-year-old Nefertari belonged to a noble, but not royal, lineage. Highly educated, she played an important role in the functioning of the state. devoted to her husband, engaged in politics, corresponded with other rulers, accompanied him on military campaigns, participated in various state ceremonies, organized the court and spiritual life of Egypt, and despite everything, she was a mother. It is difficult to describe Queen Nefertari from this distant time.
The Mistress of the Goddess Mut, Righteous before God, the Most Beautiful of All, Lady of Grace, God’s Wife, the One for Whom the Sun Shines… these are some of the titles given to her, and they say enough.
The tomb itself consists of two levels, with a total of seven chambers and two staircases, with the walls of all the chambers painted, including the staircases. When entering the first level, visitors enter a larger chamber from which two smaller ones continue to the right. On the lower level, there is a large burial chamber with four large pillars, also painted on all sides, and three smaller chambers that can be accessed from it.
She lived in the 13th century BC for about forty to fifty years, while Ramesses II significantly outlived her at the age of ninety.
The tomb is The entrance to the tomb is adorned with depictions of cattle heads, and immediately upon entering, there are depictions of the goddess Maat, who represents seven important concepts in ancient Egypt: truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice.
The walls of the tomb are adorned with Nephthys, the goddess of birth and death, and Isis, the goddess of life and love. Their role is to protect the king and enable his rebirth.
Interestingly, battles in which Ramesses III fought are also depicted in his tomb, providing a valuable source of information on the appearance and military equipment of the so-called Sea Peoples.
Pharaoh’s mummy was found after seventy years in the Valley of the Kings, along with thirty other mummies including Ramesses II and Seti I. It was exhibited in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo for over a hundred years, and in April 2021, it was transferred to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.
Edited by: Ivana Jovović
RAMSES VI
Ramses VI, the successor of the prominent pharaoh Ramesses III, was the fifth pharaoh of the 20th Egyptian dynasty.
He was buried in the Valley of the Kings, in a tomb known today as KV9. The tomb was initially built for Ramesses V, who may have been buried there at some point. During the construction of Ramesses VI’s tomb, the workers’ huts covered the entrance staircase to Tutankhamun’s tomb, thanks to which it was discovered much later than the others and remained well-preserved.
The Romans The tomb was called the Tomb of Memnon, while the scientists of Napoleon’s expedition referred to it as the Tomb of Metempsychosis (Tomb of Soul Migration). The royal mummies of Ramesses V and Ramesses VI were removed in ancient times and were discovered in 1898 in KV35.
KV9 is a tomb of a simple design, measuring 116 meters in length, with a width ranging from 2.5 to 13 meters and a maximum height of approximately 6 meters. It consists of a series of descending straight corridors and two chambers that lead to the burial chamber deep underground. The walls of the corridors are intricately painted, and the decorative plan of the tomb is one of the most sophisticated and complete in the Valley of the Kings. The complex and enigmatic wall decorations represent a kind of theological debate, with the fundamental elements being the Sun and its daily journey into the world of darkness. The underground walls narrate the creation of heaven, earth, the Sun, light, and life itself.
At the entrance corridor, there is a large solar disk engraved with a scarab and a man with the head of a ram, surrounded by figures of Isis and Nephthys. This is followed by scenes of… The process, as well as the feat, undertaken by Egyptologist Edwin C. Brock in the 1990s, is a complex one. The remains of the inner sarcophagus were seriously damaged, as they did not withstand the mystical Valley of the Kings, neither by researchers nor by those searching for souvenirs or items for sale. One of these items was a fragment of a stone sarcophagus depicting the pharaoh’s face, exhibited in the British Museum since the 19th century. After almost two hundred years, the British Museum made a replica of the so-called mask and delivered it to Luxor, contributing to the successful completion of the reconstruction in 2004. At that time, the tomb of Ramesses VI was reopened to the public as one of the most popular locations in the Valley of the Kings.
Circumpolar constellations are constellations that never set below the horizon when observed from a specific location on Earth.
Deacons are 36 groups of stars, i.e., constellations, which were used in ancient Egyptian astronomy to divide the ecliptic into 36 parts of 10 degrees each. It seemed that All deans, in a geocentric manner, consecutively rise on the horizon during every daily rotation of the Earth.
4 “That which is in the afterlife”, “The book of that which is in the underworld.”