Royal Tombs
The Pharaoh of the New Kingdom was a very special human being. Medians believed he was the son of two great gods, Ra and Osiris. After death, each King’s reward was to be magically transformed into both gods! The position, design and decoration of the King’s tomb helped this miracle happen. As for this reason, royal tombs were completely different to non-royal tombs.
Royal Burial Ground
The Pharaohs chose The Valley of the Kings (‘The Great Place’) as the royal cemetery because of its remote location and its special link to Ra. Every evening Ra sank below the western horizon, towards the Valley of the Kings. He entered the underworld for a twelve-hour battle against darkness led by a snake monster, Apophis. All creation was made new each day through Ra’s victory. When Pharaoh died, his funeral procession began at sunset, and followed the setting sun to the Valley of the Kings. Deep within the cliffs of the mountains lay many “individual underworlds filled with golden gods” (John Romer- ‘Ancient lives’).
Tomb Design
Royal tombs were built to copy the geography of the underworld. The kings of the 18th Dynasty (Thutmose I to Amenhotep III) built tombs that were long and wound deep into the mountainside. They ended with a right-angled turn to block out all the daylight. (Refer to figure 5.1).
Tomb sketches made on ostraca by Medina workers show that each room had a name. The first outer corridor was called ‘The god’s passage of Ra’. The middle of the tomb was dug very deep called ‘The Hall of Separation’. This dangerous pit trapped rainwater and unwary tomb robbers. It also marked the entrance to the underworld. The last room of the tomb was the King’s burial chamber, ‘The House of Gold’. The Pharaoh’s face would shine like gold when he became Ra and Osiris.
Decoration of a Royal Tomb
Royal Burial Ground
The Pharaohs chose The Valley of the Kings (‘The Great Place’) as the royal cemetery because of its remote location and its special link to Ra. Every evening Ra sank below the western horizon, towards the Valley of the Kings. He entered the underworld for a twelve-hour battle against darkness led by a snake monster, Apophis. All creation was made new each day through Ra’s victory. When Pharaoh died, his funeral procession began at sunset, and followed the setting sun to the Valley of the Kings. Deep within the cliffs of the mountains lay many “individual underworlds filled with golden gods” (John Romer- ‘Ancient lives’).
Tomb Design
Royal tombs were built to copy the geography of the underworld. The kings of the 18th Dynasty (Thutmose I to Amenhotep III) built tombs that were long and wound deep into the mountainside. They ended with a right-angled turn to block out all the daylight. (Refer to figure 5.1).
Tomb sketches made on ostraca by Medina workers show that each room had a name. The first outer corridor was called ‘The god’s passage of Ra’. The middle of the tomb was dug very deep called ‘The Hall of Separation’. This dangerous pit trapped rainwater and unwary tomb robbers. It also marked the entrance to the underworld. The last room of the tomb was the King’s burial chamber, ‘The House of Gold’. The Pharaoh’s face would shine like gold when he became Ra and Osiris.
The walls of the royal tombs were decorated with magical spells and texts that helped the King to become a god. The 18th dynasty tombs had three painted areas: ‘The Hall of Separation’ and the burial chamber. The first two were decorated with figures of the gods and the ceilings painted with blue and yellow stars to represent the heavens at night. The burial chamber had scenes from the Am Duat (What is the Underworld). The book describes each hour of the Sun god’s daily journey, his changes of form and his meeting with Osiris in the underworld. (Refer to figure 5.2).
Figure 5.2 The fifth hour of Am Duat
Another text, Litany of Ra, which decorated columns in the burial chamber, tells us about the meeting of the two gods:
“Ra it is who has gone into Osiris. Osiris rests in Ra.” In the Litany, Pharaoh praises Ra’s many names and forms saying:
“I am you, and you are I Where you go, I go as well. Your travels are my travels, Ra.”
“Ra it is who has gone into Osiris. Osiris rests in Ra.” In the Litany, Pharaoh praises Ra’s many names and forms saying:
“I am you, and you are I Where you go, I go as well. Your travels are my travels, Ra.”
Non-Royal Tombs
The tombs of the Medina workers, like all Egyptian tombs, were designed to be used. They provided a resting place for the body, a house for the spirits of the dead and a visiting place for the living. The people of Deir el-Medina made careful preparations for their afterlife. They shared the same belief as royalty in the need to provide for their ka in the next life. The royal tomb builders, in their spare time, would build their own tombs. They weren’t as elaborate as royal tombs, built into the face of the cliff of the western side of the village and contain a number of features in common with the Pharaoh’s tomb.
The workers did not have funerary texts such as Am Duat- this was for royalty only. Commoners did not become gods in the afterlife. The main funerary text for commoners was The Book of the Dead, and most tombs included the most popular Chapter 125, ‘The Weighing of the Heart’ in their tomb decoration.
Tomb Design
Two types of Medina tombs existed: freestanding tombs and rock cut tombs. Both contained a public and private area. Freestanding tombs (Figure 12.2) were surrounded by a wall containing one gateway. Within the courtyard was placed a basin of water and trees for the use of ka. Within the tomb, the above ground chapel walls were decorated with funerary scenes and the tomb owner’s statue. Below ground, a shaft or stairs led to the burial chamber where the mummified Khet (body) and its ka rested in the coffin. Other rooms contained funerary equipment such as Ushabtis- little statues that came to life as workers if needed by the tomb owner. “O ushabti, if I am appointed to do any work which is done on the necropolis… even as the man is bounden, namely to cultivate the fields, to flood the river-banks or to carry the sand of the East to West, then speak thou ‘Here am I!” (Coffin Text 472 A. Gardiner, Egypt of the Pharaohs: An Introduction, p.32)
The workers did not have funerary texts such as Am Duat- this was for royalty only. Commoners did not become gods in the afterlife. The main funerary text for commoners was The Book of the Dead, and most tombs included the most popular Chapter 125, ‘The Weighing of the Heart’ in their tomb decoration.
Tomb Design
Two types of Medina tombs existed: freestanding tombs and rock cut tombs. Both contained a public and private area. Freestanding tombs (Figure 12.2) were surrounded by a wall containing one gateway. Within the courtyard was placed a basin of water and trees for the use of ka. Within the tomb, the above ground chapel walls were decorated with funerary scenes and the tomb owner’s statue. Below ground, a shaft or stairs led to the burial chamber where the mummified Khet (body) and its ka rested in the coffin. Other rooms contained funerary equipment such as Ushabtis- little statues that came to life as workers if needed by the tomb owner. “O ushabti, if I am appointed to do any work which is done on the necropolis… even as the man is bounden, namely to cultivate the fields, to flood the river-banks or to carry the sand of the East to West, then speak thou ‘Here am I!” (Coffin Text 472 A. Gardiner, Egypt of the Pharaohs: An Introduction, p.32)
Rock cut tombs (Figure 12.3) was built in the hillsides. The offering chapel of the tomb was cut into the hillside and the sealed burial chamber was dug below ground level.
Decoration
The tombs of the Medina workers were not only unique in design but also superb in decoration. The craftsmen of the Pharaoh’s tombs applied their skills to their own tombs. They knew that the decoration of their tombs was a kind of magic to make their beliefs come true. Their tombs had to be filled with objects from their past and for their future life. Every tomb had to be decorated with special pictures that would guarantee life after death for the tomb owners.
The tombs of the Medina workers were not only unique in design but also superb in decoration. The craftsmen of the Pharaoh’s tombs applied their skills to their own tombs. They knew that the decoration of their tombs was a kind of magic to make their beliefs come true. Their tombs had to be filled with objects from their past and for their future life. Every tomb had to be decorated with special pictures that would guarantee life after death for the tomb owners.
Afterlife beliefs
Most villagers believed in life after death and that every person had one body and five spiritual elements. The Khet was powered by the Ka, which looked exactly like the body. Death occurred when the Ka left the Khet. The dead were given the life after death if they were judged by Osiris to have been good on earth. This journey was very lonely and dangerous. For protection, special magic spells were selected from The Book of the Dead to keep demons and other threats away. ‘Osiris… Great is the awe of him in the hearts of men, spirits and the dead… and many are his shapes in the Pure Place.’ (Book of the Dead, Spell 185).
Tombs were decorated with special spells to protect the spirits of the dead. These decorations were painted on walls and placed on papyrus.
Needs of the Ka
The Medians believed that the dead could live different afterlives at the same time. For this to happen the body had to be treated as if it were still alive. The body was preserved to make it look life-like (mummification) and a tomb called the Per Djet (house of eternity) was built. Only then would the Ka return to the life-like Khet. The Ka also needed food, clothing, everyday objects, incense and fine oils. These were placed in the tomb and pictured on the walls. They were also listed in a formula called the ’Hetep-di Newst’ (an offering which the King gives). This spell magically provided the dead person with everything on the list.
Tombs were decorated with special spells to protect the spirits of the dead. These decorations were painted on walls and placed on papyrus.
Needs of the Ka
The Medians believed that the dead could live different afterlives at the same time. For this to happen the body had to be treated as if it were still alive. The body was preserved to make it look life-like (mummification) and a tomb called the Per Djet (house of eternity) was built. Only then would the Ka return to the life-like Khet. The Ka also needed food, clothing, everyday objects, incense and fine oils. These were placed in the tomb and pictured on the walls. They were also listed in a formula called the ’Hetep-di Newst’ (an offering which the King gives). This spell magically provided the dead person with everything on the list.