Ramesses II: Sarcophagus and Paintings

Unfortunately for Egyptologists and art history enthusiasts, the first tomb of Ramesses II was located in a terrible place.  The location is prone to flooding (ten times and counting, so far), and as a result a lot of the artwork that isn’t completely ruined is very washed out.  He was reburied, and whatever was salvageable was reburied with him.  His first tomb was located in the illustrious Valley of the Kings. 

Thought of as not the longest, but possibly the tomb with the greatest amount of surface area, it is thought that Ramesses II began work on his grandiose tomb the second year he held power.  Found on the walls of his tomb (evidence remaining after the effects of the flood) were paintings and engravings.  The main rejuvenation effort was placed upon the sarcophagus, which was analyzed and revealed to have been completely covered in coloured pigment. Also found in his tomb was a small carved pit, only found in two other tombs to date.  On the wall near the entrance of the tomb there is an engraving of Ramesses the second’s most famous wife, Nefertari.  There is mention of her in his tomb, but in her tomb there is no mention of him, even though she died much before he did.  Not only does he have a fantastically gigantic resting place for himself, but another huge tomb known as KV 5 was created for his sons. 

Arguably the greatest ruler in Egyptian Pharaoh history, he was known as “The Builder”.  He utilised his long reign as Pharaoh to not only go off on a great number of campaigns and raids, but he also focused on architecture that would last a great deal of time after his number was up.