Ramesses II had a very lavish burial that was in accordance with his influential power over the people of Egypt. Through methods of identifying his burial processes and treatments we are also examining his individuality as a person and a ruler.
Inner Wrappings and their Contents
When Ramesses II was discovered he was in a very plain, wooden sarcophagus; what is interesting is that when he was re-wrapped it seems that the priests who did the job were very careful in keeping the appropriate items with him that are required for entering the afterlife.
In his initial burial, Ramesses II had a ‘Book of the Dead’ placed between his hands followed by a layer of wrapped linens that were soaked in oils for sealing purposes, and then in between each layer of cloth, multiple amulets were placed. The amulets are significant because they were to protect the king’s body on its journey into the afterlife. When all of the wrappings were done layering the body, a final cloth was placed over Ramesses II’s body and the God Osiris was painted on to this. The painting of Osiris on the linens wrapping the body is significant because Osiris (being the God of the underworld) was to judge the weighing of Ramesses’ heart and determine his passing into the underworld. (pgs: 88-91, Ramses II- S.Fitzgerald).
Even though Ramesses II’s body was re-wrapped many years after his initial burial, his body was left intact and the original amulets and book remained in his wrappings.
– Link to Stephanie Fitzgerald’s book “Ramses II”.
Movement of Ramesses II
Ramesses II had a unique movement of his body because of early looting of his original tomb. Like many of the early Egyptian pharaohs, Ramesses II was buried amongst the Valley of the Kings (specifically tomb KV7), which was specifically designed for royal burials. When looters raided his tomb before the third intermediate, priests transported his mummified body to a cache in Deir-el-Bahari (cache DB320).
During the periods in which Ramesses II's body was transported his body was re-wrapped and a docket was inserted into his wrappings to identify the time of this re-wrapping and re-burial. This re-wrapping occurred in the tomb of Seti i (tomb KV17 in the city if Sohag of Upper Egypt). After this movement, his body was placed in a nearby Cliff Tomb of Inhapy where it was to be his final place for resting. The significant, underlying reason behind these movements of the mummy was the protection of a very powerful king that was respected and looked upon as a god-like figure to his people.
Finally, the Pharaoh's mummified body was discovered in its last burial placing in Deir-el-Bahari. The man who examined the mummy on June 3, 1886 was Gaston Maspero. The final coffin that Ramesses II was buried in was a plain, wooden anthropoid coffin; unlike the sarcophagus that he would of been buried in right after his death. With little referencing artefacts to compare Ramesses II's wealth to other pharaohs, some archaeologists have used the measure of a minor king (eg. Tutankhamen) to a highly influential and powerful king like Ramesses II, to only infer that his tomb would have housed a plentiful amount of extravagant pieces, (http://famouspharaohs.blogspot.com/2007/10/ramses-ii-death-and-burial-when-ramses.html).
Ramesses II had a unique movement of his body because of early looting of his original tomb. Like many of the early Egyptian pharaohs, Ramesses II was buried amongst the Valley of the Kings (specifically tomb KV7), which was specifically designed for royal burials. When looters raided his tomb before the third intermediate, priests transported his mummified body to a cache in Deir-el-Bahari (cache DB320).
During the periods in which Ramesses II's body was transported his body was re-wrapped and a docket was inserted into his wrappings to identify the time of this re-wrapping and re-burial. This re-wrapping occurred in the tomb of Seti i (tomb KV17 in the city if Sohag of Upper Egypt). After this movement, his body was placed in a nearby Cliff Tomb of Inhapy where it was to be his final place for resting. The significant, underlying reason behind these movements of the mummy was the protection of a very powerful king that was respected and looked upon as a god-like figure to his people.
Finally, the Pharaoh's mummified body was discovered in its last burial placing in Deir-el-Bahari. The man who examined the mummy on June 3, 1886 was Gaston Maspero. The final coffin that Ramesses II was buried in was a plain, wooden anthropoid coffin; unlike the sarcophagus that he would of been buried in right after his death. With little referencing artefacts to compare Ramesses II's wealth to other pharaohs, some archaeologists have used the measure of a minor king (eg. Tutankhamen) to a highly influential and powerful king like Ramesses II, to only infer that his tomb would have housed a plentiful amount of extravagant pieces, (http://famouspharaohs.blogspot.com/2007/10/ramses-ii-death-and-burial-when-ramses.html).
Passage into the AfterlifeThinking back to what was described under Ramesses II’s wrappings; it is described how important Osiris’s role was in the immortality process. Some of the important features that were taken for preparing Ramesses II's body were keeping the heart inside of his body. Later in the blog, you will see how this occured and what other post-mortem alterations were made to the body. Another key feature for the king was that his body was to remained as intact as possible because of its reflection on the body carried alongside the king into the afterlife.
To keep the body from drying out, the priests prepping the body would cover his body with natron so that it would dry out completely and leave no retaining moisture that could cause decay. After a long, 70 day drying process, the body was then ready to be wrapped. An important feature for mummifying individuals is to have specific priests chanting over the body while the mummification process is in progression. The spells chanted were supposed to keep evil spirits away from harming the king. The only physical evidence derived from Ramesses II’s mummy of the ‘spirit-deterring’ process are the oils spread on the layers of the wrappings as well as the amulets. (R.Freed et al – U. Of Michigan, Ramses II).
– Link to book: “Ramses II, the great pharaoh and his time” by R.Freed and colleagues.
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