During our week in Luxor our two guides, both named Hassan, showed us the tombs of nobles, queens, and kings. Most of the burial chambers were completely empty. Looting of tombs was common during ancient Egyptian times and later, so the locations of burial chambers of important people were often kept secret and unmarked. Most of the items archeologists discovered in the tombs are now part of the collection at the large archeological museum in Cairo. This includes mummies, furniture, clothing, jewelry, statues, dishes, sarcophagi, and alabaster jars with the deceased’s dried organs.

Valley of the Nobles – Archeologists have uncovered over 400 tombs of high-ranking government and military officials in the foothills on the west bank of the city. We visited three tombs and saw scenes of daily daily life and the after life painted and carved on the walls. Khaemhat’s tomb was first. He served as a royal scribe and overseer of granaries in upper (south) and lower (north) Egypt.

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Userhat worked as a royal scribe and counter of bread in upper and lower Egypt.

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Rameses’ tomb was much larger than the other two and included stone columns. His most important position was governor of Thebes (former name of Luxor) and his tomb was never finished because he died prematurely.

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Valley of the Queens – The 75 tombs in this area belonged to queens of the 19th and 20th dynasties and their family members. We explored the tombs of 2 princes and one queen, all of which included central hallways with rooms off to the sides. 

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The first three photos below are images we saw in the tomb of Khaemwaset, another son of Ramses III. He died at a young age. We only saw one queen’s tomb, that of Queen Titi. Some archaeologists believe she was the wife of Ramses III and possibly the mother of Amun-her-khepeshef and Khaemwaset. Her tomb is very similar to the burial chambers of the two princes. 

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Valley of the Kings – Sixty-three royal tombs lie in the valley below the pyramid-shaped mountain peak of Al Qurn and most of the burial chambers are closed to visitors. Not surprisingly, the kings’ tombs are more ornate and colorful than tombs for queens or royal family members. And we were not disappointed with the preserved artwork we saw. We started at Merenptah’s tomb, the second-largest tomb in the valley. He was the 13th son of Ramses II and became king because his 12 older brothers all died before his father. He was buried inside four sarcophagi.

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The tomb of Ramses III extends 125 meters into the mountain and contains a wide variety of relief subjects, including traditional texts, Ramses with gods, royal amoury, pottery, and harps on the corridor and chamber walls. 

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King Ramses IV ruled only six years and his tomb was not finished when he died, even though he doubled the number of laborers and artisans when he realized he would not live many more years. Unlike most other tombs for kings in Luxor, this tomb does not decrease much in elevation from the entrance to the farthest wall and is much shorter in length, only 89 meters.

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