Egypt and Libya, March 19 - April 2, 2006 / 20060323d_TombOfRamsesIII
Ruth Milner, rmilner plus web at bookofmarvels dot net
Our next choice was the tomb of Ramses III
(ruled 1184-1153BC). They all look unremarkable from the
outside, but many are extraordinarily beautiful inside. This tomb, unlike
Ramses IV, has plexiglass barriers in front of the walls. The tunnel
takes a zigzag partway along where they broke through into the adjacent
tomb of Amenmesse (excavated only 50 years earlier; you'd think someone
would have remembered it was there). We had a 5-minute power outage just
past that corner, but we had a flashlight. The tomb corridor has side
openings with additional chambers, painted with many different scenes
of gods, the pharaoh, conquered enemies, religious ceremonies, royal barges,
etc. but also, more unusually, lots of detail of daily life e.g. harvest,
woodworkers, etc. and a niche with a famous painting of blind harpists.
The tomb served as a hiding place for early (Coptic) Christians, who
defaced some of the images out of fear that they represented demons.
