The Queen’s life and death are the main themes of the tomb itself. The painting titled “Queen playing Draughts” on the wall of paintings depicts Nefertari engaging in Senet. The significance of the game of Senet was illustrated by dedicating an entire wall to depict the Queen at play. Interpretations suggest that the actual board game Senet as well as Nefertari’s body and numerous symbolic images of her may have also been kidnapped. Nefertari might have been quite intelligent and a writer during her lifetime. An image of Nefertari appearing before the god of writing and literacy to declare her status as a scribe in a tomb painting can be used to suggest this. Nefertari was promised an equally elegant afterlife because she led an elegant life on earth.
The tomb is inscribed with Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead. It describes a spell for the Queen. This spell is meant to instruct Nefertari on how to change into a bird. In the afterlife, Nefertari’s transformation into a bird provides the promise of freedom. In the burial chamber, pieces of the mummy’s knees were discovered. These are now in the Egyptian Museum. The tomb has been opened and closed to the public multiple times since its discovery in 1904. Thirty years ago, repair work was done on Queen Nefertari’s tomb to protect the paintings from deterioration caused by water damage, salt accumulation, and bacterial growth. In order to stop further harm from traffic and the humidity of visitors’ breath, the number of visitors is now restricted.
The tomb of Queen Nefertari
The tomb of Queen Nefertari, which is located in the Valley of the Queens on the west bank of Luxor, is one of the most spectacular tombs that you can visit in Egypt. Nefertari, the Great Wife of Pharaoh Ramesses II. Ernesto Schiaparelli (the head of the Egyptian Museum in Turin) made the discovery in 1904. It is called the Sistine Chapel of Ancient Egypt. Like most ancient Egyptian tombs, Nefertari’s tomb in the Valley of the Queens once contained her mummified body and the majority of ancient Egyptian tombs.
The wall paintings depicted Nefertari as she was in what is left. Her face, particularly the shape of her eyes, the blush of her cheeks, and her eyebrows, received extra care to highlight her beauty. Some of the paintings depicted fine guidelines for navigating through the afterlife to paradise and were filled with lines and the colors red, blue, yellow, and green. The tomb has been opened and closed to the public multiple times since its discovery in 1904. Thirty years ago, repair work was done on Queen Nefertari’s tomb to protect the paintings from deterioration caused by water damage, salt accumulation, and bacterial growth. In order to stop further harm from traffic and the humidity of visitors’ breath, the number of visitors is now restricted.
Design of Nefertari Tomb
The antechamber, which is painted with paintings based on Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead, is accessed via a set of steps carved out of the rock. This dark blue astronomical ceiling, which is decorated with a plethora of golden five-pointed stars, depicts the sky. A significant doorway on the east wall of the antechamber, flanked by images of Osiris and Anubis, leads to the side chamber, which is painted with offering scenes and is preceded by a vestibule where paintings show Nefertari being introduced to the gods who welcome her.
The stairway leading to the burial chamber is located on the north side of the antechamber. This second space is a large quadrangular room with a surface area of around 90 square meters. Four ornamented pillars support the astronomical ceiling of this space. The queen’s red granite sarcophagus formerly stood in the center of this room. The dead were regenerated in this space, which the ancient Egyptians referred to as the “golden hall,” in accordance with the time’s religious ideas.
Spending a little more money to visit one of Egypt’s most gorgeous locations is worthwhile if you have traveled all the way there. We highly advise going there.
