The Valley of the Queens is the necropolis of Ancient Egypt, where there are numerous tombs of the wives and children of the dynasty of the pharaohs. Previously, this area was known as Ta-Set-Neferou which means “a place for the children of kings”, because along with the wives of the rulers of Egypt in the XVIII, XIX, XX dynasties (1550 – 1070 BC), here the heirs of the pharaohs were laid to rest, who never came to the throne. In addition to the tombs of royal persons, a place was also discovered in the Valley where the priests performed ritual actions before burial.
Where is the Valley of the Queens?
The Valley of the Queens is located next to the more famous in Egypt the Valley of the Kings on the western bank of the Nile opposite Thebes (modern Luxor). This barren sandy area in the limestone cliffs was chosen for its distance from residential areas and its proximity to the capital. The kings of the XVIII dynasty changed the form of burial in Ancient Egypt.
The pyramidal complexes were replaced by the tradition of building burial chambers. Perhaps the main reason for these changes was the vulnerability of the former to the onslaught of robbers. The mummies of the pharaohs, their wives and children, as well as high-ranking officials began to be placed with all the treasures in the crypts, carved by skillful Egyptian craftsmen in the rock formations.
The Paints and subjects of the tombs
The ancient Egyptians called the Valley of the Queens “Ta-Set-Neferu”, which some translators interpret as “the valley of beauty”, while others – as “a place of perfection.”
Seemingly strange name for a cemetery … But the fact of the matter is that in the minds of the ancient Egyptians graves and monuments above them were not perceived as places where a person comes in grief and sorrow, where he experiences pain from the loss of a loved one. No, on the contrary, they blessed the necropolis as the beginning of the transition of the deceased to light and transformation. There was the so-called Book of the Dead, this name was given by the archaeologist Richard Lepsius (1810-1884) to the papyrus scrolls, which were placed in sarcophagi, but the Egyptians called them “Pay nu peret em kheru”, literally “Chapters on going out to the light of day.” It was a rather chaotic collection of prayers and incantations so that the deceased could successfully pass through the judgment of Osiris, a kind of purgatory, and enter the fields of light, which, in general, corresponds to the Christian concept of paradise. Similar scrolls in Ancient Egypt were also called Theban, because they were used most often in Thebes, and especially a lot of their scraps were found by archaeologists in the Valley of the Queens. This is not surprising, the pharaohs wished only the best for their beloved beautiful wives, and for their immortal souls on their deathbed and in the afterlife, too.
The most significant tombs, according to Egyptologists in the Valley of the Queens
- QV8 – Prince Hori and a princess whose name is unknown (XVIII dynasty).
- QV17 – Meritre and Vermeriotes, daughters of the king of the XVIII dynasty.
- QV30 – Nebiri, senior groom of an unknown dynasty.
- QV33 – Princess Tanejmet (XIX or XX dynasty).
- QV38 – Queen Sitre, wife of Ramses I, mother of Seti I and grandmother of Ramses II (19th dynasty).
- QV42 – Parechervenemef, son of Ramses III (XX dynasty).
- QV43 – Setherkapshef, presumably the son of Ramses III, later Ramses VIII (buried elsewhere).
- QV44 – Hayemuaset, son of Ramses III.
- QV46 – Imhotep, vizier and architect of Thutmose I (XVIII dynasty).
- QV47 – Ahmose, daughter of Tao II the Brave (XVII dynasty).
- QV51 – Iset-ta-Heitchert, wife of Ramses III, mother of Ramses VI.
- QV52 – Titi, wife of Ramses III, mother of Ramses IV.
- QV53 – Ramses, son of Ramses III.
- QV55 – Amen Khepeshef, son of Ramses III.
- QV60 – Nebetavi, daughter of Ramses II (XIX dynasty).
- QV66 – Nefertari, wife of Ramses II.
- QV68 – Meritamun, daughter of Ramses II and Nefertari.
- QV70 – Nehesi (XVIII dynasty).
- QV71 – Queen Bentanatus, daughter of Ramses II and Isitnofret.
- QV72 – Neferhat / Baki (XVIII dynasty).
- QV73 – Queen Henuttawy (presumably XX dynasty).
- QV74 – Queen Duatentipet, wife of Ramses IV (XX dynasty).
- QV75 – Queen Henuthmir, daughter or sister of Ramses II.
- QV76 – Princess Meritre (XVIII dynasty).
- QV80 – Queen Mut, wife of Seti I and mother of Ramses II.
- QV81 – Queen of Heck (XVIII dynasty).
- QV82 – princes Minemhat and Amenhotep (XVIII dynasty).
- QV88 – Princess Ahmose (XVII dynasty).
Other Important Sites:
- Steles dedicated to the military exploits of Ramses II, at the entrance to the Valley.
- Necropolis of the village of Deir el-Medina.
- Most of the most valuable finds in the Valley of the Queens are kept in the Egyptian Museum in Turin (Italy), interesting artifacts from here are also in the British Museum in London, in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and in the Museum of Egyptian Art in Luxor
