Egypt’s most exquisite tomb. The wall decorations in the tomb Ramesses II’s first Great Royal Wife
Egypt’s most exquisite tomb.
The wall decorations in the tomb Ramesses II’s first Great Royal Wife, Nefertari, are simply stunning—and incredibly fragile. For many years, the tomb was only open for scholars and the most privileged or well-connected visitors.
In the past, Nefertari’s tomb (QV 66) in the Valley of the Queens in Luxor, has permitted only the occasional tourists paying thousands of dollars for 10 minutes inside, breathing, as author Michelle Moran called it, “the most expensive air in the world”.
But she goes on to say, “We paid the outrageous price, and I have never forgotten the experience.”
More recently, however, Nefertari’s tomb has occasionally opened for everyone – and at a more reasonable price (US$ 50). To minimise the risk of the tomb being loved to death, however, visitors are still limited to around 10 minutes inside. Why the time limit? Each visitor to a tomb brings with them an agent that is deadly to precarious tomb decorations—moisture. As people come and go, the temperature and humidity levels change, making the plaster on the walls expand and contract. As a result, the fragile, decorated plaster can flake away from the rock face. Sometimes tombs can be too beautiful for their own good.
Even this tender level of visitation takes it toll, unfortunately, and Nefertari’s tomb has temporarily closed again for another round of cleaning and conservation.
Pictured is the beautifully decorated burial chamber in Nefertari’s tomb. The queen’s sarcophagus (now long gone) was placed between the four pillars shown. The east face of the closest pillar shows the goddess Isis extending the ankh to the nose of Nefertari, giving her the breath of life. The figures of Osiris behind face south towards the tomb entrance, and thus display Osiris looking from the west, welcoming Nefertari into the afterlife. The burial chamber walls are decorated with chapters from the Book of the Dead.
