Symbolism and Function
All who visit the Valley of the Kings in Western Thebes and descend into the royal underworld wonder at the mystery laid out on the walls and ceilings of these monuments which are unique in the world. The Egyptians are the first people who try to create maps of the beyond and although there are similarities in style and symbolism, no two of these tombs are alike. In a general way there are three distinct stages of design that these tombs underwent and they correspond roughly to the changing dynasties of the New Kingdom; the 18th, 19th and 20th. These changes reflect the development of religious thought throughout this period and the changing concepts of the nature of the underworld. We are fortunate to possess a document in the museum at Turin, Italy, which is an actual tomb plan from the 20th dynasty. It was made for the tomb of the pharaoh Ramesses VI and identifies the various sections of the tomb by name. (Click here for the Plan of Ramesses VI tomb.)
The plan seen in the Ramesses VI (KV9) tomb, however, is the culmination of centuries of changes in design, symbolism and layout. These must be examined in chronological order to achieve the fullest understanding of this process. Starting fairly early on in the 18th dynasty, the royal tomb consisted of a series of passages, four in number, comprised of either stairways or inclined ramps as the floors. Each of these passages was known by a name and related to a specific part of the nightly journey of the sun beneath the earth. The wall and ceiling decorations of these halls served to further develop this concept. The passages led to several ‘halls’ with the third passage having large niches on the sides which were known as ‘Sanctuaries where the Gods of the East and West Reside’, and the fourth passage usually opening on a room containing a well or pit. This hall was referred to as the ‘Hall of Hindrance’ or ‘Hall of Waiting.’ Continuing on, and usually turning at a sharp angle, a pillared hall was next encountered and this led through another series of passages to a larger pillared hall. This final hall, referred to as ‘The House of Gold,’ contained the royal sarcophagus and subsidiary storage rooms. The symbolic entrance to the 18th dynasty tombs was considered to be in the south, with the burial chamber in the north, notwithstanding the actual orientation.
The idea has been put that these bends in the tomb design may be reflective of ideas about the nature of the underworld as derived from the ‘Book of Two Ways’ from the Middle Kingdom and from the forth and fifth hours of the ‘Book of the Amduat’ (or the Underworld). In such tombs as Amenhotep II (KV 35) and Tuthmosis III (KV34) this composition can be seen painted on the walls of the burial chamber. The design of the tomb may then be considered as reflective of the landscape of the beyond, with the texts and representations developing the ideas of the winding waters in the land of the dead.
There are other perhaps more practical possibilities for the development in style of these 18th dynasty tombs, such as bad stone necessitating a curve in the axis, or the idea that the well was placed there to catch flood water that occasionally found its way into the tombs. The niches cut into the walls in the third passage may well have served as aids in the process of lowering the sarcophagus into the burial chamber; a difficult task given the layout of the tomb at this time. Whatever the initial reasons, it is certain that by the mid 18th dynasty, all these features had taken on a mythological significance such as the well being the associated with the Old Kingdom underworld god Sokar. This god is seen at the lowest lever of the underworld in the fifth hour of the Amduat as a hawk headed deity standing on the back of a winged three headed serpent. An indication that this is the case is found in the 20th dynasty tombs following Ramesses III where the room is retained even though the well shaft itself was not excavated. The burial chamber proper in 18th dynasty tombs is found to be in the shape of the cartouche as are some of the sarcophagi in these tombs. One should always bear in mind that in Egyptian design and architecture, all things can be viewed as representative in nature and that nothing is there by chance.
Beginning in the 19th dynasty there is a noticeable change in the tombs of the valley. The bent-axis design of the 18th dynasty is now abandoned in favor of a jogged-axis design as seen in the tomb of Horemheb (KV57). The decorative motive also changes from an emphasis on the underworld to one of the solar cycle. The angle of decent into the tombs is lessened and there is a movement towards the use of doors in place of hidden tomb entrances. The indication may be that tombs were being regularly opened for festivals or inspection. Side rooms now increase in number with access now through wooden doors in place of the sealed doorways of the preceding dynasty. Richard Wilkinson has pointed out that these changes may indicate more than a simple structural change. The indication here is an introduction, architectural in nature, of a new symbolism that incorporated the solar cycle. The tomb orientation now moves from north-south to an east-west one. This would reflect the course of the sun on its daily journey to the underworld and the west-east return path. Additional indication of this new directional orientation can be found in the placement of the goddesses Isis and Nephthys who are associated with the south and north respectively. Their positions flanking the sun give indication of the east-west axis of the tomb at this time.
The Litany of Re, a listing of all the sacred and secret names of the god, is now moved to the entranceway of the tomb. This is reflective of a basic theological change that is apparent in the tomb design. Starting with the tomb of Ramesses II (KV7), one can see the tripartite representation of the beetle Khepri (the new born morning sun), the ram headed Atum (the evening manifestation), inscribed upon the disk of Re, the mid-day sun, over the tomb entrance. This is highly symbolic and I am quite sure indicative of knowledge of what has been termed the four-syllable element and an expression of the nature of the cosmos. This may be an example of the idea of the ‘Om’, that sound which is representative of the harmony of the universe, as manifest in this tradition.
As explained, the opening syllable is the coming onto being of the universe, the next syllable the filling of the mouth in fullness of form, and the third is the closing off of the sound. The fourth element is regarded as the silence from which it comes and to which it returns. At the tomb entrance we see the god Khepri whose name in ancient Egyptian is the verb meaning ‘to come into being’, followed by the sun disk itself in its full day form, and finally the ram headed god Atum who is representative of the closing of the cycle. The fourth element would of course be the tomb itself. It is the silence out of which one comes as is indicated in the Egyptian ‘Book of the Dead’ or as they refer to it, ‘The Book of Coming Forth by Day’, and that same silence to which the soul returns at night.
Further, it is of interest that almost all representations of the solar disk within the tomb are of a deep red color that is indicative of the sun’s evening and night appearance. A single exception to this is the sun when seen being reborn between the thighs of the sky goddess Nut. Here it is shown as a golden winged disk, but, in keeping with the symbolism, the sun is shown as red just before Nut swallows it and while it passes through her body.
As we move into the tomb it can be noticed that the front part of the 19th dynasty tomb is dedicated to images of a solar nature while at the first pillared hall, the usual point of the axis jog, the images take on a decidedly Osirian representation. The front half of the tomb therefore is symbolically associated with the east and the back with the west. The image of Re is at times encountered in the back half of the tomb, but he takes second place in importance and size to Osiris.
The royal sarcophagi at this time all seem to be oriented with the head to the north. This is in keeping with an ancient belief found in the Pyramid Texts that one aspect of the royal afterlife is located in the northern sky with the stars known as the ‘Imperishable Ones.’ These are the stars that never set when viewed from the northern hemisphere. This also means that the king would face south, which is the cardinal direction in ancient Egypt. Two tomb of note from this period are those of Ramesses I (KV 16) and that of Horemheb (KV 57).
The tomb of Ramesses I is small due to his short reign. The painted scenes of the ‘Book of Gates’ are some of the finest to be seen. The funerary chamber is also decorated with the king shown in the presence of the various gods. Horemheb’s tomb shows a decorative plan in various stages of completion. This work was done by the very best artists that Egypt had to offer. The color is outstanding with the hieroglyphs in a multicolor format placed upon a blue-gray background. The Book of Gates was used here for the first time as a replacement for the Amduat in the burial chamber. The long corridors are rather steep in design and the unfinished walls are evident with the decoration in the burial chamber only partly complete as time ran out and the falcon king flew to the sun.
The 20th dynasty tombs show an elegant and simple form and with only a few exceptions (esp. Ramesses VI), a reduction in size. The king now takes on a direct association with the solar deity and can be seen joined with him in both his day and evening journeys. In the tomb of Ramesses IV (KV2), the royal titulary can be seen running the length of the ceiling leading to the burial chamber. The royal name then, symbolically follows the path of the sun on its daily journey, with the cartouche taking the place of the sun disk as was seen in temple ceilings and entrances. Beginning with the tomb of Ramesses III, the orientation of the sarcophagus was realigned along the main axis (east-west) of the tomb. The head was placed at the west end so that the mummy always looked towards the east, symbolically at least, and towards the rising sun. The significance here is obvious; the king is therefore re-born everyday with the rising of the sun.
One of the most striking and beautiful aspects of 20th dynasty royal tombs in the valley, is the introduction of the sky goddess Nut on the ceiling of the burial chamber. There has been much discussion concerning the direction that she is shown in as she is seen swallowing the evening sun in the direction of the entrance (the east). Wilkinson has pointed out that it may have been felt that it was more important to have the point of re-birth, (the emergence of the solar disk from between the legs of the goddess as she gives new life every morning), over the head of the king. Along with the image of the goddess Nut, the ceilings were also decorated with the ‘Book of the Day’ and the ‘Book of the Night.’ When the body of the goddess Nut is observed on the ceiling, one may notice that while there is much activity below her body, nothing can be seen to the outside of the goddess where one might expect to see stars or other deities shown. One explanation for this may be that the goddess encloses all of creation under her body, and as such there would be no existence beyond the limits of her form.
All of the royal Theban religious literature deals with life, death and resurrection of the sun god. The son of the sun, the pharaoh, has his fate linked with this god. The tombs of Ramesses VI or IX (KV6) are not to be missed if at all possible as these tombs display many of the mentioned designs. Many of the Ramesside period tombs will show the astronomical ceiling with the goddess Nut and at least portions of the other compositions we have named on their walls. All this points to an increased attention to the solar aspects of religious thought at this time. Unfortunately, the administration at the Valley of the Kings opens and closes these tombs at will on a daily basis, but usually it is possible to view one tomb as representative of each dynasty. >>>
