Scenes of the Amduat, Tomb of Ramesses IX

Decorations show scenes from the Amduat or “Book of What is in the Underworld”, detail of a wall carving in the second corridor of the Tomb of Ramesses IX (KV6).

“Amduat (What is in the Netherworld) was used in Ancient Egypt as a generic name for descriptions of the netherworld, but in modern Egyptology is reserved for the oldest of these compositions which has the original title of (Treatise of the Hidden Chamber).

In the Amduat, the night-journey of the Egyptian Sun god is divided into twelve hours, each of them containing an enormous amount of insight into the human psyche.

The entire Book could be called the first ‘scientific publication’ of humankind describing or mapping the dangers, but also the regenerative capabilities of the night-world, providing answers to basic human questions. The synopsis of the different scenes of the Amduat, all in colour, together with its explaining text, is unique.”

— The Egyptian Amduat: The Book of the Hidden Chamber, by Erik Hornung (#aff)

Illustration associated with the ‘The Book of the Day’ depicts the sun god Re in his ram-headed form, detail of a painted ceiling in the burial chamber.

New Kingdom, Ramesside Period, 20th Dynasty, reign of Ramesses IX, ca. 1129-1111 BC. Valley of the Kings, West Thebes.