The mummy of Ramesses II was discovered within the Royal Cache (TT320), near Deir el-Bahari in the Theban Necropolis. This cache was utilised by ancient priests to safeguard the royal and elite mummies from the threat of tomb robbers. Unearthed by Egyptian locals in 1871, the cache contained the remains of numerous pharaohs, including Ramesses...
This statue, sculpted during 18th Dynasty with the features of Queen Tiye, wife of Amenhotep III, was usurped and reused during the 19th Dynasty by Ramesses II, who dedicated it to his mother Tuya. This queen, who had an important political and court role, received after her death a funerary cult associated with that of...
Seti I is believed to have died at around 40–50 years old, based on studies of his mummy and historical records. His reign lasted approximately 11–15 years, c. 1290–1279 B.C. Seti I’s achievements spanned military, architectural, and administrative domains, setting the stage for the prosperity of his son and successor, Ramesses II (Ramesses the Great)....
King Merneptah was originally buried within tomb (KV8) in the Valley of the Kings, but his mummy was not found there. In 1898 it was located along with eighteen other mummies in the mummy cache found in the tomb of Amenhotep II (KV35) by Victor Loret. In their search for gold, the tomb-robbers split the...
Pendant in the shape of a ram headed falcon (gold, lapis-lazuli, turquoise and carnelian), found on the mummy of an Apis bull in the Serapeum of Memphis at Saqqara. This pendant takes the form of a falcon with a ram’s head, with outstretched wings and legs. This is a composite figure of a deity, almost...
This golden strainer from Bubastis is intended for a wine service, removing sediment from the beverage as it is poured out of jugs, jars or flasks into bowls, goblets or situlae for drinking. The strainer indicates that most if not all of the Tell Basta vessels belonged to just such a wine service, certainly a...
The coffin of Khonsu was found in the Tomb of Sennedjem (TT1), Khonsu’s father, at Deir el-Medina, West Thebes. This wooden coffin bears decoration related to Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead on its long sides. On one side Anubis can be seen mummifying the body of Osiris (with whom the deceased is...
The limestone Pyramidion of Ramose, from the top of the tomb of the ‘Necropolis Scribe’. Scenes on all four sides depict the worship of the sun. Ramose of the 19th dynasty was an ancient Egyptian noble and high-ranking official during the reign of kings Seti I and Ramesses II. Ramose served as a vizier, which...
Hidden deep within the ochre cliffs of the Valley of the Kings lies one of Ancient Egypt’s most breathtaking royal sepulchres: the tomb of Pharaoh Seti I, who reigned during the 19th Dynasty around 1290–1279 B.C. Known to modern Egyptologists as KV17, this tomb is not only among the longest and most exquisitely decorated, but...
The battle of Kadesh is one of the world’s largest chariot battles, fought beside the Orontes River, King Ramesses II sought to wrest Syria from the Hittites and recapture the Hittite-held city of Kadesh. There was a day of carnage as some 5,000 chariots charged into the fray, but no outright victor. The Kadesh Treaty...
