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Biban el-Harim is another name of the
Valley of the Queens, a place situated in Egypt, where, in the
ancient times, the pharaohs ` wives were buried. The place is
also known as Wadi el- Melikat or as Biban el-Sultanat. Here
were also buried numerous nobility` s members as well as
princesses and princes. The mortuary priests were the one who
maintained the tombs, made daily rituals and prayers for this
nobility. Biban el-Harim is situated in the vicinity of the
Valley of the Kings, on the Nile` s West bank. The kings of the
18th dynasty preferred to be buried in rock-cut tombs instead of
being buried in the traditional pyramids. A reason could be the
fact that the pyramids were the victims of the robbers. There
are about 90 tombs in Biban el-Harim, the most of them being
decorated in a lavishly and stylish way. One of these tombs is
the one of queen Nefertari of the 19th dynasty. This tomb is
craved of rock and the tomb` s polychrome reliefs are still in a
good shape. Nefertari was one of the wives of Ramesses II and
her tomb is the most spectacular and the largest from the Valley
of the Queens. In the tombs over there were buried daughters,
sons and wives of the pharaohs and nobility of the 18th, 19th
and 20th dynasties. The later tombs are situated in the Biban
el-Harim`s Southern side and the early tombs in the Northern
side. The royal women from the 18th dynasty were buried in
different locations like Valley of the Kings. Around 80 tombs
were discovered in an Italian expedition that lasted from 1903
to 1906. Some of the tombs belonged to the royalty`s children
and many of them were damaged from fires or improper used.
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