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The tomb of Merenptah is situated in a
little valley on the main wadi`s right side. Merenptah was the
son of queen Isis-Nofret and of Ramesses II. The tomb of this
pharaoh was discovered in 1903, very close to the Ramesses II` s
enormous tomb; it was open in antiquity and was full of debris
at its discovery` s date. The Latin and Greek graffiti of the
toms shows that the tomb was accessible to the first hall with
pillars. Other decorations of the tomb are the sunk and the
raised relief and the paintings. The tomb of Merenptah marks the
transition from the 19th dynasty` s kings to the 20th ones which
makes it very interesting. This tomb has a big increase of
material in the rooms and corridors` height and a big decrease
in the lateral rooms` number. Four annexes are inside the burial
chamber, two of them on every side of the room, and at the back
of it, is a complex of annexes. Two rows of eight pillars
support the burial chamber` s ceiling which is astronomical
vaulted. On the right wall are scenes from the Book of Caverns,
oriented to the sun but the principal decorative themes goes
back to the Book of Gates. In the burial chamber` s centre is a
part of the pharaoh` s sarcophagus, which is made from pink
granite, in shape of cartouche and ornamental. In fact,
initially there were four sarcophagi made from stone and
consisting of three containers of Aswan granite- red or pink-as
well as one white calcite sarcophagus. The outermost sarcophagus
was immense, having a length of 4.1 meters. The object recovered
from the tomb of Merenptah can be included in the category of
writing equipment, of vessels and of tomb equipment. |
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