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On the west bank of the Nile is the necropolis, the dead city.
In Thebes-West, with the exception of Echnaton, all of the New Kingdom pharaohs. Unlike previous eras, the tombs of the places of worship separately, they housed only the sarcophagi with the mummies and the grave. It appealed rock tombs, which up to 300 m long and usually up to 20 m deep tunnel system.
Through various safety devices tried to graves before the robbers to protect, but were invariably all have heard of a systematic process as grave robbers opened and usually robbed. In order to prevent further looting, were already in the 21st Dynasty Pharaoh Pinodjem II, the remains of grave Königsmumien and equipment in a hidden chamber, the so-called Cachette, accommodate. This Cachette, a Chamber of 7 m length, it has a 12m deep shaft in a 70-meter-long passage reached was only after laborious investigations 1881. Also, the function of the dead temple had changed in the New Empire: They were not just places of worship, but they are talking, schools and libraries, where young officers were trained.
Murals in the tombs on the West Bank
The main theme of the murals in the tombs are not scenes of daily life, as they have in the facilities of Saqqara can see, but it is the chapters in the holy books: "The book of opening the mouth," "The Book of the things in the Underworld "," The doors book, "The Sonnenlitanei" and others.
The late Pharaoh had on his journey through the underworld many obstacles and dangers overcome, and it should help the sacred texts, so that he eventually would like once again Osiris and Re.
The wall and ceiling decoration of the royal tombs was far more than just colorful jewelry, because the artist created for the late King effectively an entire eternal underworld. In the hope of a comfortable life in the Hereafter the ancient Egyptians invested much effort in equipping their graves.
They were the doors to the dead and had versehen with offerings of dead priests and maintained. Certainly, this project has been destroyed in many cases, because of the premature death of the Pharaoh forced to the work at the grave cancel or terminate all haste, but nevertheless can be found in the Valley of the Kings some of the most important artistic achievements of the ancient world. -- In some, though not all, cases, the signatories rasterten representations with the help of the fortified wall Meßlatten and colored threads. Thereafter, the images and inscriptions outlined in red and black korregiert if necessary. The use of this phase of care is illustrated by the fact that when defective texts on the tomb wall sometimes gem wesh (incorrect,) was recorded. From the time of Haremhab, if it is a sublime relief acted, the stone to the representations before the painting back, otherwise, the hieroglyphs or figures in the stone hewn. The former, more expensive method was at the tombs of the 18th Dynasty consistently used in later monuments but usually only at the entrance.
Next, the outlines filled painters and their background carefully, they wobwi pigments in entrance near the incident sunlight and the tomb inside in the light of oil lamps aufbrachten. Commonly, in the valley of kings no more than six colors - black, red, blue, yellow, green and white, but occasionally on color or gradient shading were mixed. In the early graves, the decoration only after completion of all the stone work and just before the funeral to have been appropriate. Late tomb of the larger facilities must proportions and the ornaments because of the extensive construction and painting to be running in parallel. Even then expected to masons and painters but alternated to make it in the narrow spaces and no traffic jams were the frischbemalten surfaces not covered by the dust raised suffered. -- Towards the end of the history of the valley like dwindling funds have occasionally led to a different vorging: with the decoration of the tomb of Ramses IX. Was already evident during the reign of King started, but it apparently was completed only after his death.
The wall paintings of the royal tombs are in a sense the herausragenste feature of these monuments, because they raise these graves is not only the burial sites rangniedrigerer member of the royal family and other people, but also provide a visual representation of the other side, which is so detailed nowhere else in the records of the Egyptians. First, this model of life after death just the underworld, but also later the sky, and hence the whole cosmos. The main themes of the decorations are the three successive dynasties have been assigned to the Valley of the Kings used the orbit of the sun beneath the earth (18th dynasty); equal emphasis on the sun train under and above ground (20th dynasty). In the early 18th Dynstie was only the burial chamber decorated in a way that they are in the shape, color and style of a label open papyrus role of the Amduat-book (funeral book) was similar, but from Thutmose III. Were also on the walls of the pros and Fountain Chamber displayed various deities. In the 19th Dynasty spread the decoration on all parts of the tomb; seems to be the idea in Vordergrung to have confessed that the tomb axis is the east-west railway in the sun into the grave (and its West-East return) symbolized.
