 The tomb of Ramesses IV
(KV 2) in the
Valley of the Kings is rather different then most
other royal tombs built here. Ramesses
III, had been assassinated, and when his
some, Ramesses IV took the thrown, he did so in a period of economic decline in
Egypt. Though large, his tomb is highly simplistic, and unique in many ways. The
tomb was known early on, and was in fact used as a sort of hotel by early
explorers such as Champollion and Rosellini (1829),
Robert Hay, Furst Puckler,
Theodore Davis and others. It was also an important Coptic Christian dwelling,
and was also frequently visited in antiquity. There was considerable Coptic and
Greek graffiti on the tomb walls.
 Interestingly, two sketched plans of this tomb are known, the most famous and
complete of which is contained within the a papyrus in Turin.
One unusual aspect of the tomb is that there is very little decline as one
travels from the first part of the tomb through to its rear. The entrance
begins with a split stairways to either side of a ramp, opening into a first,
second and third corridors. The final corridor leads to a smallish antechamber,
and then to the burial chamber. To the rear of the burial chamber are some
small annexes, but otherwise the tomb contains no lateral annexes. The
corridors are unusual for their width and height, some measuring three meters
(10 feet) wide and four meters (15 feet high).
The facade of the tomb is decorated with scenes of the king's coronation, as
well as a scene depicting Isis and
Nephthys venerating the sun disk.
Within the first two corridors are scenes and text from the Litany of Ra,
proceeded by a typical painting of the king worshipping the falcon headed sun
god, Re-Horakhthy. On the ceilings are vultures, falcons and winged
scarabs with spread wings.
In the third corridor we find the first and second parts of the Book of
Caverns, with simple ceilings decorated with stars, but which later becomes
vaulted. From this corridor, a ramp leads through the antechamber into the
burial chamber. The antechamber is decorated with scenes from the Book of
the Dead, mostly chapter 125 which deals with the judgement of the
 dead. The
burial chamber, which is not large, is almost filled by the still resident
sarcophagus. However, this sarcophagus is unusually large. The burial
chamber is decorated with the second, third and fourth hours from the Book of
Gates. The ceiling is uniquely decorated with two large figures
representing Nut, rather then the usual stellar constellations. There are
also scenes from the Book of Nut, and the Book of the
Night. The annexes
behind the burial chamber contain text from the first part of the Book of
Caverns. Other parts of this annex are painted with burial offerings such
as beds, shrines and canopic
jars.
Note the complete absence of pillars within this tomb, as well as the lack of
the Amduat within its decorative program.
Little funerary equipment is known to have been found within the tomb
itself. The sarcophagus was broken into at one end during antiquity and the
lid displaced. The king's mummy was eventually found in KV
35. There were
a total of nine foundation deposits discovered, including five by Howard
Carter. Edward Ayrton and Carter also found considerable funerary material
that was thrown out of the tomb, probably during antiquity. These included
ostraca, shabtis figures in wood, calcite and faience, fragments of faience,
glass and potsherds.
General Site Information
- Structure: KV 2
- Location: Valley of the Kings, East Valley, Thebes West Bank, Thebes
- Owner: Rameses IV
- Other designations: 13 [Champollion], 2 [Hay], 2 [Lepsius], B, plan A [Pococke], IIe
Tombeau à l'ouest [Description], N [Burton]
- Site type: Tomb
Orientation
- Axis in degrees: 291.5
- Axis orientation: West
Site Location
- Latitude: 25.44 N
- Longitude: 32.36 E
- Elevation: 167.807 msl
- North: 99,723.763
- East: 94,074.579
- JOG map reference: NG 36-10
- Modern governorate: Qena (Qina)
- Ancient nome: 4th Upper Egypt
- Surveyed by TMP: Yes
Measurements
- Maximum height: 5.21 m
- Mininum width: 1.24 m
- Maximum width: 8.32 m
- Total length: 88.66 m
- Total area: 304.88 m²
- Total volume: 1105.25 m³
Additional Tomb Information
- Entrance location: End of spur
- Owner type: King
- Entrance type: Ramp
- Interior layout: Corridors and chambers
- Axis type: Straight
Decoration
- Grafitti
- Painting
- Sunk relief
Categories of Objects Recovered
- Architectural elements
- Furniture
- Human mummies
- Tomb equipment
- Vegetal remains
- Written documents
Dating:
History of Exploration
- Sicard, Claude (1718): Visit
- Pococke, Richard (1737-1738): Mapping/planning
- Bruce, James (1768): Visit
- Burton, James (1825): Mapping/planning
- Wilkinson, John Gardner (1825-1828): Visit
- Franco-Tuscan Expedition (1828-1829): Epigraphy
- Jones, Owen (1832): Visit
- Pückler-Muskau, Hermann Ludwig Heinrich (1837): Visit
- L'Hôte, Nestor (1838): Visit
- Ayrton, Edward Russell (1905-1906): Excavation (discovery of foundation deposits at
entrance, made for Theodore M. Davis)
- Carter, Howard (1920): Excavation (conducted for Earl of Carnarvon)
References:
| Title |
Author |
Date |
Publisher |
Reference Number |
|
Complete Valley of the Kings, The (Tombs and Treasures of Egypt's Greatest Pharaohs) |
Reeves, Nicholas; Wilkinson, Richard H. |
1966 |
Thames and Hudson Ltd |
IBSN 0-500-05080-5 |
|
Valley of the Kings |
Weeks, Kent R. |
2001 |
Friedman/Fairfax |
ISBN 1-5866-3295-7 |
|
Valley of the Kings |
Heyden, A. Van Der |
|
Al Ahram/Elsevier |
|
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|
