The majority of the tombs found here are hardly more than simple body encasements, yet deep inside this valley we find a grand, intricately decorated network of chambers – an outstanding burial monument dedicated to the late Queen Nefertari.
Nefertari Merytmut was the wife of King Ramesses II, ruling during the nineteenth dynasty of Egypt. A fondly received figure both by her husband and those under her reign, the queen had a variety of titles attributed to her: the “Great of Praises”, “Sweet of Love” and “The One for whom the Sun shines”, to name a few (McDonald 1996). Nefertari was of noble birth, but no biological evidence suggests that she was of royal descent (McDonald 1996). She would achieve this status later in life upon her husband’s ascent to the throne, and would maintain the royal bloodline after his death by way of their four children. Her legacy is eternalized in two temples at Abu Simbel that honour the great Queen, but the most noteworthy of monuments resurrected on her behalf is her tomb, the largest and most lavish in the Valley of the Queens.
Built at the time of Nefertari’s death in 1255 B.C.E, the site (QV 66) has endured over thirty-two hundred years of degradation. The valley itself is considered to be a vulnerable area, both in the sense that it is difficult to police and that it is largely unprotected from the forces of nature (McDonald 1996). As such, the tomb has fallen prey to looters as well as naturally destructive processes such as earthquakes, flooding, and humidity. The whereabouts of Nefertari’s mummified remains are unknown to us, only traces of her physical remnants were present upon the discovery of the tomb by Ernesto Schiaparelli in 1904. While we can assume that the Queen’s remains were either stolen or disposed of by looters in the early years following her death (evidence provides that the tomb may have been accessed as early as 1109 B.C.E.), it is impossible to truly account for the mummy; any events that had taken place inside the tomb over the three thousand year period that preceded to modern discovery are undocumented (McDonald 1996), or documents have been long lost.
Just outside of Luxor, Egypt, an area once known as the ancient city of Thebes, lays a lonely valley. Hidden amidst this barren landscape are eighty tombs, which house the remains of much of Ancient Egypt’s royalty.:
This is the Valley of the Queens.