RonnieAdventures: RonnieAdventure #0576

Friday, July 14, 2023

RonnieAdventure #0576 - Egypt 2023 Part X

Valley of the Kings was such an amazing place I had a difficult time trying to decided which pictures to use in my blogs. While we were in the Valley, we visited five tombs. I blogged about Tutankhamun, Ramsey IV, and Ramses IX last week, so this week I will include pictures from the tombs of Merenptah and Seti I.

Merenptah was the thirteenth son of Ramses II and successor to his father because his older twelve brothers had all died. Ramses II promoted Merenptah to Overseer of the Army when he was 40 years old and when he was 55 years old he was officially proclaimed Crown Prince. He held this position for the last twelve years of Ramses II life. Ramses lived to be 96 years old (some scholars say that he was only 90 or 91 years old) and reigned for 66 years and 2 months. The longest time of any Egyptian King.

In 1896, the Merenptah Stele was found that contains the first known mention of the name "Israel."

Along the walls of Merenptah's tomb are texts from the Book of the Gates and the Amduat.

Picture by Heather

Web Picture

Picture by Kolohe

Picture by Heather

Picture by Kolohe

King Seti I was the son of Ramses I and the father of Ramses II. His tomb is by far the most impressive tomb in the Valley. It is the longest, deepest, and most decorated of all the tombs. Every surface in the seven corridors and ten chambers are covered with paintings and reliefs. Numerous ancient Egyptian religious texts are found on the tomb walls, which include The Book of Gates, Opening of the Mouth Ritual, Astronomical scenes, Book of the Heavenly Cow, Litany of Ra, and Imy-dwat. This was the first tomb built with a vaulted ceiling in the burial chamber.