Egyptian tombs were places where ancient Egyptians took care of their dead, preserving the body from damage and performing funeral rituals that guaranteed the deceased a safe passage to the afterlife. They also established cemeteries to protect the bodies and preserve all the relics and valuables, such as the Egyptian sarcophagus, deposited in the tomb.

 

With the first beginnings of the unification of the two countries in ancient Egypt and the emergence of a unified kingdom, evident traditions and features began to be established for the cemetery. After it started from a hole in the ground in which the body lay in a squatting form, its shapes developed and became more complex during the periods of ancient Egyptian history, especially the tombs of kings, which artists distinguished. Regarding the tombs of nobles and senior politicians, they were keen to innovate and renew their form from time to time.

The architects benefited from previous experiences in every era. After they witnessed the theft of the contents of the pyramid in the Old Kingdom, they discovered that the complex corridors in the tombs of the Middle Kingdom could not protect the body of the king.

The tombs contained funerary furniture. This is why, in the New Kingdom, they tended to dig tombs into the rock of the mountain in the Valley of the Kings behind the western plateaus of Thebes, which is a barren area. Not only did they do that, but they also separated the funerary temple from the cemetery so that thieves would not know their way.

 

The most famous ancient Egyptian tombs

1- Saqqara cemetery

The vast Saqqara cemetery, which was part of the ancient cemetery of Memphis, contains tombs from all periods of ancient Egypt history. The “New Kingdom” cemetery (ca. 1550-1069 BC) is located south of King Unas’s ascending path, where many of the most essential men were buried.

The Eighteenth to the Twentieth Dynasty, among them PtahEmuya, the “clean-handed royal servant” who lived during the reigns of King Akhenaten (about 1352 – 1336 BC) and King Tutankhamun (1336 – 1332 BC), and Maya, the supervisor of the treasury. During the reign of Tutankhamun and Tia, supervisor of the treasury during the reign of Ramesses II (about 1279-1213 BC). In addition to the site of Horemheb’s tomb, which was prepared for him before he became king.

 

Like most individual tombs, New Kingdom cemeteries consist of two parts: an enclosed underground section housing the burial chamber and an accessible above-ground chamber, where offerings to the spirit of the deceased were practiced. But what distinguishes the tombs of this cemetery is that they are neither terraces nor tombs carved into the rock but relatively stand-alone shrines known as the “temple cemetery.” As for the more giant tombs, they were entered through a stone tower leading to an open courtyard in front of the tomb chamber. Sometimes, the cabin had a small pyramid symbolizing rebirth and resurrection. The open courtyard includes a burial well that leads to the underground burial chamber.

 

Tomb robbers and antiquities dealers discovered this part of Saqqara in the 19th century, and many statues and inscriptions were stolen without registering and sold to museums and collectors abroad. A map of the region drawn by the Prussian Egyptologist Karl R. 19th-century Lepsius in the rediscovery of the New Kingdom cemetery in 1975 by the Anglo-Dutch expedition of the Egyptian Exploration Society in London and the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, led by Geoffrey T. Martin.

2- Aswan cemetery

It is considered one of the oldest cemeteries in the Islamic world and is located on the eastern side of the Aswan city. It consists of two cemeteries, one in the north and the other in the south. The arid climate in Aswan helped preserve the survival of most of the cemetery’s tombs and their tombs, whose history extends from the second century AH until the Mamluk era.

The cemetery witnessed the first attempt to build domes on shrines in Egypt during the Fatimid era. Among the most important buildings of the cemetery are: the Dome of the Seventy-Seven Saints and a large shrine known as Mashhad al-Sharif Hassan, Mashhad al-Sharif Haidara, Mashhad AbasabintKhadij, Mashhad al-Sada al-Jaafirah, and Mashhad Zainabbint al-Hanafiyyah and the scene of Mrs. Amna in the tribal cemetery.

3- Al-Bajawat Cemetery in the New Valley

The cemetery of Bagawat in the Kharga Oasis is considered the oldest Christian cemetery. The tombs and shrines of Bagawat, which number about 263 cemeteries, vary between small individual rooms and large family rooms. The cemetery of Bagawat was built on the ruins of an ancient Egyptian cemetery, and the tombs included old Egyptian and Coptic artistic styles. The use of the cemetery began in the Third century AD.

The early Christian burial custom continued in the same style as ancient Egyptian burial, by burying the dead inside coffins accompanied by their funerary goods, which were placed on shelves inside pits under the shrines. The custom of mummification in the cemetery also continued after it was stopped in the Nile Valley.

 

4- Cemetery and city of workers who built the pyramids

The remains of a large population center known as Hayt al-Ghurab were discovered in the southeastern region of the Giza Plateau, as it was the place where the workers who participated in the construction of the Giza Pyramids of (about 2589-2566 BC), houses, warehouses, three main streets, and a royal administrative building were uncovered within the walls of that city, as well as four huge halls, which may have been the barracks in which he slept. It is where workers build the pyramids and prepare their food. A massive amount of bones of fish, birds, cows, sheep, goats, and pigs was found, which reveals that the state takes care of workers to ensure they get the best compensation in terms of work efficiency.

 

On the foot of the hill directly to the west of Hayt al-Ghurab, the city cemetery was found, where the supervisors of lower-ranking workers were buried in modest terraces on the slopes of the low hills, surrounded by smaller terraces or domed tombs, which may have been allocated to the workers or the families of the supervisors themselves. These tombs were built of mud brick, and high-ranking supervisors, skilled artisans, and artists were buried in large stone terraces at the top of the slope. Among these tombs, we find a tomb with exquisite decorations belonging to the supervisor of the linen industry and the supervisor of the royal purification house called “Neferthith.” The majority of human remains discovered show evidence of hard physical labor, with many showing broken bones. However, most of them were appropriately treated and recovered, which confirms that the workers have proper nutrition in addition to receiving high-level health care.

5- Giza pyramids

As they were even in Roman times, the pyramids at Giza rank among the most visited tourist sites worldwide. Every one of these magnificent buildings housed the last resting place of a 4th Dynasty (c. 2613–2494 BC) king. King Khufu (c. 2589–2566 BC) had the Great Pyramid of Giza constructed for him, and his son and grandson, Khafre and Menkaure, had the other two. The largest and oldest of the three pyramids is Khufu’s, and it will take another 3,800 years for a structure to rise higher than it!

The plateau is dominated by the three pyramids, although there are numerous additional monuments all around them. The pyramid of each king was only one part, though the most significant, of a larger complex that also included the burials of actual and/or symbolic boats, two temples connected by a richly decorated causeway, smaller, subsidiary pyramids of the queens, and a second pyramid known as a satellite pyramid that served as a second, symbolic tomb for the king.

One of these temples, known as the valley temple, was situated on or close to a body of water where boats could land and provided access to the pyramid complex. The other, the top or funerary temple, was located close to the pyramid’s base. In these temples, priests upheld the king’s mortuary cult, wherein his divine aspect was venerated and wherein an abundance of costly and varied sacrifices were made to his soul in order to grant him a tranquil and opulent afterlife.

6. The Valley of the Kings:

The Valley of the Kings got its name from the graves of the emperors of Egypt’s affluent Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties (c. 1550–1069 BC), which were interred in a barren, arid river valley across from the ancient Thebes (modern-day Luxor). This title is a little misleading, though, as this location also holds the graves of a few non-royal yet extremely important people, as well as some members of the royal family other than the monarch. The East and West Valleys make up the Valley of the Kings. With only a few tombs in the western valley, the eastern is by far the more famous of the two.

Over sixty tombs total, plus another twenty incomplete ones that are essentially pits, make up the Valley of the Kings. This royal burial ground was thoughtfully chosen for its location. It is also noteworthy because of its location, particularly on the west bank of the Nile. The west became associated with funerals because the sun god set (dead) in the west to be reborn, renewed, in the eastern horizon. For this reason, the majority of ancient Egyptian graves were located on the west bank of the Nile.

Beneath the shadow of a pyramid-shaped peak rising out of the surrounding cliffs, the mighty rulers of the New Kingdom were buried. Not even the choice of the particular valley where the royal graves were dug out was made at random. A natural pyramid was considered to be a sign of the divine since it represented rebirth and hence eternal existence. The “Mistress of the West,” a funeral aspect of the goddess Hathor, was revered over this entire region, including the peak itself.

Another factor in the valley’s selection as the pharaoh’s ultimate resting place was its remoteness. Robberies of tombs happened even in antiquity. The Old and Middle Kingdom pyramids met an unfortunate end, and the Egyptians knew this as well. For this reason, they chose to build secret underground graves in a remote desert valley. Thutmose I (c. 1504-1492 BC), the third king of the Eighteenth Dynasty, is the earliest known New Kingdom ruler buried in the Valley of the Kings. The high official who oversaw the excavation of the monarch’s tomb, Ineni, stated: “I oversaw the excavation of his Person’s [the king] cliff-tomb in privacy; none seeing, none hearing.”

7. Tutankhamun:

The world is familiar with the tomb of King Tutankhamun of the Eighteenth Dynasty (c. 1336–1327 BC), as it is the only relatively preserved royal tomb found in the Valley of the Kings. When the golden relics and other opulent items found inside this tomb were being revealed, news of Howard Carter’s 1922 discovery of it garnered attention across the globe. Egypt is synonymous with the tomb and its riches, and the tomb’s discovery is still regarded as one of the most significant archeological finds ever made.

The tomb of Tutankhamun, located in the Valley of the Kings at number 62, is actually quite small in comparison to the other tombs on this site, both in terms of size and décor, despite the wealth it held. This is probably because Tutankhamun ascended to the throne at a very young age and ruled for a total of only nine years. One can speculate about the wealth that previously filled the considerably bigger tombs of the most influential New Kingdom monarchs, like Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Amenhotep III, and Ramesses II.

The burial chamber’s walls are the only ones that are decorated. Only one scene from the Amduat is depicted in Tutankhamun’s tomb, in contrast to the majority of earlier and subsequent royal tombs, which are lavishly decorated with funeral literature like the Amduat or Book of Gates, which assisted the deceased king in reaching the afterlife. The remainder of the tomb’s artwork either shows Tutankhamun with different deities or the funeral.

The tiny size of Tutankhamun’s tomb (KV62) has generated a lot of conjecture. Upon the demise of his successor, Ay, the high official, he was interred in a tomb (KV23) that might have been initially meant for Tutankhamun, but hadn’t been finished when the young monarch passed away. For the tomb of Horemheb, Ay’s successor, the identical case has been built in turn (KV57). If this is the case, it is unclear for whom Tutankhamun’s final tomb, KV62, was carved, however there has been some contention that it was previously there, either as a private tomb or as a storage chamber that was later expanded to house the king.

For whatever reason, the tomb was so small that the 5,000 or so artifacts found inside had to be packed in close quarters. They depict the way of life in the royal palace and contain items that Tutankhamun would have used on a daily basis, including clothing, jewelry, cosmetics, incense, furniture, chairs, toys, chariots, and weaponry.

One of the greatest ironies in history is how many of Egypt’s finest kings have been eclipsed in fame by Tutankhamun, a relatively obscure monarch who was exterminated from the record because to his ties to the despised King Akhenaten.