There are still thousands of cubit meters of debris to clear away and substantial structural engineering to be done. It is a pity: Egyptologists fortunate enough to visit the tomb are invariably impressed as they walk down long corridors still half-full of debris. The descent is made in total darkness, only a torch offering a dim light, and dust that fills one’s nostrils also muffles their footsteps. Stepping into the vast burial chamber, the thin light of the torches reveals piles of debris lying in a great void created when the pillars supporting the vaulted ceiling collapsed thousands of years ago.

As befits a king with the power and longevity of Rameses II, KV 7 is one of the largest tombs in the Valley. It covers 686 square meters (7384 square feet), extends 168 meters (551 feet) into the hillside, and was one of the first tombs to be dug near the entrance to the Valley of the Kings. That area is prone to serious flooding (as the tomb damage attests), but perhaps the large hillside here seemed the best site to accommodate so large a tomb. Its plan reverts to the right-angled layout of Dynasty 18 royal tombs, and its decorative program is like that of KV 17, the tomb of Sety I.

There also were changes: KV 7 is thefirst royal tomb to have the jambs and lintel of the entrance gate decorated, and the reveals of the gate are carved with figures of the goddess Ma’at. Excavations have revealed only a few objects in the tomb, probably because it was heavily robbed in antiquity. We know, for example, that thieves broke in during the twenty-ninth regnal year of Rameses III, and undoubtedly there were many other robberies as well. The tomb was extensively decorated, in both raised and painted relief and in painted plaster, but few of its damaged walls have been exposed for study. As in the tomb of Sety I, corridor B was decorated with the Litany of Ra. Texts in corridor C are from chapter 151 of the Book of the Dead. The Book of What is in the Netherworld (Imydwat), follows in corridor D and well chamber E.

 Then follow scenes and texts dealing with the Opening of the Mouth ritual. In chamber I, where the tomb’s axis makes a right angle turn to the north, the rear wall is  covered with the Negative Confession, chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead. In burial chamber J and its several side chambers, we return to the Imydwat and the Book of Gates. The Book of the Heavenly Cow, which also is to be seen in a side chamber in the tomb of Sety I, can also be seen in side chamber JF.

From" The Illustrated Guide to Luxor" by kent R.Weeks ,published by the American University in Cairo Press. Copyright © 2005 White Star S.p.a