Tomb of Ramose

Unbelievable detail on the carvings at the tomb of Ramose
Unbelievable detail on the carvings at the tomb of Ramose

I loved this tomb — the exquisite carvings are breathtaking. To me, they are finer than any of those in the tombs of the pharaohs. The delicate carved faces and hair make the carvings and paintings in the Valley of the Kings look crude in comparison.

Ramosa was vizier and governor of Thebes at the time of AKhenaton and the Amarna period. It is in his tomb that the fluid, humanistic style of Amarna and the worship of the Aten phased back into the ritualistic art styles of the New Kingdom. Some of the reliefs are in the Amarna style, while others return to the classical style.

Detail of Ramose
Detail of Ramose

In the back of the tomb, the Amarna style is very obvious, with Akhenaton (before he changed his name and moved to Amarna). The quality of the reliefs is very high, probably because it was built by Ramosa’s brother, Amenhotep who was the chief of works in Memphis.

Mourners paintedon the back wall of the tomb of Ramose
Mourners paintedon the back wall of the tomb of Ramose

THe inner shrine is barred from visitors, but beware the tunnel leadingto the burial shaft — it’s a deep pit! This is oen of the few tombs with the forecourt still intact.

The decorations are carved on smoothed and polished limestone and are, for the most part, not painted except for some fine accent lines

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