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LUXOR
Valley of the Kings. Tuthmosis 3
Among the oldest, and the one furthest away, not to mention among the hardest to access, the tomb of Tuthmosis 3 ((1503) 1482-1450 BCE) is a nice change from the many other tombs of the valley. Although it digs into the mountain like the others, both the wall decorations and the layout are somewhat different.
The wall paintings are rather uncommon, resorting mainly to simple stick figure representations. The burial chamber is shaped like a cartouche, i.e. rounded. The illustrations in the burial chamber contain sections from the Book of Amduat.
The stick figures on the walls shows no less than 741 deities. This artistic form is not uncommon, similar can be found in papyrus texts dating back to the Middle Kingdom, 3-400 years before Tuthmosis 3.
Note the unusual pit that has to be crossed by a footbridge. The intention of this was probably to fool thieves into believing that this was the actual burial chamber. The fact that this element was not copied later on, proves that it was not considered to have been much of a success.
Tuthmosis 3 was the pharaoh subdued by Hatshepsut, on whom he revenged himself by removing every wall decoration of her from her own temple in Luxor. The mummy of Tuthmosis 3 was moved not long after the burial, to an inferior tomb near the Tombs of the Nobles. Today, it is on exhibit in the mummy room in the The National Museum in Cairo.
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