Friday, January 4, 2008

Meet Ramses VIII

One would think that even though the king's reign was extremely short with no time to create a tomb for this king in the Valley of the Kings an eighteenth dynasty cutting would be converted to a tomb for him.

So perhaps we are looking for a shaft tomb with one room off the bottom if this is so than the chamber should still be painted with scenes of Ramses in the presence of the gods. There was, of course, enough time to do this while the king's mummification was occurring.

A stone sarcophagus may also have been appropriated but this seems unlikely and a wood sarcophagus seems more reasonable in the time allotted. Also with only months to create funerary cases for the king one would expect less rather than more, perhaps only 1 or 2 hastily improvised cases of wood with a thin layer of foil.

Again one would expect a mask of perhaps cartonnage or thin foil, the kings reign not long enough for him to have acquired any substantial wealth in the depressed period of the late Ramessides. Further more the king's canopic equipment would not be original to this king and have come from the royal storeroom.

Likewise, funerary figures and ornaments may have been made for the prince/king in thinly gilded wood.

Still worst of all the king's burial at the beginning of the end of empire and having been buried in recent years his burial would have been fresh in the minds of those who may employ his burials dis-assembly.

Stripped of his ornaments the king's tomb may have contained only firewood in a valley without trees.

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