Archaeological sites Sahara

One of the most beautiful tombs. Vizier under Amenophis IV, who later became Akhenaton, his tomb was never completed. 32 columns support the ceiling of the vestibule, and a further 8 in the room leading to the chapel of the deceased. The sculpted bas-reliefs are impressive in their finesse: observe the hair and eye contours. At the far end is a representation of Akhenaten, his wife Nefertiti and their children presenting an offering to Aten; the grapes of the one god have been broken so that his blessing no longer benefits the heretic Pharaoh.

This tomb is 188 m long. It was built for Pharaoh Ramses III of the ^20th dynasty. He reigned for thirty-one years. The mystery of his death has long puzzled researchers, as he always fought against corruption and invaders from the peoples of the sea... But it was recently discovered, in 2012, that he was assassinated by a conspiracy fomented by several members of his harem, including his third wife Tiyi. The pharaoh's successor should have been his first wife's child, not Tiyi's, Pentaour. The coup d'état was therefore aimed at eliminating Ramesses III to prevent the future Ramesses IV, then aged 45, from ascending the throne...

Nevertheless, it was he who built the splendid temple known as Medinat Abu. Four successive corridors lead to the burial chamber. At the end of the second corridor, the architects came up against an earlier tomb, that of Amenmés, and had to modify their trajectory in parallel for the third corridor. This tomb struck a chord with the Scottish archaeologist who discovered it at the end of the ^18th century, not least for its depictions of harpists, which earned it its current nickname, "Tomb of the Harpists". The granite sarcophagus of King Ramses III is preserved in the Louvre. His mummy was also found in 1881 in the hiding place at Deir al Bahari, where the priests had hidden it for fear of the increasing looting by local peasants. It is now on display in Cairo.

At 105 m deep, the tomb was built for the remains of Pharaoh Ramses IX, penultimate ruler of the ^20th Dynasty. Three corridors lead to the vestibule, which precedes the burial chamber. This tomb is renowned for its decorations borrowed from various ritual books. The astrological ceiling in the first corridor is remarkable. The goddess Nut runs along the three successive corridors, recognizable by her five-pointed star. The sarcophagus has disappeared. The mummy, hidden in Deir al Bahari, was found in 1881. It is now on display in Cairo.

Entry 20 SDG. We must maginer what Frédéric Cailliaud had to feel about these pyramids, almost 200 years ago! At that time, they were in better condition and still had their summit. Let's say at the outset that the site of Merowe is Exceptional and that it retains a colourful environment and environment different from those that can be found in Egypt. The grey (very) gray stone and the orange (very) orange orange highlight its singular character. However, these pyramids, which were originally more than 200 copies in the region, do not have the dimensions of their great Egyptian sisters. They are different. More pentues, filled with embankment (the burial chamber is underneath and not in), and with a chapel adorned with tower towers, east oriented and is supposed to lead, via a false door, to the last resting place of the deceased, or the deceased. Because the candaces, these mythical queens of Merowe, were also entitled to their personal pyramid. The dead, in Egyptian fashion, were represented in the form of the Bâ bird, which had their head.

By visiting the various chapels, don't miss to observe the little marvels of bas-reliefs inspired by the Book of the Dead. As, for example, the only Sudanese representation of the soul, where the heart of the sovereign is placed on the balance and compared with the pen of Mâat, under the gaze of Anubis and Osiris… If you are passionate (and you have time) know that there is a pyramid whose height of angle has the hieroglyphic name d'Amun, another with, on an exterior wall of its chapel, a model of the angle used by architects to build these buildings, and one with the representation of a grape cluster and a jar, some of which bad languages say it was a boss to draw rich queens!!

Pyramids, there are many styles. First in stairs, in the south, they become smooth to the north. Archaeologists have reconstituted some of them in anastylose, giving a good idea, with their cream colour foam coating, what to look like the site originally. It should be noted that there are historically several necropolises in the region. The oldest (and the oldest), which probably dates from the beginning of the kingdom of Merowe, towards the th century BC, is located more west of the main site, near the Nile and above all the former royal city (see below). You will also notice, on the main site, several more remote pyramids in the southeast. Those that are aligned along the ridge, these pyramids that are seen by far from the road, are the most "recent" and in better condition.

The last thing about summits. The elements are not solely responsible for their disappearance! In 1834, Giuseppe Ferlini, an Italian fighter fighter, had the idea of ététer the pyramids with dynamite, believing that he would find thousand riches there. After he had massacred many, to the point that many seem to be about to collapse, one confirmed his hopes. That of Queen Amanishakheto, now known for her "treasure".

The site is more than 500 m from the road. Temple merchants sell souvenirs but you won't find any groceries. So think about bringing water and food. Sands will certainly invite you to climb on their camels (sorry, we don't know "dromadairiers"). An original experience on an extraordinary site! But that will not be free. Get ready to negotiate if you are interested.

For photos, if you are on the site at the sunrise, think of climbing one of the hills to the east to get a remarkable overview. In the evening, the orange light is simply magic.

They are hypogeums that can be seen from the cities, hanging on the hillside on the other side of the river. They house the tombs of powerful monarchs from the end of the Old Kingdom to the beginning of the Middle Kingdom. The tombs are located on the hillside, under the mausoleum of Ali Ben el-Hawa, which can be seen at the top. The place is in a poor state of conservation and the monuments have no information panels. Feel free to insist that the rooms be opened to you. On-site guides will not do it on their own.

Located in the southwest corner of the Valley of the Kings, the tomb of Sety II was dug a few meters from that of his wife Taousert. It is 75 m deep. It was partially unfinished at the time of his death. It takes up the same architectural canons of the other rectilinear tombs in which three corridors precede a vestibule, a funerary chamber. It was probably not Seti II who was buried there, for his name was largely erased from the cartouches in the tomb; the jealous work of Amenmes who succeeded him.

This superb but small tomb measures just 30 m in length and comprises just 3 chambers. It contained 3,000 pieces of the deceased's funerary furniture. Tutankhamun was hastily placed here in the surprise of his death. Only the burial chamber is represented. The 12 baboons depicted come from the Book of Amdouat and represent each of the 12 hours of the journey to the afterlife. Most of the treasure will be on display at the GEM in Cairo, but the red quartzite sarcophagus and the mummy are still on site.

Khaemhat was royal scribe and inspector of the royal granaries during the reign of Amenophis III, whose 38-year reign was marked by peace, wealth and power. His highly ornamented tomb reveals rural scenes and religious representations, such as the sacrifice of geese. Among the bas-reliefs adorning the walls of his tomb are several depictions of the agrarian goddess Renenoutet, in the guise of a snake-headed woman suckling her son. Khaemhat took great care to ensure that this goddess watched over his final resting place.

The grave is 91 m long. It was dug for the son of Thutmes III. One descends into the tomb by stepping over ritual holes, intended to ward off demons. The burial chamber is illustrated with the Book of Amduat and its ceiling is studded with the Star of Nut. Its sarcophagus is still in place, magnificently decorated. His mummy was still inside at the time of his discovery. It was in one of the annexes of the burial chamber that nine other royal mummies had been stored, hidden from the thieves' desires.

Nefertari, the most famous of Ramses II's wives, is buried in this magnificent tomb, rediscovered in 1904. Access is via a staircase leading to the antechamber, where the queen is depicted on the left wall playing senet, a kind of chess game. On the right is the vestibule, of rare beauty, featuring the sovereign before Osiris and Amun, Thoth and Anubis. A staircase leads to 2 annexes where Nefertari is depicted before 3 genies. Lastly, access is gained to the burial chamber, supported by 4 massive pillars, which surround the tomb more in place.

It's a small grave, 49 meters long, very deep. It received the body of Ramses I, founder of the 20th dynasty, and grandfather of Ramses II. It is thought that this tomb must have been larger, but the death of the king forced the architects to make do with what they had had time to dig; the present burial chamber was to be a first vestibule according to their original plan. The colours of this tomb are particularly well preserved. The reign of Ramses I was very short, less than two years.

The grave is 116 m long. It was begun by the brother of Ramses VI, Ramses V, who died early, and who preceded his brother by six years in this mausoleum. It recalls the walls of the tomb of Ramses III. The ceiling of the burial chamber, by its complexity inspired by the Book of the Earth, earned it the name "tomb of metempsychosis" by the scholars of Bonaparte. This book specific to the Ramses dynasty tells the story of the solar god's journey into the afterlife and the complexity of his hidden world. The two sarcophagi exist only in pieces.

The tomb of the second king of the ^20th dynasty, Seti ^I, to whom we owe some of the finest high-reliefs in Egyptian art, is a respectable size: 137 m deep. His tomb mirrors the other monuments erected during his reign. After a succession of three corridors, a 6-pillared hall adorns a tomb whose walls are richly decorated. The burial chamber boasts a sumptuous astrological ceiling inspired by the book of the afterlife, the Amdouat. The alabaster sarcophagus is now in the Sir John Soane Museum in London.

Sennefer was prince and administrator of the temple gardens of Amun during the reign of Amenophis III. A narrow staircase leads to the deep vault of his beautiful tomb. This tomb is also known as the Tomb of the Vines, as many of the ceilings are decorated with vines. Although the work lacks finesse, this tomb will seduce you with its irregular ceiling, with bunches of grapes hugging the hollows and bumps. The walls and pillars depict the prince and one of his wives, Senetnay.

The very fine tomb of the Vizier under Thoutmes III expresses, through its decorative motifs, the power and might of the official promoted to a high distinction. On the front wall, as you enter from the left, are depictions of various tribes (Syrians, Sudanese, Ethiopians, etc.), charged with tribute as a sign of submission, including exotic animals such as panthers, giraffes and monkeys. On the walls of the narrow chapel, remarkably precise scenes show Rekhmiré supervising his workers, as well as a funeral banquet featuring some very pretty guests!

Usirhat was a royal scribe under Amenophis II, and his tomb features the usual scenes. His tomb is located at the bottom of the Gournah hill, a position that reflected his social status. This monument represents one of the pinnacles of funerary art of the period, with its two famous scenes, that of the barbers and the chariot race. Both have been featured in numerous works on ancient Egypt. The tomb was open to the public for many years, and remains so today, albeit intermittently.

One of the finest tombs on the site. A high-ranking civil servant, Menna was scribe to the Lord of the Two Lands under Thutmose IV. His tomb is decorated with touchingly realistic rural scenes. Some scenes have been reproduced in art books. For example, a bad debtor is beaten by the scribe's men, and a young child carrying an antelope on his shoulders is touchingly lifelike, as is the cat snatching eggs from a nest. The statues of Menna and his wife Henouttaouy can still be seen at the back of this one.

Scribe and astronomer of Amun under Thutmes IV, eighth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. The first room is arranged as a kind of tiny museum. There are scenes of ploughing and duck hunting in papyrus thickets, as well as men, barefoot in the vat, treading grapes. These scenes were inspired by Nakht's property in the Nile Delta. The statue of the deceased is a copy; as for the original, it lies at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, the ship that transported it to the United States having sunk.