Nefertari’s Tomb

Nefertari’s Tomb: Egypt’s Most Beautiful Royal Burial in the Valley of the Queens

QV66 is Nefertari’s tomb. She was the Great Wife of Pharaoh Ramesses II, in Egypt’s Valley of the Queens. It was discovered by Ernesto Schiaparelli (the director of the Egyptian Museum in Turin) in 1904. Nefertari, which means “The most beautiful (one) among them”, was Ramesses II’s favorite wife; he went out of his way to make this obvious, referring to her as “the one for whom the sun shines” in his writings, built the Temple of Hathor at Abu Simbel to idolize her as a deity, and commissioned portraiture wall paintings.

Tomb QV66, Queen Nefertari’s tomb

In the Valley of the Queens, Nefertari’s tomb once held the mummified body and representative symbols of her, consistent with most Egyptian tombs of the period. Now, everything has been looted except for two-thirds of the 5,200 square feet of wall paintings. For what remains, these wall paintings characterise Nefertari’s character. Her face received particular attention to emphasise her beauty, especially the shape of her eyes, the blush of her cheeks, and her eyebrows. Some paintings were full of lines and colours of red, blue, yellow, and green that portrayed exquisite directions to navigate through the afterlife to paradise.

Queen Nefertari appears gracefully poised, dressed in fine diaphanous gowns, often wearing her iconic vulture crown. This article explores the history, symbolism, excavation, architecture, and lasting legacy of this extraordinary burial site.

Discovery of Nefertari’s Tomb

Nefertari’s tomb was discovered in 1904 in the Valley of the Queens, at Thebes (west bank), by the Italian archaeologist Ernesto Schiaparelli, who was professor of Egyptology at the University of Turin and greatly expanded the collection of the Museo Egizio, where he served as director from 1884 to 1928.

the valley of the queens

In 1903, Schiaparelli obtained from the Egyptian authorities the exclusive concession to excavate in the Valley of the Queens; he was the first Egyptologist to conduct investigations at the site with a systematic method in three successive campaigns, assisted by his capable collaborator Francesco Ballerini.

During the second campaign, while Schiaparelli was carrying out surveys to the north of the main wadi in the area, where other tombs had already been found, the workmen uncovered the first steps of a staircase that they considered a sure sign of a tomb. After removing the masses of debris covering the steps, they quickly brought to light a staircase cut into the rock between two whitewashed walls, with in the middle the characteristic descending ramp that was necessary to move and lower the sarcophagus.

The staircase, 1.65 m wide, descended for eight metres to a large wall with a doorway; on the door jambs the queen’s name was written. Nefertari’s tomb, however, was found open, with no trace of the original sealing, and much rubble had fallen as far as the first hall.

The other rooms were found empty, and it was clear that the tomb had been looted, perhaps already in antiquity. Of the pink granite sarcophagus only a few pieces were recovered, including several fragments of the lid. Of the grave goods, which must originally have been numerous, only about thirty ushabti figures, some parts of three pottery vessels and others in alabaster, and some fragments of funerary caskets and furniture were found.

Schiaparelli recovered only part of the mummy (the legs[7]) together with numerous very fine linen wrappings used to bind the body, and the sandals, made of palm fibre, worn by the queen. In a niche at the back of the sarcophagus chamber, behind a stone slab, there was an amulet depicting the djed, protector of the tomb.

Nefertari’s tomb

View of the antechamber at the time of its discovery. West wall, scene 3. In the upper register are Atum between two lions, the bird Bennu, a mummy on a bed between two falcons, and representations of Nephthys and Isis. These are depictions connected with the central register, which features chap. 17 of the Book of the Dead. Below, on the left, is a decoration composed of djed pillars and tyet knots, while in the centre there is a ledge with an Egyptian cavetto cornice, with representations of shrines.

Decoration and layout of Nefertari’s Tomb

A flight of steps cut out of the rock gives access to the antechamber, which is decorated with paintings based on Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead. This astronomical ceiling represents the heavens and is painted in dark blue, with a myriad of golden five-pointed stars. The east wall of the antechamber is interrupted by a large opening flanked by representations of Osiris at left and Anubis at right; this in turn leads to the side chamber, decorated with offering scenes, preceded by a vestibule in which the paintings portray Nefertari being presented to the gods who welcome her. On the north wall of the antechamber is the stairway that goes down to the burial chamber.

The Book of the Dead

This latter is a vast quadrangular room covering a surface area of about 90 square meters, the astronomical ceiling of which is supported by four pillars entirely covered with decoration. Originally, the queen’s red granite sarcophagus lay in the middle of this chamber. According to religious doctrines of the time, it was in this chamber, which the ancient Egyptians called the “golden hall” that the regeneration of the deceased took place.

This decorative pictogram of the walls in the burial chamber drew inspirations from chapters 144 and 146 of the Book of the Dead: in the left half of the chamber, there are passages from chapter 144 concerning the gates and doors of the kingdom of Osiris, their guardians, and the magic formulas that had to be uttered by the deceased to go past the doors.

Nefertari’s tomb itself is primarily focused on the Queen’s life and on her death. Of the wall full of paintings, the “Queen playing Draughts” is a portrayal of Nefertari playing the game of Senet. A whole entire wall was dedicated to show the Queen at play, demonstrating the importance of the game of Senet. Interpretations suggest that a physical board game of Senet may have been stolen, along with the body and other symbolic images of Nefertari. Nefertari may have been very clever and possibly have been a writer in her lifetime.

The tomb of Nefertari

This can be alluded to because of a painting in Nefertari’s tomb coming before the god of writing and literacy, Thoth, to proclaim her title as a scribe. Nefertari lived an elegant life on earth, and she is also promised an elegant afterlife. Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead, which tells a spell for the Queen, is inscribed on the tomb. This spell is supposed to guide Nefertari on how to transform into a ba, which is a bird. For Nefertari to become a bird in the afterlife holds a promise of freedom to move around.

The paintings in Nefertari’s Tomb

By contemporary standards, the real value of the paintings found within Nefertari’s tomb is that they are the best preserved and most detailed source of the ancient Egyptian’s journey towards the afterlife. Nefertari’s tomb features several extracts from the Book of the Dead from chapters 148, 94, 146, 17 and 144 and tells of all the ceremonies and tests taking place from the death of Nefertari up until the end of her journey, depicted on the door of her burial chamber, in which Nefertari is reborn and emerges from the eastern horizon as a sun disc, forever immortalized in victory over the world of darkness.

The paintings in QV66 are among the most refined of the New Kingdom. Their quality lies in precise lines, vivid colours, and complex symbolism.

The details of the ceremonies concerning the afterlife also tell us much about the duties and roles of many major and minor gods during the reign of the 19th Dynasty in the New Kingdom. Gods mentioned on the tomb walls include Isis, Osiris, Anubis, Hathor, Neith, Serket, Ma’at, Wadjet, Nekhbet, Amunet, Ra, Nephthys, Khepri, Amun, and Horus. By the time that Schiaparelli rediscovered Nefertari’s tomb it had already been found by tomb raiders, who had stolen all the treasure buried with the Queen, including her sarcophagus trough and mummy. Parts of the mummy’s knees were found in the burial chamber and were taken to the Egyptian Museum in Turin by Schiaparelli, where they are still kept today.

Closure of Nefertari’s Tomb

Nefertari’s tomb was closed to the public in 1950 because of various problems that threatened the paintings, which are considered to be the best preserved and most eloquent decorations of any Egyptian burial site. Closure of Nefertari’s tomb was due to large areas of paint and plaster strata deteriorating from the walls, and paint flaking remained an issue, even when the tomb was closed to the public. The paintings are found on almost every available surface in the tomb, including thousands of stars painted on the ceiling of the burial chamber on a blue background to represent the sky.

After the discovery of the tomb, scientists found deterioration in many paintings caused by water damage, bacterial growth, salt formation, and recently, the humidity of visitors’ breath. There are two factors that damaged Nefertari’s tomb at a rapid rate: capillary absorption of trapped floodwaters into the tomb’s walls and direct entry of floodwaters. Floodwater causes immediate damage to the tomb, while absorbed waters cause morphological changes that contribute to the deterioration of paint and plaster.

In 1986, an operation to restore all the paintings within the tomb and to replace over 3,000 years’ worth of dust and soot with paper pasted to the fragile walls and ceilings to preserve the paintings was embarked upon by the Egyptian Antiquities Organisation and the Getty Conservation Institute; the actual restoration work began in 1988 and was completed in April 1992. After centuries of humidity damage, salt deposits, and ancient looting, the tomb needed careful restoration.

Queen Nefertari

Upon completion of the restoration work, Egyptian authorities decided to severely restrict public access to the tomb in order to preserve the delicate paintings found within. Five years later, Egypt’s Prime Minister, Hisham Zazao, declared the tomb to be reopened to visitors, 150 visitors at a time. In 2006, the tomb was restricted to visitors once again, except for private tours of a maximum of 20 people purchasing a license for US$3000.

As of December 2023, holders of a 2000 EGP entry ticket or a premium Luxor pass can visit this tomb. To this day, the Getty Conservation Institute regularly monitors the tomb. The tomb was closed from 5 March 2024 until 27 October 2024 for urgent renovations.

What Was Found Inside the Tomb?

Although robbed in antiquity, archaeologists found:

• Fragments of Nefertari’s sarcophagus

• Jewelry pieces

• Shabti figurines with her name

• Canopic jar fragments

• Remains of funerary equipment

These items helped reconstruct her funerary rituals.

Conclusion

Nefertari’s tomb stands as a remarkable window into the New Kingdom’s devotion to beauty, belief, and royal identity. Every wall, colour, and inscription reflects the care and respect given to a queen who held a special place at the heart of Egypt’s royal family. More than a masterpiece of art, QV66 captures the hopes the Egyptians placed in the afterlife and the elegance with which they expressed their spiritual world. Even after three thousand years, the tomb continues to move visitors with its colour, calm, and quiet sense of eternity. That makes it one of the most memorable places in all of ancient Egypt.

Nefertari’s tomb in the Valley of the Queens is one of the greatest artistic achievements of ancient Egypt. More than a burial site, QV66 is a celebration of beauty, love, and spiritual rebirth. Its walls preserve a world of colours and stories that continue to inspire visitors thousands of years after they were painted.