Egypt 30: In The Vallley Of The Kings

Today's Egypt entry takes place on September 15, 2001.

We are across the Nile from the city of Luxor, in the Valley Of The Kings.
From the ticket stubs above, you can see I went into 4 tombs in the Valley, but only paid to take my camera into one of them.  Sherri told us that KV2: Ramses IV was the most photogenic, so that's where I headed with my camera.

The sign outside KV2

DK Eyewitness Travel Guides: Egypt describes The Tomb of Ramses IV as "although marred by Coptic graffiti, there are some beautiful, vividly colored scenes from The Book Of The Dead.  In the burial chamber, the goddess Nut stretches across the blue ceiling.  The enormous pink granite sarcophagus is covered with magical texts and carvings of Isis and Nephthys, designed to protect Ramses IV's mummy from danger."

Inside the tomb.

Other than pictures and writings of his tomb, I can't find much written about Ramses IV.  He took the throne about 60 years after the death of Ramses II (with 7 pharaohs ruling in those 60 years), and I can only speculate he was a descendant of the Great Ramses II.
We know the tomb of Ramses IV had been known as far back as the Coptic period (300AD to about 600AD), because Christian Copts left a great deal of graffiti in the tomb.  Copts were not exactly in the business of preservation, and they destroyed a great deal of antiquities -- especially the faces of pharaohs and gods in tombs and temples.
Tomorrow: another adventure in The Valley Of The Kings.