Tomb of Ramesses IX in the Valley of the Kings Luxor Egypt | KV6| Discover History Of Egyptian Pharaonic Civilization and Tombs, Facts, Map, discovery, tomb robberies and more.
Tomb of Ramesses IX
Who is Ramesses IX? Facts About Pharoah Ramesses IX
Ramesses IX was the 8th Pharoah of the 20th Pharaonic dynasty of Egypt. The king was the son of prince Mentuherkhepshef, the grandson of Ramesses III, and the nephew of Ramses VIII. It is estimated that he reigned Egypt between 1129 – 1111 BC for about 18 years. He ruled Egypt from the Delta, the Ramesside Capital and he had two sons, Nebmaatre and Mentuherkhepshef.
Ramesses IX 5 Names
Horus Name;
Ka nakht kha em Waset means the strong bull, he who appears in Thebes.
Nebty Name;
User khepesh sankh tawy Means He whose blow is powerful, he invigorates the Two Lands
Golden Horus Name;
User renput mi Tatenen ity wer-nesyt der pedjut 9 Means He who is rich in years like Tatenen, the great king who has repelled the Nine Bows
Throne Name;
Nefer ka Ra, setep en Ra Means Perfect is the Ka of Ra, the chosen one of Ra
Birth Name;
Ramessu, kha em Waset, mery Amun means Ramesses, he who appears in Thebes, beloved of Amun
Where is Ramesses IX Tomb?
The tomb of Ramesses IX is one of the oldest tombs discovered in the Valley of the Kings and it has been open since antiquity. KV6 means it was tomb number 6 discovered in the Valley In 1881. It is located between the tomb of the sons of Ramesses II and the tomb of Ramesses I.
Facts about the King of Ramesses IX tomb KV6, Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt
- The tomb has one of the largest entrances in the entire valley.
- It is the final resting place of the 20th-Dynasty Pharaoh Ramesses IX.
- KV6 has been open since antiquity
- There are Roman and Coptic graffiti by the visitors on the walls of the tomb
- The sarcophagus is not in the tomb
- The tomb is 105 meters long
- The layout of the tomb was found on Ostracon within his KV6 tomb.
- The ceiling is decorated with splendid pictures of the goddess Nut, goddess of the Sky
- KV6 was not finished during the Pharoah’s lifetime but many corners were cut, following his death.
- Ramesses IX tomb has the Negative Confession on the left-hand side of the first corridor.
- This tomb was apparently explored by Henry Salt, who collected some of the funerary equipment which is now in his collection at the British Museum.
Ramesses IX sarcophagus
The Sarcophagus of Ramesses IX suppose to be in the burial chamber at the end of the tomb on a lower level than the rest of the tomb but unfortunately, it is missing.
Who is the discoverer of the tomb of Ramesses IX kv6?
The tomb has been through many discovering, mapping, and excavations, for example
1825: Burton, James
1888: Daressy, Georges
1824: Mapping/planning
Hay, Robert
1737-1738: Pococke, Richard
1817: Excavation
Salt, Henry
1824: Visit
Wilkinson, John Gardner
1828-1829: Franco-Tuscan Expedition
Things found inside the tomb
From the Salt & George Daressy Collection at the British Museum
- Wooden shabtis or Ushabti
- Figured ostraca
- Wooden statues
- Life-size wooden “ka” figure.
- About one hundred ostraca
- Runners of a large wooden shrine
The plan & Layout
- Entrance
- First corridor with 4 side rooms
- 2nd corridor
- 3rd corridor
- Well Shaft or small Chamber
- Pillared room
- Burial chamber
More details about the Tomb of Ramesses IX
- MEASUREMENTS
- Maximum height: 4.62 m
- Minimum width: 0.82 m
- Maximum width: 8.55 m
- Total length: 105.03 m
- Total area: 396.42 m²
- Total volume: 1076.36 m³
Decoration of the tomb of Ramesses IX
- Painting
- Sunk relief
CATEGORIES OF OBJECTS RECOVERED
- Sculpture
- Tomb equipment
- Transport
- Written documents
Tomb Robberies
Tomb robbing was very common during The New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt and especially during the reign of Ramesses IX. We found proof that he left behind many prosecutions of the vandals and rules about the protection of the tombs that were vulnerable. During that time, they started to use the cache of El Deir El Bahari to hide the mummies from the tomb robberies.
The inscriptions of the tomb of Ramesses IX | Tomb reliefs
- The tomb follows the standard design and it starts with a stairway leading to the entrance which is one of the biggest in the Valley of the Kings.
- To the left and right of the entrance, we can see the names and titles of Pharoah Ramesses IX in long Cartouches.
- The entrance has Greek, Demotic and Anatolian graffiti. So, we have six graffiti left wall, three graffiti right wall, one Demotic graffito on the right wall, and one written in Anatolian language on the right wall.
- The entrance led to a corridor with 4 side chambers. The side chambers seem to have a wooden door in the past and it was decorated with the serpent symbol of protection.
- The left wall of this corridor is decorated with a scene of King Ramesses IX offering sacrifices in front of Ra-Horakhty and Osiris. Also, the wall has a portion of the Litany of Ra.
- On the right wall, we can see a kiosk for Ramesses IX libating over a white oryx and floral offerings before Amen-Ra-Horakhty with four ram’s heads and Meretseger depicted as the Western Goddess.
- The same wall has a part of the Book of Caverns
- The ceiling of this Corridor is decorated with the ceiling is decorated with vultures alternating with winged scarabs and the king’s names.
- The walls still have some reliefs for the King with different deities and scenes from the Opening of the Mouth ritual and the Book of Gates.
- Like most of the tombs, we have ten Greek graffiti left wall and three graffiti right wall.
- The second corridor has 2 rectangular rooms on both sides with a door leaf and a serpent for protection.
- The names and titles of the king are written in Cartouches
- The left wall of this corridor is decorated with scenes from the Litany of Ra, the second hour of the Imy dwat, and Book of the Dead spell 126.
- On the same wall, there are 3 scenes representing the Pharoah Rameses IX followed by Hathor holding the royal names, Book of the Dead spell 125; and Rameses IX adoring Khonsu-Nefer hotep-Shu.
- On the right side, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th divisions of the Book of Caverns include the king offering a libation to Amun Ra.
- The ceiling of this corridor is decorated with an astronomical ceiling with representations of constellations, a list of decans, and star tables.
- This corridor has only 3 Greek graffiti on the left wall.
- The third corridor ends with two small low vertical recesses facing each other with a door leaf with a guardian serpent.
- The left wall is decorated with the 2nd and the 3rd hours of the Imy Dwat.
- Right side has a representation of the Pharoah and offers the image of the goddess MAAT to Osiris and Ptah.
- This right wall has unique enigmatic scenes in 3 registers. Men with female figures on mounds alternating with serpents, then a group of men with sun bark, and finally men with female figures standing on serpents, figures bending over backward.
- The ceiling of this corridor is decorated with scenes from the Book of the Day and the Book of Night.
- This corridor has a lot of Greek, Hieratic, and Demotic graffiti. For example, two Greek graffiti left wall, thirteen graffiti right wall, one Hieratic graffito left wall, three graffiti right wall, and two Demotic graffiti right walls.
- Next is the well shaft and it is decorated with scenes from the Opening of the Mouth ritual.
- 4 Pillared room was not finished with rows of dots on both side walls indicating wall smoothing procedures were in progress.
- The burial chamber of Ramesses IX is an amazing chamber. It contains scenes from the Book of Caverns and Book of the Earth.
- The ceiling of the burial chamber is decorated with a double figure for the goddess Nut as part of the Books of Day and Book of Night.
- The room has only two Greek graffiti on the right wall.
Visiting Hours of KV6
As long as the tomb of Ramesses IX is one of the Valley of the King’s tombs, the visiting hours to the tomb are the same as the opening hours of the Valley of the Kings. Valley of the kings is open daily from 06.00 am to 17.00 pm but ticket windows close at 16.30 pm. That means you can visit the tomb daily between 06.00 am to 17.00 pm.
How much is Ramesses IX tomb ticket?
kindly put in your mind that you will need to purchase two tickets. Entrance ticket for the Valley including access to 3 tombs and a ticket for the electric car. The ticket’s windows are next to each other. The entrance ticket includes 3 opened tombs and nowadays Ramesses IX tomb is included in the ticket. This means, no extra charge to visit Ramesses IX tomb.
Tips for visiting the tomb of Ramesses IX
- The first piece of advice we can tell, visit the valley of the Kings and the tomb of Ramesses IX with an archaeologist guide. They will provide you with a detailed explanation of the development of the tombs from the hole underground to the Pyramidical shape of the tombs in the Valley.
- Read before you go
- Take extra water with you and some snacks, especially in the summer months, and drink at least 5 small bottles of mineral water to not hydrate.
- Small change for the WC
- Do not forget to take your hat, sunglasses, and suncream with you
- Cotton dress during summer
- There is a café facing king Tutankhamun’s tomb in the valley of the kings if you like to drink something or have an ice-cream
- Nowadays, you can make photos with your camera or Mobil phone for free in and out of the tombs.
Kindly Note:
That was a brief idea about the tomb of one of the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs and an example of one of the Pharaonic tombs in the Valley of the Kings. If you like to visit more Pharaonic tombs and learn more about the best things to do in Luxor, Egypt Palma Tours highly recommend
If you like to know about the best tombs you can visit against the charge, here are the three extra ones
- KV9 – Ramesses V, Ramesses VI
- KV17 – Seti I
- KV62 – Tutankhamun tomb
That was about the Valley of the Kings and the Pharaonic Tombs but if you like to know more about Egyptian history, Ancient Egyptian civilization, and Pharaonic temple, we recommend the following sites
Ramesseum
Book of Caverns | Opening of the Mouth | Book of Earth | Book of the Day | Book of the Night | Imy Dwat | Book of Dead | Litany of Ra
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