Ramesses IV was the son of Ramesses III. His tomb is KV2, which means it was just the second tomb discovered in the Valley of the Kings. And it is quite beautiful. Despite Ramesses III reigning for thirty one years, Ramesses IV was only 21 when he came to the throne. He was the last of the ancient pharaohs to enter into multiple major building projects. But he only reigned for six and a half years (1155 to 1149 BC) so many projects went unfinished. I haven’t found any information regarding how he died.
His father, however, had been murdered. A recent CT scan of his mummy has revealed that his throat was cut to the bone, severing the trachea, esophagus, and blood vessels. Up until now it was thought that he just died of natural causes. But he was assassinated through a plot led by one of his secondary wives, Tiye, to put her own son on the throne. Ramesses IV had managed to secure the throne for himself and have the conspirators arrested, prosecuted and executed.
It is thought that Ramesses IV’s mother was Queen Tyti. His son, Ramesses V, succeeded him to the throne. Although he was buried in KV2, his body was later moved to the royal cache in Amenhotep II’s tomb, KV35, where it was found in 1898. His chief wife was Duatentopet (or Tentopet). His mummy is currently in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. I had seen it back in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in 2008 and would see it again on the last day of this tour.
This was also the second time I was seeing his tomb. It and Tutankhamen’s were the two I had visited on my first trip to Egypt. They were the first two of the five I was able to visit on this trip. The tomb is basically on a straight gently downward sloping axis from the entrance. There is a very large red granite sarcophagus still inside of the burial chamber. It is definitely a favorite tomb of mine.
The walls and the ceilings especially are quite colorful. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful tombs in the Valley of the Kings and is also considered to be a “must see”. The admission to the tomb is included in the basic ticket for the tombs, which allows entrance to three tombs that don’t require additional fees. It is decorated with scenes from the Litany of Ra, Book of Caverns, Book of the Dead, Book of Amduat, and Book of the Heavens. In additional to the original artwork, there is also some ancient Greek and Roman graffiti.
It was one of about eleven tombs open to early travelers. At some point it is thought that it was also used as a dwelling by Coptic monks. There is evidence that Europeans began visiting the tomb in the 18th century.
Next – The Valley of the Kings Tomb of Tutankhamen
