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A project of the American Research Center in Egypt
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Entrance to QV73.
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Entryway A

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13 original Steps lead down into the tomb and the entryway has an Overhang.

Architectural Features

Overhang
Steps

Condition

Cutting finished
Excavated
Undecorated

Gate B

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This gate is undecorated. The door jambs were reconstructed in the Late Period and only a portion of original right jamb is preserved.

Condition

Cutting finished
Damaged structurally
Excavated
Undecorated

Burial chamber B

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There are traces on the ceiling that indicate that the two pillars were built after the chamber was cut. Originally, the ceiling was painted black or dark blue and a white wash was applied after the pillars were built. When the pillars were subsequently destroyed, two dark squares remained on the ceiling. The lower parts of the pillars were discovered during the Franco-Egyptian Mission excavations. The ceiling is also damaged in the rear half of chamber B. 

The decoration of the burial chamber consists of the princess offering to various deities, as well as a weighing of the heart scene. These scenes are severely damaged as they were hacked during the Coptic Period and plastered over with mouna. 

  • Chamber plan:

    Square
  • Relationship to main tomb axis:

    Perpendicular
  • Chamber layout:

    Flat floor, pillars
  • Floor:

    One level
  • Ceiling:

    Flat

Porter and Moss designation:

Hall

Architectural Features

Pillars

Condition

Cutting finished
Damaged structurally
Decoration damaged
Excavated

Decoration

  • Princess before deities

    Princess in adoration before seated Nun and unidentifiable goddess (damaged), followed by Hathor as a cow (damaged). (South) wall (center-left part)
  • Princess before deity

    Princess (damaged) in adoration before Nun (damaged). (South) wall (center-right part)
  • Princess

    Princess in adoration before Isis and Nephthys (deities depicted on west wall, left part). (South) wall (right part)
  • Deities

    Mummiform Isis and Nephthys being adored by Princess (princess shown on south wall, right part). (West) wall (left part)
  • Princess before deities

    Princess in adoration before two sons of Horus, Imsety and Duamutef. (West) wall (center part)
  • Princess

    Princess offering to seated Anubis and cobra-headed Meretseger (deities shown on north wall, left part). (West) wall (right part)
  • Deities

    Anubis and cobra-headed Meretseger seated and receiving offerings from princess (princess shown on west wall, right part). (North) wall (left part)
  • Weighing of the Heart

    Anubis leads princess to Ma'at (damaged) and Thoth (damaged) standing beside scales (partly preserved). (North) wall (right part)
  • Princess before deities

    Princess in adoration before two sons of Horus, Hapy and Qebehsenuef. (East) wall (left part)
  • Princess

    Princess in adoration. (East) wall (right part)

Gate Ba

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This gate is cut into the northern wall of the burial chamber and leads in to a side chamber coined by Christian Leblanc as the 'Osirian room'. The reveals contain dedication texts of the tomb from the king to the princess. These are badly damaged. The thicknesses are decorated with partial representations of Wadjet (right) and Nekhbet (left), both shown as cobras. The returns were covered in mouna plaster and once removed, revealed a Tyet-knot below a Wadjet eye on the right and a brightly colored Djed pillar on the left.

Condition

Cutting finished
Decoration damaged
Excavated

Decoration

  • Text

    Dedication text of tomb to Princess Reveals
  • Deity

    Wadjet as cobra right thickness
  • Deity

    Nekhbet as cobra left thickness
  • Protective symbols

    Tyet-knot above a Wadjet eye right return
  • Protective symbols

    Died Pillar left return

Side chamber Ba

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This side chamber has condensed iconography and according to Christian Leblanc, served as the 'Osirian room' in which the princess would be reborn. The walls were covered with mouna plaster during the Coptic Period and has since been removed. The plaster, however, severely damaged the wall paintings. The east and west walls are decorated with the same image of Anubis as a jackal reclining on a chapel surrounded by offerings. The north wall focuses on Osiris, who is shown seated between and protected by Isis and Nephthys.

Porter and Moss designation:

Inner Room

Condition

Cutting finished
Decoration damaged
Excavated

Decoration

  • Deity

    Anubis as jackal reclining on chapel and surrounded by offerings (East) wall
  • Deity

    Anubis as jackal reclining on chapel and surrounded by offerings (West) wall
  • Deities

    Osiris (damaged) seated between and protected by Isis (lost) and Nephthys. (North) wall

Gate Bb

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This gate is cut into the eastern wall of the burial chamber and leads to a small side room that served as the canopic emplacement. As with the burial chamber and the first side room, the gate was covered with mouna plaster in the Coptic Period that badly damaged the paintings underneath. The reveals contain dedication texts of the tomb from the king to the princess (right side is better preserved). The thicknesses are decorated with images of Anubis as a jackal reclining atop a chapel. The returns contain a column of the princess' titles bordered by Was scepters on the left and on the right, a beautiful scene depicting mummiform Isis and Nephthys facing one another with an offering table in between them.

Condition

Cutting finished
Decoration damaged
Excavated

Decoration

  • Text

    Dedication text of tomb from the king to the princess Reveals
  • Deity

    Anubis as jackal reclining on chapel (right preserved, left badly damaged) Thicknesses
  • Text

    Titles of princess bordered by Was scepters left return
  • Deities

    Mummiform Isis and Nephthys facing one another with an offering table in between them. right return

Side chamber Bb

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According to the iconography, this side chamber was used to store the burial equipment, and particularly, the Canopic jars. Unlike the other two chambers, the walls were not covered with mouna plaster in the Coptic Period. However, the faces and bodies of the figures on the walls were hacked out. The south and north walls mirror each other in iconography, both containing representations of the Canopic chest of the princess guarded by two of the four sons of Horus and Anubis. The east wall is decorated with the figure of Nut, her wings outspread. On either side of her is a Djed pillar and a Tyet knot.

Porter and Moss designation:

East side-room

Condition

Cutting finished
Decoration damaged
Excavated

Decoration

  • Deities

    Qebehsenuef and Hapy protect the canopic chest of the princess, flanked by Anubis in the form of a jackal (South) wall
  • Deities

    Imsety and Duamutef protect the canopic chest of the princess, flanked by Anubis in the form of a jackal (North) wall
  • Deity

    Nut (damaged) with wings outspread and looking right, flanked by Djed pillar on one side and Tyet knot on the other (East) wall

About

About

QV 73 is located on the northern side of the main Wadi at the lower end. The tomb is heavily jointed, with the presence of faults. The architectural plan of QV 73 is relatively simple, consisting of one main chamber (B) and two small side chambers (Ba and Bb). Unlike other contemporary tombs excavated during the reign of Rameses II, the first chamber (B) is the burial chamber with a small subsidiary chamber (Bb) and rear annex (Ba) for funerary goods, particularly Canopic jars. This tomb is accessed through a steep Ramp (A) without Steps leading to main chamber (B), which originally had two constructed pillars that are no longer extant. Elizabeth Thomas suggested the plan was cut short, given that the general layout is similar to many of the preceding tombs. The rock substrate throughout the tomb is roughly carved and irregular (because of its poor quality), requiring a thick plaster application and use of rock fragments to pack out the walls to create a flat surface for the painting. Door jambs appear to be built up with masonry rather than cut from the rock, and the pillars were also constructed, built up after the ceiling was already plastered and painted.

QV 73 is attributed to Henuttauy, a daughter of Rameses Il and Nefertari. At the grand temple of Rameses Il at Abu Simbel, she is the 7th daughter in the procession of daughters. At the small temple of Abu Simbel dedicated to Nefertari, her figure is represented alongside that of her siblings. She can also be found in similar processions at temples of Ramses Il at Derr and Wadi as Sebou'a. The attribution of this tomb to princess Henuttauy was initially difficult, as a number of cartouches in the tomb were left blank. However, the Franco-Egyptian Mission examined and clarified traces of black ink on a Cartouche with a yellow background found in Chamber B to make a positive identification. It is likely that the tomb was initially carved for a generic princess and then personalized at the time of Henuttauy's death. The ceiling of Chamber B was originally supported by two columns which have since collapsed, though fragments of those supports and the painted plaster which likely covered them were discovered during the Franco-Egyptian Mission. Extant paintings in the tomb are refined and from the same period and palette as Nefertari; however, large areas of painting have suffered substantial loss from pillaging at the end of the 20th Dynasty and later reuse in the Third Intermediate, Roman, and Coptic periods, including defacing and over-plastering of faces of figures during Coptic reuse.

The tomb has been accessible since the time of Robert Hay of Linplum (1826) and was most recently cleared by the Franco-Egyptian Mission in 1984. Hay thought the overplastering or "mud" that coated the paintings took some of the paint layer with it as it fell. Elizabeth Thomas also noted that far more decoration may be protected beneath the overplastering. Thomas further noted localized smoke evidence in a hole on the right of the doorway leading into side chamber Ba, which she suggests might be from candle-burning related to Coptic ceremonies. Christian Leblanc states that the extent of finds related to different periods further corroborates extensive reuse of the tomb throughout the Third Intermediate, Roman, and Coptic periods. Currently the tomb is not open to visitation. Entry is prevented by a metal grill door with no mesh. 

Noteworthy features:

QV 73 is attributed to Henuttauy, a daughter of Rameses Il and Nefertari. It was substantially reused during the Third Intermediate Period, Roman Period, and Coptic Period.

Site History

The tomb was constructed during the 19th Dynasty, reign of Rameses II, and reused for burials in the Third Intermediate and Romans Periods. During the Coptic Period, the tomb was repurposed as a laurae and the tomb paintings were hacked and plastered over with mouna. 

Dating

This site was used during the following period(s):

New Kingdom
Dynasty 19
Rameses II
Third Intermediate Period
Graeco-Roman Era
Byzantine (Coptic) Period

Exploration

1826: Documentation
Hay, Robert
1828: Documentation
Wilkinson, John Gardner
1828-1829: Documentation
Franco-Tuscan Expedition
1844-1845: Documentation
Lepsius, Carl Richard
1854: Documentation
Brugsch, Heinrich Karl
1927 & 1964: Documentation
Porter and Moss
1966: Documentation
Thomas, Elizabeth
1970s: Photography
Centre d'Etude et de Documentation sur l'Ancienne Egypte (CEDAE)
1981: Mapping/planning
Theban Mapping Project
1984: Excavation
Franco Egyptian Mission
1988: Survey and Documentation
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
1988-1991: Conservation
Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), Centre d'Etude et de Documentation sur l'Ancienne Egypte (CEDAE), Egyptian Antiquities Organization (EAO)
2003-2004: Study
McCarthy, Heather Lee
2006-2008: Survey and Documentation
Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) and the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA)
2007: Mapping/planning
Getty Conservation Institute
2008: Survey and Documentation
Getty Conservation Institute
2009: Photography
Centre d'Etude et de Documentation sur l'Ancienne Egypte (CEDAE)
2010: Conservation
Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) and the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA)
2013: Conservation
Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) and the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA)

Conservation

Conservation History

According to the GCI-SCA, limited interventions have been carried out on the decoration in this tomb. Localized drip lines from previous treatment to secure areas of detaching plaster fragments are present in Chamber (B). Localized efforts have been made to stabilize the plaster through edging repairs. Test patches of different types of plaster formulation were made on the north wall of Chamber (B) by the CNRS from 1989 through 1991, but these were never carried out. The Coptic period earthen overplastering was largely removed by a conservator from the Egyptian Antiquities Organization prior to 1985.

Site Condition

According to the GCI-SCA, the tomb has a number of faults and structural concerns related to open joints and the tilting of the bedding planes. The ceiling of chamber (B) exhibits severe fracturing, rock collapse, and loss of painted plaster. Two substantial fractures run through the tomb laterally (east-west) with associated and localized rock loss. In main chamber (B), one open diagonal fracture along a bedding plane has created a deep ledge in the ceiling where birds have nested. This ceiling was once supported by constructed pillars, now largely lost. Rock loss is also present throughout the tomb and appears active in some areas, particularly in main chamber (B) walls and ceiling, and in rear chamber (Ba). Only about two meters of heavily weathered overburden is located above the main vertical, lateral fracture in the tomb ceiling. Visible in this fracture is original ancient infill plaster indicating that the fracture had been there since the tomb was excavated in antiquity, and is stable, but could be susceptible to rainwater infiltration from above.

The walls and ceilings throughout the tomb show similar collapse of ancient infill that has led to losses in the decoration, particularly along large fractures in the rock. Salt infill is present in some of the fractures and joints and salt-related damage is evident in some areas of decoration, especially in the west wall of main chamber (B) and localized areas of side chamber (Bb). In chamber (B), a significant amount of the infill and coarse plaster survives, but it is the upper painted plaster layer that is fragmentary and has suffered substantial losses. The surviving plaster is cracked and generally fragile and vulnerable, with localized areas of detachment. Rear chamber (Bb) has mud repairs, and walls retain traces of mud plaster applied, according to Christian Leblanc, during the Coptic period. Shrinkage of the mud plaster and its subsequent removal has resulted in an abraded surface (including loss of the paint layer and of the white background). Some areas of painting are missing and in other areas attempts to remove painting are evident e.g. main chamber (B), eastern wall; eastern side chamber (Bb).

Insect nests are present particularly on the ceiling of chamber (B). There is no evidence of the most recent flood in 1994, though floodwaters may have impacted this tomb in the past. 

 

Hieroglyphs

Princess Henuttauy

King's daughter of his body, his beloved, Mistress-of-the-two-lands
sAt-nswt-n-Xt.f mr.f Hnt-tAwy

Articles

Geography and Geology of the Valley of the Queens and Western Wadis

The Valley of the Queens and the Western Wadis are made up of numerous valleys spread out over a vast space of desert, each containing tombs for the New Kingdom queens and other royal family members. The poor quality rock has led to damage in several tombs after suffering from earthquakes and floods.

Decorating the Tombs

The artists and workmen responsible for decorating the tombs used a variety of implements in wood, metal and stone in different stages of the process.

Bibliography

Bougrain-Dubourg, Robert. Pour un sauvetage des tombes ramessides. Les dossiers d'archéologie149/150 (1990): 40-43.

Champollion, Jean-François. Monuments de l'Egypte et de la Nubie. Vol. 1-2. Paris: Firmin-Didot Frères; Geneva: Editions de belles-lettres, 1845.

Demas, Martha and Neville Agnew (eds). Valley of the Queens. Assessment Report. Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute, 2012, 2016. Two vols.

Hay of Linplum, Robert. Hay MSS [Robert Hay of Linplum and his artists made the drawings etc. in Egypt and Nubia between 1824-1838]. British Library Add. MSS 29812-60, 31054.

Leblanc, Christian. Henout-taouy et la tombe no. 73 de la Vallée des Reines. Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale du Caire 86 (1986): 203-236.

Leblanc, Christian and Fathy Hassanein. La Vallée des Reines. Archéologia 205 (1985): 24-31.

Lepsius, Richard. Lepsius MSS: [Diary of Richard Lepsius from Oct. 30 to Dec. 7 1844]. On loan to The Griffith Institute, Asmolean Museum, Oxford, 1844.

Porter, Bertha and Rosalind L.B. Moss.  Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings, I: The Theban Necropolis, Part 2: Royal Tombs and Smaller Cemeteries.  Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1964.

Rosellini, Ippolito. Rosellini MSS: [Egypt in 1828-9]. Pisa: Biblioteca Universitaria di Pisa, 1828-29.