Ramesses I (Valley Of The Kings - KV16)

KV 16 is the tomb of Rameses I and is located opposite to the tomb of Horemheb in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. The tomb is rectilinear and is just 29 meters long. The tomb was discovered in October of 1817 by the archaeologist Belzoni.  

Theories About The Small Size Of Tomb KV 16

• It’s believed that the king was already too aged when he ascended the throne of the Horus, which is why the tomb must have been made in a hurry and be small.
• Another theory says that the first roomwould have acted as the antechamber and because of a hurry it was quickly changed into the resting place of the king when he died.
• It’s also believed that the initial design of the tomb was expected to be far bigger but due to the sudden illness of Ramesses I, the size and scale of the tomb was drastically reduced.

The Tomb Plan

The tomb has two stairways which are separated by a corridor that ended in a small chamber flanked off one niche and two annexes. The pharaoh was buried in a sarcophagus which was made from red granite and occupied a significant area of the room. It’s said that the short reign of the king, which was just two years led to the small size of the tomb. The tomb, like that of Horemheb’s, has various decorations from the Book of the Gates. There are a number of little images of wood, well carved, representing symbolical figures.

The room has a hurried coat of plaster where paintings of the king with his god were drawn. Osiris is allowed a prominent place in all the scenes. The sarcophagus too was painted rather than decorated, indicating the haste in preparation and leaving behind a lot of unfortunate errors.

The decoration of the tomb is well done, but there are no reliefs. An unusual depiction of the Pharaoh in a jubilation ceremony between the hawk and jackal-headed figures is seen on the wall. The similarities between the tombs of Ramesses I and Horemheb indicate that most probably the same craftsman must have worked on both of these. The presence of burial chamber just after the second corridor is a noteworthy feature of the tomb KV16.

The Most Recent Theory

The most recent theory says that the mummy of Ramesses I was stolen by an Abu-Russell family of the grave robbers, which was then brought by Dr. James Douglas to North America, somewhere around 1860. After this the mummy was placed in the Niagara Museum and Daredevil Hall of Fame in Ontario. In 1999 the mummies along with the artifacts were sold to the Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta Georgia. After all the tests and scans conducted, the mummy was returned to Egypt on October 24, 2003, with full official honors and since then it has been on display at the Luxor Museum.