“Sennefer, Amun has spoken to me twice in my life. Once on the field of battle at Qadesh and then at Abu Simbel. At Qadesh, he strengthened my arm. At Abu Simbel, he admonished me for my overweening pride. That is why my image lays face down in the sand, untouched. Let us not mention this again.”
Ramesses was an inveterate user of reliefs to aggrandise his virility and this was accentuated in the delight he took in the creation of familial processionals and grand, glorious depictions of his progeny. In the early years of his reign, he engraved into the walls of the Ramesseum, a group of his eldest sons in procession behind Amun and Mut, who gifted the king with the whip and flail.
Ever vainglorious, in the forty-fifth year of his reign, he commissioned his last procession of children at a temple in Lower Nubia where one hundred princes and princesses are named.
These extravagant processions of royal children were quite unusual. Although Ramesses ruled sixty-seven years and enjoyed the bed of six wives and numberless concubines, he was not the only ruler to have spawned a large family. Both Thutmosis III and Amenhotep III had long reigns yet there are no engraved records of their many children. I am sure his vanity, and the desire to perpetuate a dynasty, prompted the processional images so publicly flaunted at so many sites.
He ordered carvings in a Nubian temple to depict a minor skirmish Seti had undertaken there. Not only is Ramesses shown but his two youngest sons, who were but children at the time, are portrayed in a chariot charge. At Thebes, in the battle of Qadesh tableau, his third son is shown in a battle chariot and three sons are depicted leading foreign prisoners to their father. Twelve sons present the spoils of the war to the gods at a time when many of these princelings were still in the nursery playing with toys.
A few years after Qadesh, the king ruthlessly crushed a minor uprising in Nubia. The campaign record inscribed at Amara portrays two young princes in battle besides their father. Many of his eldest sons carried military titles in these inscriptions and certainly campaigning with their father was part of their preparation for rule but to render them as warriors at such a tender age was all part of the myth Ramesses spun around himself and his family.
The reality was somewhat different. His vanity was tempered with grief. Sadly, due to his longevity, the king outlived many of his children and the graven processions are a bitter reminder of the many sorrows that darkened his reign, as he endured the death of dozens of his progeny.
Throughout these early years,work proceeded on the funerary temple at Thebes. The external walls were long finished and the main temple and courtyard neared completion, though building would continue for some time on the numerous storage rooms at the rear of the enclosure. The stout columns flanking the courtyards were erected with little effort as I had them quarried in round drums of limestone that sat on top of each other, locked into place with bronze connections.
Ramesses spent many days at the temple, checking inscriptions for accuracy, looking at drawings, talking to masons and other workmen and offering encouragement to all he encountered. The king had a very easy manner with people of every class, although there was no mistaking that workmen knew their visitor was the pharaoh - one glowering look at some particularly noisy brick makers smartly quelled their exuberance. A small cluster of scribes were kept busy making notations throughout the visit as adjustments and suggestions were made and modifications agreed to. The king always left his monument elated with its looming magnificence.
Between his travels and my own, we made sure to meet in Thebes frequently. Our reunions were, in our younger years, boisterous and time was found for hunting and much good humour. As we matured, we met almost like loving brothers. I had many friends across the realm but none filled me with such warmth as Ramesses. We left each other always in anticipation of the next meeting. The year the new palace was completed within the Ramesseum, we dined one evening in the privacy of these quarters, where he could relax with his family. Most of the regional administration was conducted across the river at the vizier’s buildings and Ramesses had little desire to conduct official business in his palace.
Dinner was informal and the early evening dominated by the laughs and screams of his children. Whilst Ramesses had two principal wives, he only brought Nefertari and her children to the Theban palace whilst his other wife, Isetnofret, chose to remain in Pi-Ramess. Clearly, he loved Nefertari deeply and he was an affectionate husband and devoted father.
As his eldest sons grew to maturity, he gave them responsibilities throughout the kingdom. The children accompanying his visit to Thebes were younger and more rowdy. Babies had been banished to the nursery with their wet nurses so we were left surrounded by young children, who romped and played until their father commanded they stop and pay attention to the business of eating. My wife and the queen sat on one side of the room managing the children thus granting us a measure of peace as we ate.
The king’s two chefs accompanied him on his travels and servants brought platters of exotic food from the kitchens throughout the meal. One chef specialised in preparing foods favoured in Upper Egypt. The other had been sent by the Hittite king as part of an exchange of gifts. The royal families of both countries had become very close and the kings tried to out do each other with unusual presents. The foreign chef was a man with a colourful past. He had been kidnapped by pirates, when a young boy, and sold to a Cretan merchant, who taught him several languages including our own. In common with the men from countries bordering the Great Sea, he had dark, kinked hair and a beard which he wore in the Hittite fashion, curled into tight ringlets. He was short of stature, heavily muscled and very temperamental. The king called him from the kitchens after one brilliant feast and the man regaled us with many stories of his adventures in Tyre, Knossos and Hatti.
Between the talents of the two chefs, we ate grandly. The Egyptian specialised in the preparation of fish and fowl, the Asiatic in animals and game. A whole ibex, roasted with a honey glaze and set on a bed of wild rice and pine nuts, was followed by a gazelle stuffed with a goose, then a duck and finally a pigeon and slow roasted over a charcoal pit. A variety of steamed and grilled fish complimented the meats. We made our bread in Egypt by a method different from the Hittites. Bread was an important part of any meal as we used it to scoop up the many dishes of lentils and beans which were a staple of our diet. Dough is poured into conical clay pots heated over an open fire which produced a light and airy loaf. Asiatic bread is baked flat and thin but the chef could not readily make this unless he managed to find northern winter wheat.
Supplementing our repast were rare vegetables not found in the houses of commoners, as they grew from seeds imported at considerable expense from abroad. An area adjacent to the kitchens was excavated to form storerooms and, as the floors of these chambers were just above the river’s water table, they were always cool and used to store exotic vegetables and wines. That night, we enjoyed a cool, sweet Syrian white wine, a wine I would soon add to my own cellars.
Once the children had been fed and said goodnight to their father, who lavished kisses and embraces on them, Nefertari and Ipi herded them off to their sleeping chambers. Finally, Ramesses and I were alone, the servants withdrawn. A mellow mood descended upon us.
“I am well pleased with the years of friendship you have given me and what you have built is a pleasure to behold. I wish to raise you in rank from Overseer of Works to The Right Hand of the King.” he said looking at me over his beaker of wine. Ramesses retained his particular smile, one you will see on almost every statute of his likeness, and the smile played on his lips again.
“Mighty Ruler, Lord of all He surveys, Lion of Lions, I am humbled by the bestowal of a new honour. It crosses my mind, however, every time you add to my titles you have some new enterprise in mind.” I returned the smile.
“Architect, despite some small signs of maturity developing in your character, I see the deepening of respect for your monarch needs more effort.” Now he laughed.
“Master, as a
lways my apologises for any apparent lack of respect. I am a slow learner.”
“At least, you are unlike most in my retinue. If they bow any lower in my presence they would have permanently cracked brows. I agree, you are a slow learner, so I have something new to challenge your skill and I can promise you once you have learnt to master this new matter, you will have no equal in this or any other land. Of course what I now propose may defeat even your talents?” Pausing, he drank a little more wine.
“You have built a magnificent mortuary temple and possibly you detect my hand has been guided by the example of Amenhotep III? His temple, although larger than mine, remains unfinished. He started his temple late in his reign and died before it could be completed. However, like me, he was a great builder. It is evident he believed in creating very large monuments to commemorate his relationship with the gods.”
I remarked, “Another ruler of great modesty, Master.”
He roared with laughter. “I must speak with your wife. Possibly she can teach you some manners when in the company of the king. I have visited his mortuary temple again and I take particular interest in the statues he commissioned of himself. Outside the first pylons, there stand two huge colossi of the king and the interior of the sun court is dominated by another statute which I estimate to be at least ten metres tall standing between two of the columns. The courtyard is ringed with thirty-six stone images of Amenhotep. Are they not striking?”
I had visited Amenhotep’s temple frequently and was therefore familiar with the building and the colossi to which he now referred.
“I have always admired the Temple of Amenhotep but I am a little disconcerted by the facial appearance of the pharaoh. He looks distinctly Asiatic, the almond shaped eyes give him a very non-Egyptian look. Apart from this detail, the monument is impressive.” I replied carefully.
“Good. The original plan for the two statues, which I ordered be placed beside the stairs in the first courtyard, has been followed and although I am much pleased with them, they are not reflective of my power. I require two much larger red granite statues to be positioned against the first pylon. Amenhotep’s colossi are twenty eight metres tall and I wish my new statues to be more, shall we say, daunting.” He looked at me, his challenge thrown out.
Knowing the size of Amenhotep’s two statues well, I replied evenly “That may be a problem even I cannot surmount.”
“Why not?” he queried “You have unlimited money, manpower and with your skill and my resources anything is possible.”
“Ramesses, let me explain. The enthroned figures were carved from quartzite at a quarry not distant from Thebes. They were transported overland, hauled on sleds by huge gangs of men. I can duplicate that process with some effort but no particular skill. You now desire your images not only to be carved in granite, which is slightly heavier than quartzite, but to be more imposing. They will have to come from the Aswan quarry and we will have problems in moving such massive statues, even if we overcome the possible difficulty in producing such colossi at the quarry. Then, there may be problems in erecting the statues against the pylon. Spare me a moment, as I wish to calculate the weight of each statue just to satisfy my curiosity.”
Finding a piece of papyrus and an ink set, I made quick drawings and hasty calculations. I was not enthused by the results of my calculations. It was doubtful vessels big enough could be built to carry the size and weight of the proposed statues.
“Master, rather than tell you it cannot be done, let me discuss this matter with the quarry master at Aswan and the bargees with whom we work.” I temporised.
“To make your task easier, let me put it to you this way. I desire the statues to be the most impressive possible. Whilst I doubt my divinity will be of assistance to you in this project, I am sure the gods will smile with indulgence on your labours. It is my opinion,you are greater than the architect who served Amenhotep or so your achievements lead me to believe. Now, I leave you with this new challenge. If you are successful and I am still alive when the statues are in place, I will think of a new title and possibly a fresh opportunity to test your skills.” The smile returned.
“You must not be overly concerned about these matters. Your work has already placed you amongst the greatest architects in our history. Tomorrow, before I return to Memphis and the Delta, we must visit my tomb and the tomb of my children. The queen will accompany me as will Prince Khaemwaset, Sem priest at Memphis, whom you have only briefly met. The prince is showing a praiseworthy interest in restoring some of our older monuments as part of his religious obligations. To this end, he has commissioned a survey of the royal grave sites in the Memphite necropolis as he believes it is his duty to restore burial monuments of my royal forebears. His task is a noble one and his willingness to undertake this work relieves me of a burden.”
“Khaemwaset has written to every Keeper of Temple Archives, asking them to provide him with their version of the King List. My son is very logical in his approach to most things and he believes that too many of those who wore the crown corrupted the chronicle of rulers to suit their political purposes. He is probably correct.”
“In a lighter moment, I ventured that some of those who sat on the throne were not worthy of the position knowing his rigorous religious training had led him to believe that all former kings were touched by the gods. When I commented further, the Snake god, Apophis, may have had a role in the selection of some of the fools who have ruled our country, my son got quite upset. It is a good thing he resides in Memphis as he is a little ponderous in his thinking and takes himself too seriously. He would make a very good ruler if only he learnt to laugh more at the problems life presents to a king. He has inner warmth he hides well so I have asked Nefertari to find him a wife like herself to bring a little happiness to his rather dry existence.”
“A good wife is worth more than a king’s ransom. Without Ipi, I would find life to be somewhat of a trial.”
“How true! I have been twice blessed. Queen Nefertari delivers from her womb children who mirror her personality. Happy, carefree and they warm my heart. Queen Isetnofret is more reserved and the children from her womb bear the character of their mother. From amongst these are the next rulers, military commanders and administrators of the kingdom. When I married, I did so for political reasons, although Nefertari touched my heart from the moment I saw her. Isetnofret comes from the same area of the Delta as the founder of the Ramesside Dynasty. Nefertari is from a Theban family of nobles with historic connections in the region and I contracted both marriages to demonstrate my loyalty to the Upper and Lower Kingdoms. Luckily, you were free of these considerations in your choice of a wife. It is no wonder Ipi and Nefertari have become such close friends as they share a similar disposition.”
Just before our wives rejoined us, I asked, “Are you sure you want the new statues in granite? Quartzite is a noble stone and hauling colossi by land is more easily accomplished than bringing them by non-existent vessels from Aswan.”
“What colour is my hair?”
“Red”
“What colour is Aswan granite?”
“I can paint quartzite in an array of beautiful hues from dawn rose to fiery martial red and any shade between.”
“Red Aswan granite is what I choose as it has a depth of colour unlike any other stone in the kingdom. I will implore Seth to assist you with this commission as his powers are considerable.
Together, you will raise up a mighty addition to my temple.”
Argument was pointless and secretly, I felt the usual tingle of excitement in meeting a new and mighty task. We passed the rest of the evening in good companionship until it was time to depart and turn to the contemplation of my new assignment.
Chapter 16 – THE TOMB OF QUEEN HATSHEPSUT
Egypt - Present Day
Until the project was given the green light, I had not ventured into KV20. The tomb was on Roger and Michael’s list, so they had marshalled their courage and inspected it. Their reactions did
little to induce me to duplicate their visit. My work was therefore confined to paper assessments and computer generated three dimensional images. Using photographs, measurements and the observations of others to guide me, I mapped out a theoretical approach. All very sanitary, completely stress free and proof that rank has its privileges.
During the overall survey, we all made determined efforts to visit as many tombs as possible to absorb the architectural rationale, study structural nuances and develop a feel for the environment. I discerned, in my colleagues, a growing respect for the ancient builders and a sense of amazement, as it gradually dawned on them they were actually going to work in the burial places of kings and queens. To give our work a human perspective, I took the team to the Cairo Museum where Professor Dief led us on an inspection of New Kingdom artefacts. When we reached the royal mummies exhibition, I made sure every team member closely studied the remains. When the tour ended, I drew them together.
“Every time you enter a tomb, I want you to remember what you have seen today. You have the privilege, rare amongst engineers, of restoring the resting places of kings, some of whom you have now seen. These men walked where you have walked, they felt, under their hands, the same stone you will work and ultimately lay in the burial chambers we will restore. Treat every aspect of your work with reverence and your success will bring you a sense of achievement and pride unique amongst members of our profession.” Later, Abdullah told me I grew more like my father every day, a remark I still cherish.
When the KV20 project was endorsed, Liz prepared a comprehensive memorandum to add flesh to the bare bones of the restoration. I thought it important my team became familiar with the each of our project’s original patrons especially as the mists of obscurity shroud Hatshepsut and her reign. Her father, Tuthmosis I, sired no son from his first marriage but he did produce a daughter, Hatshepsut. Subsequently a son, later Tuthmosis II, was born to a second wife and the princeling entered into a marriage with Hatshepsut, his half sister. Though Thutmosis II only enjoyed a short reign, he apparently fathered a daughter with Hatshepsut. A male child, who later became Tuthmosis III, was born by a second wife, demonstrating that personal relationships in royal families could get very complicated. On Thutmosis II’s death, Hatshepsut became regent to the rightful king, who was then only a young boy.
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