The oldest tombs lie to the north-east; but as yet only two chambers have been opened here, one of which is large in size and adorned with beautiful, though very much injured sculptures, the grave of Amenophis III.[247] The tombs of the Tuthmosis have not yet been found. Next, on the south-west, lies the tomb of Ramses I. The rock chamber and the granite sarcophagus, which is still standing there, are without any ornament whatever except a few pictures on the walls, in which the god Tum and the goddess Neith, the great mother, the lady of heaven, the queen of the deities, lead the king before Osiris. The king speaks, "I have come to thee, lord of the gods, mighty god, master of the sky," while Neith says to the king, "I secure to thee the throne of Osiris, on which thou shalt sit for ever."[248] The grave of his successor, Sethos I., consists of a suite of galleries, chambers, and chapels. A corridor leads to a staircase, which ends in a chamber; from this a second staircase leads to a portico, on which abuts a great hall, the roof of which is supported by four pillars. A third staircase leads from this hall on the left into one similarly adorned, of which the pictures remain unfinished, and on the right into a broad vaulted portico sunk more than 300 feet deep into the rock. The roof of this portico is supported by six pillars. Here the corpse of the king rested in a sarcophagus of alabaster, which is covered with sculptures. The sarcophagus, now in the British Museum, was empty when found, and the cover was broken. The sculptures of the first hall display on every side of the pillars the king and a deity. Those on the walls represent the stations of the nightly course of the sun and the hindrances thrown in the way of the sun by the serpent Apep (p. 46), the judgment in the under world, the reward of the good, the punishment of the bad, the constellations of the sky, the five planets in their boats, and the four tribes into which the Egyptians divided mankind. Each tribe is represented by four figures.
Of the grave of Ramses II. but few chambers have as yet been opened.[249] The grave of his son Menephta presents nothing more than a picture referring to the under world. Beside Menephta, Amenmessu (p. 162) and Menephta's son, Sethos II., found their resting places in these rocks, which also conceal Menephta II. (p. 163). The grave of Sethos II. is distinguished by paintings and sculptures. The sarcophagus of red granite is intended to exhibit on the lid the image of the king, but this remained unfinished.[250] The grave of Ramses III. comes nearest to that of Sethos I. in size and splendour of adornment. Galleries following one upon the other, on the side of which are small chambers, lead to a large portico in which rests the sarcophagus. The sculptures in these chambers exhibit scenes of court life, of agriculture, of the banquet, musicians, boats, and weapons; those of the galleries and the portico represent scenes of the under world and existence beyond the grave. The grave of Ramses IV., far smaller and incomplete, still contains the shattered sarcophagus of granite.[251] On the other hand, the tomb of Ramses V., one of the most handsome, displays on the arching of the roof of the great portico, where the sarcophagus stood, the outstretched form of the goddess of the sky, in which are enclosed the stars. On the walls are depicted the fortunes of the soul in the next world, and the king in the boat of the sun-god. These representations of the judgment in the under-world, which recur perpetually in the tombs at Biban-el-Moluk, and of the life to come, are wholly unknown to the pyramids and the tombs surrounding them, the burying-places of the ancient kingdom.