A short distance from Thebes, southwest of Deir el-Medina and not far from the renowned Valley of the Kings, lies a more secret, more intimate site: the Valley of the Queens. Nestled among ochre hills, this necropolis holds the burials of royal wives, as well as some sons and daughters of the pharaohs of the 19th and 20th Dynasties.
To date, a hundred tombs have been discovered here, 98 of which are officially recorded — silent witnesses to the devotion and love pharaohs held for their families. The most famous among them is undoubtedly that of Queen Nefertari, great royal wife of Ramesses II. Unmatched in pictorial richness, her tomb is an absolute masterpiece of Egyptian funerary art: the walls are covered with finely painted scenes, vivid with colour, tracing the queen’s journey into the afterlife and her eternal union with the gods.
The Valley of the Queens, more discreet than its neighbour, is no less moving. It embodies another facet of ancient Egypt: one of intimacy, sacred femininity, and conjugal love glorified for eternity.
