Tomb of Ramses III
Tomb of Ramses III
4.5
About
Located in the Valley of the Kings, this well-preserved tomb is known as the “Tomb of the Harpists” due to the bas-relief of two blind musicians located in one of the side chambers.
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4.5
457 reviews
Excellent
351
Very good
91
Average
11
Poor
0
Terrible
4
Linda Y
Frisco, TX5,689 contributions
Feb 2020
Ramses III ruled from about 1186-1155 BC and was known as the last of the warrior pharaohs. His tomb is one of the largest and longest at 410 ft (125 m). Long passageways adorned with detailed, colorful reliefs and hieroglyphics lead down to the burial chamber. You won’t find Ramses III here. His mummy is in the Cairo Museum and the sarcophagus/lid in museums outside of Egypt.
Written 1 May 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
dxlake
Cahors, France45 contributions
Feb 2020
Although not quite up to the level of Ramses V/VI tomb, this one was also full of beautiful hieroglyphics. The Valley of the Kings has SO many tombs and it's hard to choose. The irony, of course, is that these tombs were put in a part of the landscape that was hidden at the time they were built--and the Kings buried there would no doubt be outraged that we're all lining up to see them! But it's certainly a window into a time in the world when superstitions reigned... but, then again, to many people in the world today, superstitions still reign...
Written 27 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Peter S
Philadelphia, PA140 contributions
Dec 2019
The largest tomb chambers (high ceiling and wide corridors and chambers) in Valley of the Kings. Many vivid colorful hieroglyphic scripts, bas-reliefs and murals inside. Very worthwhile to visit.
Written 13 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Susan C
Melbourne, Australia1,539 contributions
Feb 2024 • Couples
KV 11 Rameses III is a long descending corridor tomb punctuated with multiple chambers, two of them, including the burial chamber, with pillars. There are multiple small decorated chambers and niches off the first two corridors. It is another tomb with well preserved paintings and sunken reliefs on the walls, pillars and some ceilings. Glass panels protect the paintings. This was one of our guide's top 3 recommendations of the three tombs included in the Valley of the Kings entry fee.
Written 8 April 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
podrozniczka60
New Jersey16,442 contributions
Dec 2021
Vivid colors, beautiful tomb, long but easy to visit site is one of the most popular among visitors and for a reason. The paintings and hieroglyphs here of very high quality and include sacral and secular scenes. Ramses III’s sarcophagus is in the Louvre in Paris, his mummy is in Cairo, but the tomb remains very interesting.
Written 12 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tas G
Athens, Greece1,425 contributions
Dec 2021
This was one of the three tombs we visited at the valley of Kings. Is something amazing entering inside them. A huge construction inside the rock full of colors and hieroglyphs. Unfortunately it was everything so crowded
Written 28 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mario Math
Quebec City, Canada1,588 contributions
Nov 2019
Valley of the Kings | West Bank, Louxor, Égypt. The Tomb of Ramses III is one of the nicest tomb in this valley. The colors of the walls, yes the color!!! the hieroglyphs, are absolutely fantastic. it looks like they were painted just a few years ago. Simply majestic. Another beautiful tomb to visit!!!
Written 4 April 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tinnesz
Jacksonville, FL223 contributions
Apr 2022
This tomb is extensive and gorgeous. So many halls, rooms, and beautiful colored paintings. We were lucky to go when there weren't a lot of people. Take your time enjoying the art and looking at everything possible. Do not rush!
Written 29 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
sweettea4me2016
Cairo, Egypt406 contributions
Jan 2019 • Family
Visit Hatshepsut early in the morning before coming here. I recommend that you only visit 3 tombs here at the valley of the kings including this one. Paying for the transportation from the entrance to the tombs is well worth it (about 5-10 Egyptian pounds per adult). If you're a student, bring your student ID because anyone over age 12 will be required to show a student ID
Written 17 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LouiseAl
Copenhagen2,186 contributions
When Ramesses III (circa 1194-1163 BC) died after many years on the throne, could he have known that he was to become the last great pharaoh of Egypt? Perhaps. Ramesses III definitely had a complicated reign. Egypt's power and might was beginning to fray seriously around the edges. Ramesses III had to fight numerous enemies, enemies who came closer and closer to Egypt's borders, his workmen in Deir el-Medina went on strikes (which is well documented in the so-called Turin Strike Papyrus) and he was perhaps the victim of an evil harem conspiracy, concocted by some of the lesser queens at his court.
When he died he was followed by a row of Ramesses-kings, all taking that name in a vain hope of being able to follow in the footsteps of the two great Ramesside kings: number II and III. But the death of Ramesses III was the beginning of the end. Circa 1070 BC the New Kingdom collapsed and Egypt was to be ruled by foreign powers (Libyans, Nubians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Turks) until 1952 when Gamal Abdel Nasser became president!
The tomb, which is one of the longest tombs in the valley (circa 190 meters), has probably been open since antiquity but wasn't cleared completely until late in the 19th century.
The tomb was initially made for Ramesses III's daddy Sethnakht, but when the tomb workers accidentially broke through into another tomb located close by. This had nothing to do with tomb robbery as suggested elsewhere, but was simply an accident. Sethnakht decided to abandon the tomb as was buried elsewhere. But his son, Ramesses III had his tomb workers resume to work, and just moved the tomb's middle axis a little and continued deep into the soft rock.
When "reading" a tomb, the visitor should always head down to the burial chamber and then begin the reading from down there, as this was how the texts and images were supposed to be "read" by the dead king. When arriving at the entrance to the tomb, the dead king was "going into the light", exactly as the modern visitor will do when they go out.
But that is why the modern visitor will find images of the sun god Re-Harakhty (a man with falcon's head) around the entrance. You can ses pharaoh greeting the god as he is ready to head into the light and be reborn in his eternal life.
One f the two small chambers (the left one) after the entrance has scenes from daily life, something which is not seen in any other royal tomb in the valley.
The following corridor has 8 small chambers, four on each side. There are religious and non-religious images, and in the last chambers, you will see the famous images of Ramesses III with harpists. Because of these images, the tomb is often called "Tomb of the Harpists".
As you continue through the tomb, you will see images of Pharaoh offering to various gods and goddess and texts and illustrations from the certain "book" called Amduat (which means "that, which is in the underworld"). Amduat was a sort of a guidebook to the netherworld, helping the deceased Pharaoh to reach eternal life in a safe manner, or at least helping him along the way, overcoming various enemies and dangers.
The burial chamber is very damaged.
When he died he was followed by a row of Ramesses-kings, all taking that name in a vain hope of being able to follow in the footsteps of the two great Ramesside kings: number II and III. But the death of Ramesses III was the beginning of the end. Circa 1070 BC the New Kingdom collapsed and Egypt was to be ruled by foreign powers (Libyans, Nubians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Turks) until 1952 when Gamal Abdel Nasser became president!
The tomb, which is one of the longest tombs in the valley (circa 190 meters), has probably been open since antiquity but wasn't cleared completely until late in the 19th century.
The tomb was initially made for Ramesses III's daddy Sethnakht, but when the tomb workers accidentially broke through into another tomb located close by. This had nothing to do with tomb robbery as suggested elsewhere, but was simply an accident. Sethnakht decided to abandon the tomb as was buried elsewhere. But his son, Ramesses III had his tomb workers resume to work, and just moved the tomb's middle axis a little and continued deep into the soft rock.
When "reading" a tomb, the visitor should always head down to the burial chamber and then begin the reading from down there, as this was how the texts and images were supposed to be "read" by the dead king. When arriving at the entrance to the tomb, the dead king was "going into the light", exactly as the modern visitor will do when they go out.
But that is why the modern visitor will find images of the sun god Re-Harakhty (a man with falcon's head) around the entrance. You can ses pharaoh greeting the god as he is ready to head into the light and be reborn in his eternal life.
One f the two small chambers (the left one) after the entrance has scenes from daily life, something which is not seen in any other royal tomb in the valley.
The following corridor has 8 small chambers, four on each side. There are religious and non-religious images, and in the last chambers, you will see the famous images of Ramesses III with harpists. Because of these images, the tomb is often called "Tomb of the Harpists".
As you continue through the tomb, you will see images of Pharaoh offering to various gods and goddess and texts and illustrations from the certain "book" called Amduat (which means "that, which is in the underworld"). Amduat was a sort of a guidebook to the netherworld, helping the deceased Pharaoh to reach eternal life in a safe manner, or at least helping him along the way, overcoming various enemies and dangers.
The burial chamber is very damaged.
Written 15 July 2008
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
How much time should we allot to go through this site?
Written 25 May 2019
Is this historical site pet friendly ? Can I bring my dog on a leash? yes or no ? any tips for traveling with pet dog to Egypt
Written 5 April 2018
I doubt you can travel with pets and certainly doubt you can bring it into the Valley of the Kings.
Written 6 April 2018
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