Valley of the Queens, western Thebes
Built for the favourite wife of Ramesses II, QV66 is often called the Sistine Chapel of ancient Egypt. Its walls show Nefertari guided by gods through the afterlife on a background of brilliant white plaster and a ceiling of golden stars.
A conservation project by the Getty Conservation Institute and the Egyptian Antiquities Organization in 1986–1992 stabilised the fragile paintings.
Follow the tomb from its entrance to the burial chamber. Select a space in the list, the plan or the 3D model.
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Unfolded section from the entrance; side rooms are omitted. Solid outlines: floor levels from published figures. Dashed outlines: reconstructed levels. Getty Conservation Institute: a drop of 3.3 m between the floors of the antechamber and the burial chamber, over a stairway about 7 m long; the burial chamber has three floor levels, 2.7 m, 3.4 m and 2.7 m below the ceiling (so the central part is about 0.7 m lower). Steps up into the side chambers (two for Da and Dc, one for Db) are from the Theban Mapping Project description. The depth of the antechamber below ground is reconstructed.
A · Stairway
Reconstructed geometry
Damaged
A steep ramp with rock-cut steps, now overlaid with modern wooden steps and covered by a brick barrel vault built during Schiaparelli's excavations. Ernesto Schiaparelli's Italian mission discovered the tomb in 1904; it had been robbed in antiquity.
Damaged: In antiquity floods filled the ramp and the antechamber with debris almost to the ceiling.
Note: The length is approximate (Getty); the width, height and drop are reconstructed.
B · Chamber
Reconstructed geometry
A large room on the axis of the entrance, with rock-cut benches along the west wall and along the north wall as far as the stairway. A double recess on the east side leads to side chamber Ba.
Note: Size approximate (Getty). The rock-cut benches along the west and north walls are not modelled.
R · Side room
Reconstructed geometry
The inner part of the double recess on the east side of the antechamber. Isis leads Nefertari to Khepri, and Horus son of Isis leads her on, beside Osiris as an anthropomorphised djed pillar.
Note: Size approximate (Getty); height reconstructed.
Ba · Side room
Reconstructed geometry
A side chamber set across the axis, with texts from Chapters 94 and 148 of the Book of the Dead. Nefertari makes offerings to Osiris and to Atum; another wall shows the seven celestial cows and their bull.
Note: Size approximate (Getty); height reconstructed.
C · Stairway
Reconstructed geometry
The stairway leaves from the east end of the antechamber's north wall and angles eastward, so the burial chamber lies on a parallel axis further east. Recesses divide the walls into upper and lower parts; the sloping ceiling gives the scenes a triangular shape.
Note: The length and the 3.3 m drop are from the Getty report (approximate). The width, and the eastward angle of the stairway (shown here as a straight stair offset to the east), are reconstructed.
D · Pillared hall
Reconstructed geometry
The raised south part of the burial chamber. Four pillars, one on each side of the steps, surround the sunken centre. The walls carry Book of the Dead Chapter 144 (west half) and 146 (east half), the gates of the underworld and their guardians.
Note: The overall size and the three floor levels follow the Getty report. The length of each level, the pillar positions and sizes are reconstructed. Benches along the walls are not modelled.
D↓ · Crypt
Reconstructed geometry
The sunken centre, reached by three steps from the south and north, where the sarcophagus had been placed. A niche in the bench of the west wall may have held the canopic chest.
Note: The 0.7 m drop follows the Getty floor-to-ceiling figures; the length of this level is reconstructed.
Dn · Pillared hall
Reconstructed geometry
The raised north part of the burial chamber. Osiris is greeted on the rear wall; a doorway leads to the rear chamber Db.
Note: See the south level.
Da · Side room
Reconstructed geometry
Damaged
A small room at the south end of the west wall, reached up two steps, with the mummiform queen and the sons of Horus. Much of its decoration is damaged.
Damaged: The decoration is largely damaged, especially on the south and west walls.
Note: The Theban Mapping Project describes this room as small and square, set at the south end of the west wall; the Getty figures give 4.0 × 2.3 m. The dimensions are approximate and the discrepancy is unresolved.
Dc · Side room
Reconstructed geometry
Damaged
A square room at the south end of the east wall, reached up two steps. Hathor as a cow and a partly damaged winged Maat survive.
Damaged: Mostly damaged; few decorations survive.
Note: Dimensions approximate (Getty); position at the south end of the east wall from the Theban Mapping Project.
Db · Side room
Reconstructed geometry
Damaged
A small room behind the burial chamber, reached up one step. Its decoration is almost entirely lost; Isis, Serqet and Anubis survive on the returns and east wall.
Damaged: Decoration almost entirely damaged.
Note: Dimensions approximate (Getty); its position along the north wall is reconstructed.
The arrangement of rooms follows the Theban Mapping Project description of QV 66 (letters A–D, Ba, Da–Dc). The Theban Mapping Project page gives no measurements for this tomb, so the sizes and the levels follow the approximate figures published by the Getty Conservation Institute (Maekawa 1993), which are rounded to the decimetre. The position of doorways along walls, the widths of the stairways and the length of each floor level in the burial chamber are reconstructed.
Theban Mapping Project, "QV 66 (Queen Nefertari-Merymut)", American Research Center in Egypt
Used for: Sequence and arrangement of rooms; the benches, double recess and canopic niche; the eastward shift of the stairwell; the three-part, split-level burial chamber with four pillars and steps; the position of each side chamber; decoration by wall.
Used for: Approximate dimensions: entrance stairway about 4.5 m; upper chamber about 5.2 m square and 3.1 m high; recess 1.2 × 4 m and side chamber 3.1 × 5.2 m, joined by passages 3.1 × 0.8 m and 1.1 × 0.8 m; lower stairway about 7 m with a 3.3 m drop; burial chamber 10.5 × 8.4 m with floors 2.7, 3.4 and 2.7 m below the ceiling; side chambers 4.0 × 2.3 × 1.5, 2.4 × 2.3 × 1.9 and 2.3 × 2.2 × 1.8 m; total volume about 475 m³.
E. Schiaparelli, Relazione sui lavori della Missione Archeologica Italiana in Egitto, vol. 1 (Turin, 1924)
Used for: Discovery and finds. Not used for any dimension.
Floor levels. Getty Conservation Institute: a drop of 3.3 m between the floors of the antechamber and the burial chamber, over a stairway about 7 m long; the burial chamber has three floor levels, 2.7 m, 3.4 m and 2.7 m below the ceiling (so the central part is about 0.7 m lower). Steps up into the side chambers (two for Da and Dc, one for Db) are from the Theban Mapping Project description. The depth of the antechamber below ground is reconstructed.
How to read the model. A space marked documented has the size given in the survey. Where it sits along a wall and how deep its floor lies are reconstructed unless stated. Gates (doorway passages) are modelled at their surveyed thickness and width, which sets the width of each doorway in the model.
| Space | Published length × width × height (m) | Model (m) | Source | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Entrance stairwayStairway | 4.5 × — × —"A step staircase, A, approximately 4.5 m long". | 4.5 × 2 × 2.6Matches (height not published) | [2] | Reconstructed geometryFloor level reconstructed |
| B AntechamberChamber | 5.2 × 5.2 × 3.1Upper chamber (C in the Getty plan): "approximately 5.2 m square with a 3.1 m high ceiling". | 5.2 × 5.2 × 3.1Matches | [2] | Reconstructed geometryFloor level reconstructed |
| gR Opening to the recessGate | 0.8 × 3.1 × —First of two passages linking the chamber to rooms D and E of the Getty plan. | 0.8 × 3.1 × 2.6Matches (height not published) | [2] | Reconstructed geometryFloor level reconstructed |
| R RecessSide room | 1.2 × 4 × —Room D of the Getty plan. | 1.2 × 4 × 2.6Matches (height not published) | [2] | Reconstructed geometryFloor level reconstructed |
| gBa Gate BaGate | 0.8 × 1.1 × — | 0.8 × 1.1 × 2.2Matches (height not published) | [2] | Reconstructed geometryFloor level reconstructed |
| Ba Side chamberSide room | 3.1 × 5.2 × —Room E of the Getty plan. | 3.1 × 5.2 × 2.7Matches (height not published) | [2] | Reconstructed geometryFloor level reconstructed |
| C Descending stairwayStairway | 7 × — × —"a staircase (I) approximately 7 m long" with a 3.3 m drop between the floors of the two chambers. | 7 × 1.8 × 2.8Matches (height not published) | [2] | Reconstructed geometryFloor level from published figures |
| D Burial chamberPillared hall | 10.5 × 8.4 × 2.7Burial chamber (K in the Getty plan) as a whole: 10.5 × 8.4 m; floors 2.7, 3.4 and 2.7 m below the ceiling. | 10.5 × 8.4 × 3.4Differs: see note | [2] | Reconstructed geometryFloor level from published figures |
| Da Side chamberSide room | 4 × 2.3 × 1.5Chamber M of the Getty plan, on the west wall: "4.0 x 2.3 x 1.5 m" (third figure presumably the height). | 4 × 2.3 × 1.5Matches | [2] | Reconstructed geometryFloor level reconstructed |
| Dc Side chamberSide room | 2.3 × 2.2 × 1.8Chamber O of the Getty plan, on the east wall: "2.3 x 2.2 x 1.8 m". | 2.3 × 2.2 × 1.8Matches | [2] | Reconstructed geometryFloor level reconstructed |
| Db Rear chamberSide room | 2.4 × 2.3 × 1.9Chamber Q of the Getty plan, on the north wall: "2.4 x 2.3 x 1.9 m". | 2.4 × 2.3 × 1.9Matches | [2] | Reconstructed geometryFloor level reconstructed |
| SarcophagusBurial chamber, sunken centre | Not measured in the sources used; model size approximate | 2.8 × 1.3 × 1.2 | — | Approximate |
History for Sleep · 2 h 26 min · 20 Sept 2026 · 17 chapters
Starts at 1:41:29 — “The Ramesside Kings”
The chapter on the Ramesside kings, the age of Ramesses II and his queen Nefertari.
Playlist: Sleep Documentaries
Tap a marker for details, or zoom out to see the whole Nile valley.
