TOMB OF THUTMOSE III

The showstopper of THE QUEST FOR IMMORTALITY: Treasures of Ancient Egypt is the life-sized facsimile of the burial chamber of the New Kingdom pharaoh Thutmose III, who ruled Egypt in the 15th century BC (1479-1425 BC). The original chamber is part of the pharaoh’s tomb complex in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.

The chamber measures approximately 50 x 29 x 10 feet. Its walls are fully covered with the

first-known complete copy of the Amduat, an illustrated funerary text intended as a guidebook to the afterlife, primarily for pharaohs. “Amduat” means “what is in the netherworld.” It was believed that by describing the afterlife it would aid the king, for to possess knowledge of something was to have power over it.

A Pharaoh’s Resurrection

Written in hieroglyphs and depicting hundreds of images of deities, demons, and the blessed dead, the Amduat is divided into the twelve hours of night. The text relates the events during the sun’s nocturnal journey from dusk to dawn, from death to resurrection.

A deceased pharaoh was believed to descend into the netherworld, where he would board the solar boat and unite with the sun god Re. Together they would travel through the underworld, described as a larger-than-life real world with a Nile, a desert and fields.

Traveling through the night, the sun god encounters numerous enemies that threaten his quest for immortality. But with the help of hundreds of deities, his body and soul reunite at midnight, giving him the strength to overcome the obstacles that remain in his path. The journey – a metaphor for the eternal life sought by all Egyptians – ends at sunrise with the pharaoh’s resurrection as the sun god Re. This ritual takes place under a ceiling painted as a blue sky full of yellow stars.

History in Layers

This replica is the work of Factum Arte, a company based in Madrid and London, specializing in the digital production of works for artists, conservators and museums.