The Tomb of Tutankhamun Back to Osiris in plan and decoration

Abstract

The architectural plan and the wall decoration of the tomb of Tutankhamun (KV 62) show differences in comparison to previous 18th Dynasty royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. The reasons for these differences in view of the unusual political, religious and social circumstances at the end of the Amarna period as well as the importance of Tutankamun alive and dead are investigated. An analyses of the unique architectural plan of the tomb in connection with the placement and directions of the main funerary equipment together with the carefully chosen scenes in the Sarcophagus Chamber reveal their collective role in reviving the Osiris cult and in giving the Egyptian people back their pre-Amarna Netherworld beliefs.