The Mysterious Legacy of Pharaoh SETI I’s Cherished Queen and the Realms of the Original Wooden Coffins were Discovered in a Fascinating Expedition led by Dr. El-Bahri in 1881.
The mummified face of Pharaoh Seti I, also known as Sety I of the New Kingdom’s Nineteenth Dynasty, proudly stands as a symbol revered by Egyptologists for its unparalleled preservation. His face is regarded as one of the best-preserved in the world as well as in Ancient Egypt’s annals.
Dying about 3,298 years ago, Seti I is reckoned to have ruled when Egypt was at one of its most affluent peaks from 1290 to 1279 BCE. He was a father to perhaps Ancient Egypt’s most celebrated pharaohs, Ramses II. His father, Ramses I, reigned for only two years.
The tomb of this extraordinarily powerful and handsome ruler was brought to the world’s attention by the renowned researcher Giovanni Battista Belzoni on October 16, 1817.
The tomb, located in the Valley of the Kings and known as KV17, is the longest tomb in the entire necropolis, spanning about 137 meters (449 feet).
Seti’s embalmed body was carefully prepared and covered with a yellow shroud. However, tomb looters had infiltrated, vandalizing his burial chamber and smashing some of his belongings. Worse still, Seti’s head was separated from the rest of his bejeweled body. Fortunately, his face remained untouched. Now, the mummy of Seti I rests among other royal mummies in the Cairo Museum.
In the early years of his reign, Seti led his army northward to restore Egyptian prestige, which had been partly lost during the troubled years of the late 18th dynasty under Akhenaten. He battled in northern Palestine and Syria and fought at least one battle with the Hittite king Muwatallis. He subsequently concluded a peace treaty that likely established the frontier at Kadesh on the Orontes River between the Egyptian and Anti-Lebanon mountains.
In his 11th to 15th-year rule, Seti devoted much to promote the prosperity of Egypt. He fortified the frontier, opened mines and quarries, dug wells, and rebuilt temples and shrines that had fallen into decay or been damaged. He conceived the grand hall at Karnak, which is one of the most impressive monuments of Egyptian architecture.
Another important work is his memorial temple at Abydos, dedicated to Osiris and six other deities, many of whom are original color remains. Seti’s tomb is the finest in the Valley of the Kings in western Thebes.
Although his son Ramses II is more famous, Seti is thought by many scholars to have been the greatest king of the 19th dynasty.
