The Decorative Phases of the Tomb of Sethos II and their Historical Implications *

Abstract

A consideration of the decoration of the tomb of Sethos II in the Valley of the Kings and the implications of its sequence of development for the history of the late Nineteenth Dynasty. It is argued that the decoration of the tomb, which may show up to eleven separate phases, is best explained by the assumption that the king's reign was interrupted by the rule, in Upper Egypt, of Amenmesse.