Editing Amduat (section)

== ''Amduat'' Tombs ==
[[File:Thutmose_III's_tomb.jpg|thumb|399x399px|3D model of the tomb of Thutmose III (Valley of the Kings)]]
Understanding ''Amduat'' tombs<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Roberson |first=Joshua |title=The Rebirth of the Sun: Mortuary Art and Architecture in the Royal Tombs of New Kingdom Egypt |url=https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/the-rebirth-of-the-sun/ |access-date=2024-03-13 |magazine=Expedition Magazine |page=15-16 |language=en}}</ref> can be just as important as understanding the hours of the ''Amduat'' as there are instructions at the end of the ''Amduat'' text on how it should be presented within a tomb. This implies that the physical representation of it is just as important as the pictorial representation in guiding the deceased to the afterlife alongside Ra.

''Amduat'' tombs are associated with the beginning of the New Kingdom of Egypt, and became popular with the construction of the Tomb of Thutmose III, who ruled halfway through the [[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Eighteenth Dynasty]]. Being found in the Valley of the Kings, his tomb follows the architectural tradition of being a subterranean monument, shaped in what Egyptologist Josh Roberson calls a “curved and bent axe” style.<ref name=":122" /> Following that style, it can be seen in the corresponding image that Thutmose III's tomb contained his burial chamber which was connected to four storage rooms, an antechamber, a well shaft, and three connected corridors leading out to the entrance.

There are many possible reasons for this style growing in popularity, likely tied to the various symbolic interpretations of the rooms found within the tomb. There are no agreed upon descriptions for the purposes of these rooms and what was contained inside of them, with historians like [[Erik Hornung]] and Friedrich Abitz attempting to explain them in their respective academic pursuits.

=== The Tomb of Thutmose III ===
As discussed by Historians Catherine Roehrig and Barbara Richter, the architecture of Thutmose III's tomb is likely meant to mirror the structure of the underworld as the ''Amduat'' displays it.<ref name=":22" /> Found within the burial chamber of the pharaoh, the ''Amduat'' was a guide for him to follow through the underworld, as well as a way to achieve rebirth for himself after death. This may be why the structure of the tomb itself slopes downwards and winds around, to form that bent shape, as historians theorize that it may reflect the confusing and labyrinthian structure of the underworld itself. <ref name=":22" /><ref name=":122" />

It begins by starting on the west side of the room, and ending to the east side of the room in order to mirror the cycle of the sun. The ''Amduat'' ending on the east side of the room lines up with the sun rising in the east, representing the rebirth and renewal that the pharaoh hoped to achieve at the end of his journey. The hours are out of order on the walls however, with hours 5 and 6 being placed between hours 1 and 12.<ref name=":0" /> This may be a representation of a spiral design, as someone who views the ''Amduat'' in numerical order will have to complete an irregular circle throughout the room, again being associated with ideas of a continual cycle.<ref name=":22" />

Additionally, the rounded corners of the room create an oval shape which has many interpretations: it may represent the continual, circular life cycle of the sun's journey,<ref name=":0" /> or may line up with the rounded corner edge of the actual illustrated ''Amduat'' present on the walls.<ref name=":122" /> Connections to the oval (or cartouche-shaped)<ref name=":122" /> cavern of Sokar in the 6th hour may also be present in the oval burial chamber and sarcophagus of Thutmose III and connect to ideas of rebirth or renewal that the pharaoh wished to achieve for himself.<ref name=":22" /> His [[sarcophagus]], found in the center of the burial chamber, is similarly oval-shaped as well, including his name which is within a [[Cartouche|royal cartouche]]. <ref name=":22" />

=== Other Examples of ''Amduat'' Tombs ===
The [[vizier]] to Thutmose III, [[Useramen|Useramun]], was a rare example of someone not of royal-birth having their tomb in the ''Amduat'' style. This may be due to many reasons, but shows how exclusive royal tombs were to the pharaoh and his immediate family. It is notable that Useramun's tomb only contained the images of hours 3 and 4, not the whole journey of the sun which only adds to the exclusivity of the ''Amduat'' to royalty in Ancient Egyptian funerary traditions.
[[File:Raum_des_Sarkophags_KV35.jpg|thumb|324x324px|Burial chamber of [[KV35]], the tomb of [[Amenhotep II]], decorated with scenes from the Amduat]]
[[Amenhotep II]] ([[KV35|KV 35]]) and [[Amenhotep III]] ([[WV22|KV 22]]) both have examples of completed ''Amduat'' texts within their burial tombs as well, following many of the conventions that Thutmose III began within his tomb.

Later Eighteenth Dynasty tombs strayed away from this approach to follow a more linear design style, being arranged by a single long corridor and  straightening out the previously ‘bent axe’ style of earlier pharaohs.<ref name=":122" /> The ''Amduat'' was still present in these tombs, though was not only reserved for the burial chambers, as it was depicted throughout the various parts of the tomb. Additionally, with the rise of the [[Ramesside Period]] in the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt, the ''Amduat'' began to appear alongside other funerary texts like ''[[Book of Gates|The Book of Gates]]'' and ''The [[Book of Caverns]]'' as expansions of the mythos of the Egyptian Underworld.<ref name=":122" />

At the end of the New Kingdom, the ''Amduat'' seems to have lost its exclusivity, appearing on both coffins and papyri for deceased people of a lower class than royalty or nobility. <ref name=":0" />