The tomb ornaments in the New Kingdom were gorgeous, and at first Egyptologist believed the paintings to be Egyptian dreams and fancies. But once the Amduat (book about the underworld), was found the real meaning to Ancient Egyptian tomb paintings was discovered.
During the Eighteenth Dynasty the walls of the burial chamber, the columns, the anteroom, and the shaft spot were decorated. But by the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasty the entire tomb was decorated.
The procedure of the painting even changed from simply paint to raised, then to sunk relief painting.
The Amduat clarified the nightly voyage the sun god Ra took to the underworld on his barque. It was very important that the dead pharaoh participated in this quest, to become one with Ra and live for ever.
At this point in time, only pharaohs were believed to be able to go on to the afterlife. Typical Egyptians did not have that privilege.
Tomb designs typically illustrated the pharaoh’s journey with Ra. Hieroglyphs and images directly from the Amduat were decorated onto the walls of the kings’ tombs.
The Amduat helped explain tomb ornaments by explaining the sun god’s quest with the dead king. Specific phases of the twelve hours of night journey were painted around the pharaoh’s tomb.
Each hour Ra and the spirit of the dead king would come across some kind of friend or opposing forces. The primary purpose for the quest was to supply the names of particular gods and opposings forces to the dead pharaoh, so he might utilize them for help or call upon their name to defeat them.
The very first hour of the quest, the sunlight god travel west. In hours 2 and three, the sun god would pass through a water globe called Waters of Osiris.
In hour four, Ra would reach Sokar, the sandy realm of the underworld hawk god. Throughout the fifth hour Ra might arrive at Osiris’s tomb which was hidden beneath a lake of fire, and covered by a pyramid like mound, where Isis and Nephthys stood guard.
During the sixth hour, the ba of Ra united with the ba (soul) of Osiris. During this hour the sunshine god started his regrowth.
In the seventh hour, Apep, the enemy of the gods, laid in wait on a sandbank in the shape of a gigantic serpent. The snake would scoop the water of the underworld lake away from the boat to cease it from continuing on its journey.
Ancient Egyptians believed if the sunlight’s cycle was ever stopped, it would be the end of the world. Thus Apep is defeated by Ra (some variations point out Isis and Seth assistance in this struggle) and his body is depicted on the royal tombs as being cut into pieces.
In the eighth hour, Ra opened the doors of the tomb and left Sokar. He then rowed promptly back into the water for the ninth hour.
In the tenth hour the regrowth process continued with Ra immerging in the waters till the eleventh hour. Ra’s eyes were then totally regenerated (an indication of wellness). In the twelfth hour, Ra would rise in the east to prepare the new day’s sunshine.
During the Eighteenth Dynasty tomb decorations altered. King Horemheb’s tomb showed an additional book of the underworld was made use of, the Book of Gates.
Like the Amduat it displayed the night quest of the Ra on the solar barque. The difference was, the hours were not depicted. Instead an image of all the different gates the king had to go through were painted.
And at each gate Ra and the dead king would encounter a particular god or goddess.
The Book of Gates was meant for everyone, not merely royalty. The perspectives about Ancient Egyptians not having a soul had altered, and now they believed they were entitled to an afterlife.
In the Twentieth Dynasty, the Book of Caverns replaced the Amduat in tomb decorations. The Book of Caverns did not break out the twelve hours of Ra’s journey, as an alternative it was a much more comprehensive about the afterlife and their idea of hell.