Tomb of Nefertari

The Tomb of Nefertari is an ancient Egyptian royal tomb in the Valley of the Queens on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor, built for Queen Nefertari of the 19th Dynasty (wife of Ramesses II). It is catalogued as tomb QV66 and is celebrated for some of the finest and most colorful wall paintings surviving from ancient Egypt.

Inside QV66 visitors encounter richly painted scenes covering multiple chambers, including a decorated burial chamber and adjoining side rooms; the iconography and pigments are unusually well preserved compared with many other royal tombs. The scale and quality of decoration make it a major attraction for specialists in Egyptian art and conservation, though public access is limited to protect the pigments.

The tomb was carved during the 13th century BCE for Nefertari and belongs to the 19th Dynasty royal tomb complex. It was excavated in the modern era by the Italian Egyptologist Ernesto Schiaparelli in 1904 and has since undergone conservation efforts to stabilise the paintings.

QV66 sits on the west bank of the Nile in the Valley of the Queens, adjacent to the Theban necropolis opposite the modern city of Luxor in Upper Egypt.

• Tomb number: Tomb QV66 is one of the most richly decorated royal tombs in the Valley of the Queens, noted for large areas of surviving polychrome wall paintings.
• Access: Access is restricted for conservation and the tomb is often closed to the general public or open only in controlled visits.