QV 51

Queen Isis-ta-Hemdjeret

According to the GCI-SCA, the current condition of the rock is difficult to assess because of the large modern plaster repairs that cover most of the tomb today. A tilted open joint is visible on the exterior of the tomb on the west side of the entryway, but there is no evidence of recent movement or loss along it. The joint extends to a fracture in the west jamb of the entrance, but no further movement has occurred since the doorway was rebuilt. The ceiling of the burial chamber (C) is heavily fractured with substantial areas of loss, one of which may be recent and possibly ongoing. Losses most often occur along fissures in the rock and where substantial quantities of infill material were used. The burial chamber (C) walls have suffered the most loss of decoration. Surviving areas of decoration are fragile and detached, especially on the ceiling of burial chamber (C). There is also loss of decoration at the base of walls throughout the tomb.  

The tomb has suffered intense heat damage, but surfaces are not fire blackened except for small areas on the east wall of corridor (B). A horizontal line of heat alteration is also visible in corridor (B), particularly noticeable in the pigment alteration from yellow to red, at the lower parts of the west wall. The base of the wall was perhaps protected by sand or debris so that the fire only affected the upper parts of the tomb. The plaster has also become rigid and brittle, cracking and detaching from its substrate, and is lifting in areas. The burial chamber has suffered the most heat alteration, though the plasters in the rear side chambers are also heat damaged and fragile with severe cracking and detachment. Areas of painting in the corridor also show other forms of deterioration. The upper border Kheker frieze has an unusual pattern of loss where the red circles are almost entirely lost leaving only a ring of red. This suggests an application of a varnish in specific areas that has led to preferential loss. The blue paint appears to be almost completely lost in areas, sometimes with the upper plaster layer gone as well. The pigment was very thickly applied directly onto the plaster instead of over a layer of black, as was typical, so that its appearance is paler than normal. Black resinous-looking drips are also found on the walls in the corridor. Staining, probably due to bat activity, is evident in the rear of the tomb. Complete loss of decoration at the base of the walls indicates a strong possibility of flooding in this tomb. The regularity of the loss at the base of the wall in corridor (B) is particularly strange and gives the impression that these areas were possibly intentionally cut. Rock fissuring and loss of substantial infill material have also contributed to the fragmentary survival of the decoration that we see today.