Dr. Campbell Price

And this is partly a hangover of the Amarna period that those depictions are so detailed.

That is an Amarna thing.

You would never see that level of detail in the reign of Thutmose III.

And maybe there's something to be proven.

Maybe it's Seti I really trying to make the point.

that there must be something like a kind of court war correspondent or war artist, because the detail is very specific.

And most ancient Egyptian scenes do not reflect history as it happened and don't reflect the world as it actually is.

But yeah, there are details that bring about this world in which foreigners, anyone who's unfortunate enough to be non-Egyptian is in disarray and the Egyptians are successful on campaign.

So the local detail, the scenes of a siege, fortifications, canals, rivers,

siege warfare, that does seem to ring true.

I think it maybe was conceptualized

all the way back under Amenhotep III, and Seti I does the bulk of the work.

So I think it's really realised by Seti I, and he begins to decorate it, and by the time he dies, it's half finished.

And so Ramesses II completes it.

But it is an absolutely astounding piece of architecture, you know.

World architecture, absolutely breathtaking.

And his tomb as well in the Valley of the Kings, it's one of the most pristine, remarkable tombs.

Jewel-like.

And it's funny because Ramesses II is in real terms bigger, but is much, much less well-preserved.

Interesting.