I should say that there’s a fair bit of spin here.
The Ramses mausoleum was famous in antiquity because it was believed to also be the tomb of Memnon, a figure from the Trojan war. It got tons of visitors, and it was “customary” that they would leave their signature on the wall. We have records of at least one instance where some rich Roman official had his secretary do the chiseling. The grave was guarded and this was allowed. The Egyptians probably considered it a way of honouring the grave.
Indeed, in almost all cases, these graffity are written on empty spaces, and do not cover drawings or hieroglyphics, and as you can see in the picture it’s also the case in this instance.
I should say that there’s a fair bit of spin here.
The Ramses mausoleum was famous in antiquity because it was believed to also be the tomb of Memnon, a figure from the Trojan war. It got tons of visitors, and it was “customary” that they would leave their signature on the wall. We have records of at least one instance where some rich Roman official had his secretary do the chiseling. The grave was guarded and this was allowed. The Egyptians probably considered it a way of honouring the grave.
Indeed, in almost all cases, these graffity are written on empty spaces, and do not cover drawings or hieroglyphics, and as you can see in the picture it’s also the case in this instance.
Honestly this just makes it funnier.
They were allowed to write anything and they wrote “I can’t read this shit.”
Most people signed as 'I, so-and-so, have admired". This was most likely a jab at the other graffity-makers.
good learns