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Ramses II (also commonly spelled ‘Ramesses’) is one of the best-known ancient Egyptian pharaohs. Today known as Ramses the Great, he came to power c.1280 BC, and over the course of his almost 70-year reign he led many military campaigns, built numerous temples, and fathered more than 100 children. He was worshipped by his people as a living god – and, as a recently opened exhibition at Battersea Power Station in London attests, he was not afraid of promoting his own image, too. Visitors to Ramses and the Pharaohs’ Gold learn that the eponymous king’s name appears on more buildings and monuments than that of any other pharaoh, claiming these constructions even if he had not originally commissioned them, and he was also happy to refashion statues of earlier rulers in his own image. An imposing example greets visitors as they enter the exhibition: a colossal sculpted head which today represents Ramses, but research has revealed that it was originally created centuries earlier, possibly for Senwosret I (d. c.1926 BC) before its features were recarved during Ramses’ reign.
Shape-shifting statues offer just one insight into what was clearly a towering personality. Ramses and the Pharaohs’ Gold brings together an eclectic assemblage of 180 objects which have been loaned to the exhibition by the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, some of them travelling outside Egypt for the first time. Through these displays we learn about Ramses’ seemingly limitless ambition, including the monumental temples that he built – among them the desert extravaganza of Abu Simbel, and the Ramesseum, his mortuary temple at Thebes, whose statue would later inspire Shelley’s poem ‘Ozymandias’ (a Greek rendering of Ramses’ throne name, Usermaatra). He also established a new capital city in the Nile Delta (which he of course named after himself: Piramesse) complete with an opulent palace whose faience floor tiles depicted captive enemies so that the king could trample them underfoot. Some of these are included in the exhibition, as is a carved limestone block showing the pharaoh about to strike cowering representations of Egypt’s traditional foes: Nubia, Libya, and Syria.
Ramses’ military actions against neighbouring powers were equally ambitious, and he led many expeditions himself – including at the Battle of Kadesh, against the Hittite Empire, which here is represented in animated style. Ramses considered this engagement to be his greatest achievement, trumpeting his victory on temple walls across Egypt – though Hittite sources suggest that the outcome was, at best, a draw. Other martial elements within the displays include items highlighting the importance of chariots to ancient Egyptian warfare (such as decorative gold foils bearing the name of Tutankhamun), and the remains of a compound bow inlaid with bark and ivory.
Golden glory
Given the splendour of his sacred and secular structures, Ramses’ tomb must surely have been equally magnificent, but it was plundered within 20 years of his death, its contents lost to thieves and its decorations ruined by flash floods. For that reason, the exhibition refers to ‘pharaohs’ plural – it is full of astonishing treasures, but most of the items beyond the first gallery space (which houses a characterful array of sculptures depicting Ramses alongside other displays dedicated to his reign) belonged to other kings, their wives or daughters, and high priests and elite officials.
Reproductions of wall paintings from the tomb of Ramses’ father Seti I, alongside spectacular items such as the gilded wooden coffin mask of Amenemope (d. c.992 BC; above); a gold funerary mask, belt, jewellery, and even toe- and finger-covers that once adorned the mummy of Sheshonq II (d. 889 BC); and the huge granite sarcophagus cover of Ramses’ son and successor Merenptah, all give a sense of how his own burial may have looked. From the tombs of high-status women, meanwhile, comes a visual feast of collars, bracelets, diadems, girdles, finger-rings, and amulets, exquisitely worked in gold and adorned with gems and semi-precious stones (including the items belonging to Princess Meret shown below). Following this opulent display, though, we learn that silver – being much less readily available in ancient Egypt than gold – was the more highly prized material. A highlight of the exhibition is the coffin of Sheshonq II, which is rare for having a hawk’s head, rather than a human one – and is even more unusual for being made of solid silver. Despite the plunder that his tomb suffered, though, one element of Ramses’ own burial can also be seen in the displays. After the initial raid, his mummy was spirited away to a cache of 50 royal mummies, where it was kept safe for centuries until it was rediscovered in 1870. The king’s finely worked timber coffin (below) appears towards the end of the exhibition, adorned with hieroglyphs telling the story of its ancient rescue.
A wider world
As well as the life and works of Ramses II, the exhibition also illuminates other themes such as the experiences of (mainly high-status) women who, surviving legal texts reveal, had equal status under the law to their male contemporaries, able to initiate court cases and divorces, and to purchase and inherit land, houses, and goods. More informal insights, meanwhile, come from a series of ostraca (limestone fragments used like scrap paper to record rotas, accounts, and notes – as well as doodles created by off-duty workers). They include practice-drawings for tomb paintings, a humorous image of a cat herding a flock of geese, and a more subversive depiction of a lion (labelled as representing the king) being attacked by a hyena. Particularly striking, though, are the displays of animal mummies recently excavated at Saqqara, including cats, scarab beetles, a mongoose, a crocodile, and even a lion cub. Their creation was big business for Egyptian temples – these were not beloved pets being honoured like humans – rather, they were specifically farmed for votive sacrifice.
The exhibition ends with a cinematic overview of more recent episodes from Ramses’ ‘afterlife’, including the relocation of Abu Simbel ahead of the construction of the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s; his mummy’s journey to Paris (for expert restoration) in the 1970s, during which he was greeted with honours befitting a visiting head of state; and the Pharaohs’ Golden Parade in 2021 that saw Ramses and 21 other royal mummies transported with great ceremony to their new home in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation.
In addition to the cost of general admission, visitors can add an insightful audio guide narrated by historian and broadcaster Dan Snow for an extra £5. For another £14, they can access an immersive, seated VR experience in which Ramses’ wife Nefertari guides you around beautifully detailed digital reconstructions of some of his temples (followed by a more imaginative sequence that I won’t spoil here, but will entertain fans of the 1999 film The Mummy).
Given the importance that ancient Egyptians placed on remembering a person’s name to ensure their soul’s immortality, Ramses would surely be very pleased with this magnificent show introducing a whole new generation to his legacy more than 3,000 years after his rule.
Further information: Ramses and the Pharaohs’ Gold is at Battersea Power Station in London until 1 January 2027 (currently booking into summer 2026). Adult tickets begin at £32, with concessions and other packages available. See https://ramsestheexhibition.co.uk/london for more details.
All images: © NEON_World Heritage Exhibitions
