The Valley of the Kings
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Hidden behind the Theban Hills, on the West Bank of the Nile, lies the Valley of the Kings (Wadi el-Muluk in Arabic), a limestone valley where tombs were built for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom during the 18-21st Dynasties. It was chosen as the burial place for most of Egypt's New Kingdom rulers for several reasons. As the crow flies, the Valley is very close to the cultivated banks of the river. It is small, surrounded by steep cliffs, and easily guarded. The local limestone, cut millions of years ago by torrential rains to form the Valley, is of good quality. And towering above the Valley is a mountain, al-Qurn (the horn in Arabic), whose shape may have reminded the ancient Egyptians of a pyramid, and is dedicated to the goddess Meretseger. The valley is separated into the East and West Valleys, with most of the important tombs in the East Valley, but as yet to date, not all the tombs in the Valley have been fully excavated.
| There were 62 numbered royal and private tombs, ranging from a simple pit (KV 54) to a tomb with over 121 chambers and corridors (KV 5). Most were found already plundered. A few, like the tomb of Tutankhamen (KV 62) or that of Yuya and Thuyu (KV 46), and Maiherperi (KV36), contained thousands of precious artifacts. Some tombs have been accessible since antiquity, as Greek and Latin graffiti attest, some were used as dwellings or a church during the Graeco-Roman and Byzantine Periods, and others have been discovered only in the past two hundred years. Some, like KV 5, had been "lost," and their location rediscovered only recently. | The official name for the site was "The Great and Majestic Necropolis of the Millions of Years of the Pharaoh, Life, Strength, Health in The West of Thebes", or more usually, Ta-sekhet-ma'at (the Great Field). The Valley was used for primary burials from approximately 1539 BC to 1075 BC, starting with Thutmose I and ending with Ramesses X or XI. The Valley also had tombs for the favourite nobles and the wives and children of both the nobles and pharaohs. Around the time of Ramesses I (c.1300 BC) work began on the Valley of the Queens, although some wives were still buried with their husbands. |
Important tombs
The tombs are numbered in the order of 'discovery' from Ramesses VII (KV1) to the recently discovered KV63, although some of the tombs have been open since antiquity, and KV5 has only recently been rediscovered. A number of the tombs are unoccupied, the owners of others remain unknown, and some are merely pits used for storage.
| KV1 | Ramesses VII | KV20 | Thutmosis I and Hatshepsut |
| KV2 | Ramesses IV | KV22 | Amenhotep II |
| KV3 | Son of Ramesses III | KV23 | Ay |
| KV4 | Ramesses XI | KV34 | Tuthmosis III |
| KV5 | Sons of Ramesses II | KV35 | Amenhotep III |
| KV6 | Ramesses IX | KV38 | Tuthmosis I |
| KV7 | Ramesses II | KV39 | Amenhotep I ?? |
| KV8 | Merenptah | KV42 | Hatshepsut Meryet-Re |
| KV9 | Ramesses V and Ramesses VI | KV43 | Tuthmosis IV |
| KV10 | Amenmeses | KV45 | Userhat |
| KV11 | Ramesses III | KV48 | Amenemipet |
| KV15 | Seti II | KV54 | Tutankhamun cache |
| KV16 | Ramesses I | KV55 | Tiye or Akenaten ?? |
| KV17 | Seti I | KV57 | Horemheb |
| KV18 | Ramesses X | KV62 | Tutankhamun |
By the end of the New Kingdom, Egypt had entered a long period of political and economic decline. The priests at Thebes grew in power and effectively administered Upper Egypt, whilst kings ruling from Tanis controlled Lower Egypt. The Valley began to be heavily plundered, so in response to this during the 21st Dynasty, the priests of Amun opened most of the tombs and moved the mummies into three tombs in order to better protect them, even removing most of their treasure in order to further protect the bodies from robbers. Later most of these were moved to a single cache near Deir el-Bahri (see below). During the later Third Intermediate Period and later periods, intrusive burials were introduced into many of the open tombs.
Tomb robbers
Almost all of the tombs have been ransacked, including Tutankhamun's, though in his case, it seems that the robbers were interrupted, so very little was removed.
The valley was surrounded by steep cliffs and heavily guarded. In 1090 BC, or the year of the Hyena, there was a collapse in Egypt's economy leading to the emergence of tomb robbers. Because of this, it was also the last year that the valley was used for burial. The valley also seems to have suffered an official plundering during the virtual civil war which started in the reign of Ramesses XI. The tombs were opened, all the valuables removed, and the mummies collected into two large caches. One, the so-called Deir el-Bahri cache, contained no less than forty royal mummies and their coffins; the other, in the tomb of Amenhotep II, contained a further sixteen.
What's happening there now?
The valley was surrounded by steep cliffs and heavily guarded. In 1090 BC, or the year of the Hyena, there was a collapse in Egypt's economy leading to the emergence of tomb robbers. Because of this, it was also the last year that the valley was used for burial. The valley also seems to have suffered an official plundering during the virtual civil war which started in the reign of Ramesses XI. The tombs were opened, all the valuables removed, and the mummies collected into two large caches. One, the so-called Deir el-Bahri cache, contained no less than forty royal mummies and their coffins; the other, in the tomb of Amenhotep II, contained a further sixteen.
What's happening there now?
There are several archaeological projects currently at work in the Valley of the Kings. Christian Leblanc is excavating the tomb of Rameses II (KV 7) for the CNRS, while across the road, the Theban Mapping Project (TMP) is excavating, recording and conserving KV 5 (the sons of Rameses II). The tomb of Amenmeses (KV 10) is being cleared by the Memphis University mission led by Otto Schaden. Elina Paulin-Grothe is directing a project of the Ägyptologische Seminar der Universität Basel, clearing and documenting in the tombs of Rameses X (KV 18), Siptah (KV 47), and Tiaa (KV32).
Nicholas Reeves and Geoffrey Martin are examining the area between the tombs of Horemheb (KV 57) and Rameses VI (KV 9). Edwin Brock continues his studies of royal sarcophagi with particular emphasis now on the remains in the tombs of Merenptah (KV 8) and Rameses VI (KV 9), where he is reconstructing the inner sarcophagus. Richard Wilkinson of the University of Arizona has been involved in an examination of symbolic alignments in the royal tombs. An expedition from Waseda University, Tokyo, under the direction of Jiro Kondo is clearing, documenting and conserving the area in and around the tomb of Amenhetep III in the West Valley (KV 22).
Nicholas Reeves and Geoffrey Martin are examining the area between the tombs of Horemheb (KV 57) and Rameses VI (KV 9). Edwin Brock continues his studies of royal sarcophagi with particular emphasis now on the remains in the tombs of Merenptah (KV 8) and Rameses VI (KV 9), where he is reconstructing the inner sarcophagus. Richard Wilkinson of the University of Arizona has been involved in an examination of symbolic alignments in the royal tombs. An expedition from Waseda University, Tokyo, under the direction of Jiro Kondo is clearing, documenting and conserving the area in and around the tomb of Amenhetep III in the West Valley (KV 22).
Rather intriguingly, and contrary to original expert opinion that the valley had yielded all of its tombs, the valley continues to "throw up" surprises! This latest happens to be the suspected finding of yet another tomb; this in the vicinity of KV62 (Tutankhamun), preliminary called KV64 ...
