Valley of the Kings

The Valley of the Kings, or Wadi el-Muluk in Arabic, is a valley in Egypt where tombs were built for the Pharaohs of the New Kingdom, the Eighteenth through Twentieth Dynasties. 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).

Valley of the Kings, located on the west bank of the Nile across from Thebes (modern Luxor) and had tombs for the favourite nobles and the wives and children of both the nobles and pharaohs.

The valley is located on the west bank of the Nile across from Thebes (modern Luxor), under the peak of Al-Qurn. It is separated into the East and West Valleys, with most of the important tombs in the East Valley. The West has only one tomb open to the public: the tomb of Ay, Tutankhamun's successor.

The Valley was used from approximately 1539 BC to 1075 BC, and contains some 60 tombs, starting with Thutmose I and ending with Ramesses X or XI.

The Valley of the Kings also had tombs for the favourite nobles and the wives and children of both the nobles and pharaohs. Around the time of Ramesses I the Valley of the Queens was begun, although some wives were still buried with their husbands.

Graffiti on the walls of some of the tombs indicate that this was an attraction during Roman times.

The quality of the rock in the Valley is very inconsistent. Tombs were built, cutting through various layers of limestone, each with its own quality. This poses problems for modern day conservators, as it must have to the original architects. Building plans were probably changed on account of this. The most serious problem are the shale layers. This fine material expands when it comes into contact with water. This has damaged many tombs, particularly during floods.

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. The abbreviation "KV" stands for "Kings' Valley". A number of the tombs are unoccupied, the owners of others remain unknown, and some are merely pits used for storage. Only the principal tombs are noted here (these are the publicly accessible or best known tombs).

East Valley

Most of the open tombs in the Valley of the Kings are located in the East Valley, and this is where most tourists can be found.

• KV2 - Tomb of Ramesses XI
• KV4 - Tomb of Ramesses IV
• KV5 - Tomb of Sons of Ramesses II
  The recently rediscovered tomb of some of the sons of Ramesses II. With 120 known rooms and excavation work still underway, it is probably the largest tomb in the valley. It is not currently open to the public.
• KV6 - Tomb of Ramesses IX
• KV7 - Tomb of Ramesses II
  The ruined tomb of Ramesses the Great is not open to the public, and due to its condition (largely uncleared and still in danger of collapse) it may never be.
• KV8 - Tomb of Merenptah
  The tomb of Merenptah is one of the tombs that can be viewed by the public, although in 2005 it was not open.
• KV9 - Tomb of Ramesses V and Ramesses VI
  Also known as the Tomb of Memnon or La Tombe de la Métempsychose, this is the tomb of Ramesses V and Ramesses VI.
• KV11 - Tomb of Ramesses III
  The tomb of Ramesses III (or Bruce's Tomb, The Harper's Tomb) is one of the largest tombs in the valley, and is open to the public, it is located close to the central 'rest–area', and is usually one of the tombs visited by tourists.
• KV14 - Tomb of Twosret, later reused by Setnakhte
• KV15 - Tomb of Seti II
• KV16 - Tomb of Ramesses I
• KV17 – Tomb of Seti I
  The tomb of Seti I and is also known as Belzoni's tomb, the tomb of Apis, or the tomb of Psammis, son of Necho.
• KV34 – Tomb of Thutmose III
• KV35 – Tomb of Amenhotep II
  This tomb was originally the tomb of Amenhotep II. Over a dozen mummies, many of them royal, were later relocated here
• KV39 – Tomb of Amenhotep I
• KV43 – Tomb of Thutmose IV
• KV46 – Tomb of Yuya and Tjuyu
  The tomb of the nobles Yuya and Tjuyu, who were possibly the parents of Queen Tiy. Until the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, this was the best preserved tomb to be found in the Valley.
• KV47 - Tomb of Siptah
• KV55 - Possible Amarna Period Mummy cache
  The tomb maybe another mummy cache, and has the possible burials of several Amarna Period royals – Tiy and Smenkhkare/Akhenaten.
• KV57 - Tomb of Horemheb
• KV62 - Tomb of Tutankhamun
  Perhaps the most famous discovery of modern Western archaeology was made here by Howard Carter on November 4, 1922, with clearance and conservation work continuing until 1932. King Tutankhamun's tomb was the first royal tomb to be discovered that was still largely intact (although tomb robbers had entered it), and was, until the excavation of KV63 in 2006, considered the last major discovery in the valley. The opulence of his grave goods notwithstanding, Tutankhamun was a rather minor king and other burials probably had more numerous treasures. Some members of the archaeological teams led by Carter and later archaeologists contracted local lethal viruses through food or animals (particularly insects), resulting in the infamous "Curse of the Pharaohs" modern legend.

West Valley

The numbering the West Valley follows in sequence to that of the East Valley, and there are only four known tombs and several pits in this branch of the valley.

• WV22 – Tomb of Amenhotep III
  This is the tomb of one the greatest rulers of the Egyptian New Kingdom, Amenhotep III. It has recently been re–investigated, but is not open to the public.
• WV23 – Tomb of Ay
  The reconstructed tomb of Ay is the only tomb that is open to the public in the West Valley.
• WV25 – Possible Theban tomb of Akhenaten
  This tomb may have been started as the Theban burial of Akhenaten, but it was never finished.

Deir el-Bahri

Royal mummy cache
While this tomb is not strictly in the Valley of the Kings, it contained an astounding mummy cache. It is located in the cliffs overlooking Hatshepsut's famous temple at Deir el-Bahri, was found to contain many of Egypt's most famous pharaohs. They were found in a great state of disorder, many placed in other people's coffins, and several are still unidentified.

Panoramic view of the Valley of the Kings: Tombs and Treasures of Egypt's Greatest Pharaohs.

External Links about Valley of the Kings

Sites in the Valley of the Kings
The information, images, measured drawings and related links in this section are printable records of each site and tomb component in the Valley of the Kings...

Valley Of The Kings
The Valley of the Kings in Upper Egypt contains many of the tombs of pharaohs from the New Kingdom, including Tutankhamun and Ramesses the Great.

Valley of the Kings : Tombs of the Pharaohs
The Egyptian belief that "To speak the name of the dead is to make him live again" is certainly carried out in the building of the tombs.

Some Observations Concerning Uninscribed Tombs in the Valley of the Kings by Donald P. Ryan
Although the Valley of the Kings is internationally celebrated for its beautifully decorated and inscribed tombs, a closer examination of the numbered tombs in the Wadi Biban el-Moluk demonstrates that approximately half of these tombs are uninscribed...

Egyptian Royal Tombs of the New Kingdom
A cut-away model of an Egyptian Royal Tomb of the New Kingdom (XVIII, XIX, & XX Dynasties, c. 1575-1087 BC)

Ryan-Egyptian Archeology : Valley of the Kings
Egyptian Archaeology Page of archaeologist Donald P. Ryan, including his work in the Valley of the Kings, publications and useful links.

Valley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings, in Upper Egypt, Thebes, the burial place of the pharaohs of the New Kingdom, 18th, 19th, and 20th Dynasties. To date, more than 62 tombs have been identified.

Valley of the Kings Foundation
It aims to help promote and coordinate, on an international basis, the exploration, documentation, interpretation, publication and preservation of the site and its royal and private tombs and related archaeology, as well as to record the social history of those who have explored and continue to work there.