KV14 is a royal tomb in the main body of the Valley of the Kings, Thebes, (modern day Luxor) that was originally constructed for Queen Tausret and later reused and extended by King Setnakht. The tomb has been open since antiquity and was systematically excavated and recorded by Hartwig Altenmüller between 1983 and 1987. Its distinctive history of appropriation and adaptation is evident in its architecture and decoration.
The tomb, which measures more than 112 m in total length and contains two burial chambers, ranks among the largest royal sepulchers in the Valley of the Kings. Following its extension under Setnakht, the original decorative program dedicated to the female ruler Tausret was systematically altered and replaced with male iconography and titulary. Some scholars suggest that Seti II may have been interred here before being moved to the hastily completed KV15, possibly at Setnakht’s behest, allowing Setnakht to appropriate KV14 as his own final resting place. This complex stratigraphy of construction and decoration underscores the tomb’s unusual role as a shared monument and a testament to royal succession and reburial practices at the close of the Nineteenth Dynasty.
circa 1190 BCE
Entryway A
The undecorated entrance measures approximately 3.15 m in width and 3.86 m in length. It is cut directly into the cliff face and originally opened to the sky. The left (south) side of the entry is notably shorter than the right (north). An overhang at the western end of this entryway projects from above the lintel of Gate B. The walls of the entryway are well preserved.
circa 1190 BCE
Corridor B
This corridor descends steeply and measures approximately 2.75 m in height, 2.13 m in width, and 7.56 m in length. Three modern steps have been added to what was originally a stepped descent to the floor of Corridor B, which slopes down toward Corridor C. The south wall features altered scenes of Tausret making offerings of ointments to Ra-Horakhty and food to Anubis, Siptah (whose image was changed to Seti II) presenting a figure of Maat to Isis, and Setnakht (superimposed on Tausret) before Horus and receiving an ankh from Nefertem. On the north wall, Tausret is depicted before Ptah and Maat, Siptah (changed to Seti II) followed by Tausret offering to Geb, and Setnakht (again superimposed on Tausret) making offerings to Ra-Horakhty, Hathor, and Nephthys. The ceiling rises toward the upper end of this corridor, marking the former location of a doorway.
circa 1190 BCE
Corridor C
Corridor C measures approximately 2.61 m in height, 2.11 m in width, and 6.70 m in length. Salt efflorescence has damaged the painted decoration, which originally included passages from the Book of the Dead. On the south wall is a scene showing Seti II purified by Anubis, followed by a partially preserved scene of a gate and guardian. On the north wall, Seti II is shown making offerings to three guardian figures. Beam holes set into the walls midway along the corridor were once used to hold a wooden post that could be swung into position to help lower heavy materials into the tomb’s inner chambers.
circa 1190 BCE
Corridor D
This corridor is approximately 2.61 m high, 2.13 m wide, and 6.83 m long. Its painted decoration has also suffered salt efflorescence. The south and north walls bear spells from the Book of the Dead accompanied by depictions of knife-wielding guardians. Beam holes and slots, similar to those in Corridor C, also occur here.
circa 1190 BCE
Chamber E
Chamber E measures approximately 2.59 m in height, 3.16 m in width, and 2.26 m in length. Unlike other tombs of this type, there is no well shaft cut into the floor. The walls are painted with figures (inspect) of Osiris, Imsety, Anubis, Duamutef, Isis, Hapy, Qebehsenuef, Nephthys, and Horus-Iwnmutef. The painted decoration was executed on a three-layer plaster surface. In one exception, the name of Setnakht was painted on a different plaster layer. Much color is preserved despite the damage to blue pigments and the separation of plaster.
circa 1190 BCE
Chamber F
This chamber measures approximately 2.58 m in height, 5.27 m in width, and 4.75 m in length. It contains a central descent that occupies most of the axial floor space and lacks supporting pillars. Its north and south walls bear Book of the Dead spell 146. On the west wall, a double scene originally showed Tausret led by Anubis and Horus before Osiris, though Tausret's figure was erased and replaced with large-scale cartouches of Setnakht. The same overwriting occurs on the right and left walls.
circa 1190 BCE
Corridor G
Corridor G measures approximately 2.65 m in height, 2.09 m in width, and 4.25 m in length. Its ceiling and floor are flat, and a side chamber gate is cut into the center of its south wall. The south wall features scenes and texts from the Opening of the Mouth ritual.
circa 1190 BCE
Side Chamber Ga
This rectangular side chamber is approximately 1.67 m high, 2.09 m wide, and 2.73 m long. Uniquely for this tomb, Djed pillars are carved into both sides of its entrance. On its east and west walls, the king (originally the queen) offers to two sons of Horus, Anubis, and two goddesses. The south wall depicts Anubis tending a mummy between Isis and Nephthys.
circa 1190 BCE
Corridor H
Corridor H measures approximately 2.60 m in height, 2.09 m in width, and 4.52 m in length. Near its entrance are a pair of beam holes. Its south and north walls show scenes and texts from the Opening of the Mouth ritual.
circa 1190 BCE
Chamber I
This chamber measures approximately 2.61 m in height, 4.17 m in width, and 3.23 m in length. On the south half of the east wall, a table of offerings has replaced a figure of Tausret and original depictions of Thoth, Ra-Horakhty, and Ptah beneath a winged Maat. The north wall features Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, Horus, Geb, and Ptah protected by Maat. In all instances, the figures of the king and queen were erased and replaced by large cartouches of Setnakht.
circa 1190 BCE
Burial Chamber J1
This large burial chamber is approximately 5.41 m in height, 10.77 m in width, and 10.57 m in length. It contains a vaulted ceiling above a sunken central floor flanked by a row of four square pillars at the front and a row of four rectangular pillars at the rear. The long axis of the vault is perpendicular to the axis of the preceding corridors. A ramp descends from Gate J to the sunken floor, bisecting the front upper floor. Narrow benches project from the left and right halves of the rear wall above the upper floor level. The tops of the low walls surrounding the sunken area are adorned with torus moulding and a cavetto cornice.
The front wall and the side walls of the upper level bear decoration from the eighth through tenth hours of the Book of Gates, while the Book of the Earth appears on the upper walls, and the Book of Caverns is displayed on the right side. The rear wall of the upper level was left undecorated.
The vaulted ceiling preserves traces of an astronomical scene with decans and northern constellations. The pillars feature representations of the king—originally Tausret, subsequently replaced or renamed as Setnakht—and various deities. Images of traditional funerary equipment adorn the walls surrounding the sunken floor.
circa 1190 BCE
Side Chambers J1a–J1d
Off the east end of the south wall of Burial Chamber J1 lies a group of four small, roughly cut side chambers (J1a–J1d), varying in height between approximately 0.86 m and 1.06 m, with irregular widths of 1.04 m to 1.90 m and lengths between 2.42 m and 2.60 m. These chambers are undecorated and unfinished.
circa 1190 BCE
Corridor K1
Corridor K1, which is approximately 3.50 m high, 2.48 m wide, and 14.94 m long, leads into what appears to be an abandoned attempt to construct a second pillared burial hall. Two gates in the north and south walls open onto Side Chambers K1a and K1b. The north and south walls of the corridor itself bear unfinished texts and scenes from the Amduat.
circa 1190 BCE
Side Chambers K1a–K1b
Side Chamber K1a, approximately 3.02 m in height, 6.13 m in width, and 4.50 m in length, was intended as the southeast quadrant of a pillared chamber. Its north wall was prepared for a pillar. The walls of K1a are cracked and were anciently repaired with mortar and stone. Side Chamber K1b, measuring approximately 2.96 m in height, 6.12 m in width, and 4.49 m in length, mirrors K1a in layout and would have served as the northeast quadrant of the planned chamber. Its walls show substantial cracking and similar ancient repairs, and the rear wall bears a projection for an unfinished pillar.
circa 1190 BCE
Corridor L
Corridor L measures approximately 2.95 m in height, 2.40 m in width, and 10.91 m in length. Its axis is shifted slightly northward relative to preceding corridors. Beam holes set into its walls held a removable post used for lowering heavy materials into the tomb. The corridor walls bear sunk relief scenes and texts from the Amduat.
circa 1190 BCE
Burial Chamber J2
Chamber J2 is approximately 6.02 m in height, 13.31 m in width, and 12.63 m in length and is comparable in plan to Burial Chamber J1, although on a larger scale. A sunken central floor is bordered on the east and west by a row of four square pillars. A vaulted ceiling above the sunken floor is oriented perpendicular to the axis of the tomb. The upper level is bisected front and rear by ramps descending from Gates J2 and K2. The front half of this chamber was originally decorated with the eighth through twelfth hours of the Book of Gates, including the Book of the Earth on the side walls. The vaulted ceiling contains an astronomical scene. The north part of the east wall depicts the eighth division (ninth hour), and the south part contains three registers from the eleventh division (twelfth hour). On the wall above the gate leading to Side Chamber J2a is the gate of the twelfth division of the Book of Gates. Only Pillar 1 preserves decoration—a representation of Thoth with a writing palette—and the other pillars are damaged.
circa 1190 BCE
Side Chambers J2a–J2d
Opening from Burial Chamber J2, four small side chambers—J2a through J2d—measure between approximately 1.77 m and 1.84 m in height, 2.51 m to 2.58 m in width, and 2.05 m to 2.58 m in length. These chambers are undecorated.
circa 1190 BCE
Corridor K2
Corridor K2 measures approximately 2.56 m in height, 2.35 m in width, and 9.96 m in length. Its left (south) and right (north) walls bear scenes and texts from the Opening of the Mouth ritual.
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