Tomb KV16 was uncovered in October 1817 CE by Italian explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni during his pioneering excavations in the Valley of the Kings. Despite its limited dimensions and relatively simple plan, KV16 contains significant elements of royal funerary design, including a sloping axis corridor, ritual iconography derived from the Book of Gates, and a well-crafted quartzite sarcophagus that still occupies the burial chamber. The tomb’s iconography and materials align it closely with the artistic traditions of the Nineteenth Dynasty and highlight its role as one of the earliest royal tombs of this era.

As Ramesses I ruled for less than two years, his sepulchre is relatively truncated, extending only 29 metres in length. The tomb consists of two descending staircases, which lead to a single sloping corridor and onward to the burial chamber. This linear design is typical of early Nineteenth Dynasty tombs, which had not yet evolved into the more elaborate, multi-pillared halls of later royal burials. The walls of KV16 are adorned with scenes from the Book of Gates, a funerary text that illustrates the king’s passage through the underworld and his hoped-for union with the solar deity. The burial chamber houses a red quartzite sarcophagus, which remains in situ. Despite its relatively modest scale, KV16 is historically significant as the first royal tomb constructed for a ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty and as a stylistic bridge between the late Eighteenth Dynasty tombs, such as KV57 of Horemheb, and the more elaborate sepulchres that followed in the reigns of his successors.

circa 1295 BCE

Entryway A
Entryway A measures 2.88 metres in width and 17.42 metres in length. Modern steps descend from the present wadi surface to the original ancient staircase. The ancient undecorated entrance stairs are now covered by a modern wooden stairway, and the entryway is surrounded by modern retaining walls.

circa 1295 BCE

Corridor B
Corridor B is 2.63 metres high, 2.61 metres wide, and 9.33 metres long. Approximately two-thirds of the way down this well-carved but undecorated sloping corridor, a pair of beam holes is cut into the side walls. These holes would have supported a crossbeam for lowering the sarcophagus into the inner chambers with ropes. The crossbeam was slightly longer than the corridor's width and could be swung into place to serve as an anchor for maneuvering heavy funerary equipment.

circa 1295 BCE

Stairwell C
Stairwell C measures 4.96 metres in height, 2.60 metres in width, and 7.66 metres in length. It is well carved but undecorated. Unfinished trapezoidal recesses in the southeast and northwest walls are wider than those typical in royal tombs of this period. An overhang is present above the lower part of the staircase.

circa 1295 BCE

Burial Chamber J
Burial Chamber J is 3.23 metres high, 6.26 metres wide, and 5.16 metres long. The rectangular chamber features a flat floor and ceiling, with three side chambers leading off its northwest, southwest, and southeast walls. Pairs of magical brick niches are set high in the left and right walls, opposite the head and foot of the sarcophagus. The painted decoration on a thick plaster layer depicts the king accompanied by deities on the front and rear walls, as well as on the left wall east of Gate Ja. Excerpts from the Book of Gates appear on the right and left walls.

circa 1295 BCE

Side Chamber Ja
Side Chamber Ja is 1.69 metres high, 2.54 metres wide, and 2.08 metres long. Its walls are smoothly cut but left unplastered and undecorated.

circa 1295 BCE

Side Chamber Jb
Side Chamber Jb is 1.60 metres high, 1.29 metres wide, and 2.11 metres long. This small chamber, located at the rear of Burial Chamber J, has an upward-sloping floor and a downward-sloping ceiling. It may represent an abandoned attempt to extend the burial chamber further to the southwest. A scene (inspect) from the third division of the Book of Gates decorates its rear wall, where the ram-headed Anubis embraces the enshrined Osiris before the serpent-goddess Neseret. The right and left walls remain undecorated.

circa 1295 BCE

Side Chamber Jc
Side Chamber Jc is 1.78 metres high, 2.54 metres wide, and 2.05 metres long. Its walls were smoothly cut but never plastered or decorated. Belzoni reportedly discovered a wooden ka statue in this chamber.