Tombs in Valley of the Kings

By the Editors of the Madain Project

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This page attempts to enlist all the known tombs in the Valley of the Kings and the photographs listed have been verified for accuracy. In all the Valley is believed to contain 63 tombs and chambers. This article deals with the of burials in the Valley of the Kings, in Thebes (modern Luxor in Egypt) and nearby areas.

Overview

The following is a list of burials in the Valley of the Kings, in Thebes (modern Luxor in Egypt) and nearby areas. Egyptologists use the acronym KV (standing for Kings' Valley) to designate tombs located in the Valley of the Kings. The system was established by John Gardner Wilkinson in 1821. Wilkinson numbered the 21 tombs known to him (some of which had been open since antiquity) according to their location, starting at the entrance to the valley and then moving south and east.

Tombs that have been discovered since then have been allocated a sequential KV number (those in the Western Valley are known by the WV equivalent) in the order of their discovery.

Eastern Valley Tombs

circa 1120 BCE

KV1: Tomb of Ramesses VII
The Tomb KV1, located in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, was used for the burial of Pharaoh Ramesses VII of the Twentieth Dynasty. Although it has been open since antiquity, it was only properly investigated and cleared by Edwin Brock in 1984 and 1985. The single corridor tomb itself is located in Luxor's West Bank, and is small in comparison to other tombs of the Twentieth Dynasty. The tomb was one of at least eleven tombs that were open to early travelers. As evidence of this, 132 individual graffitis left by Ancient Greek and Roman visitors have been counted throughout KV1. Later, the tomb was used as a dwelling by Coptic monks.

circa 1140 BCE

KV2: Tomb of Ramesses IV
The Tomb KV2, found in the Valley of the Kings, is the tomb of Ramesses IV, and is located low down in the main valley, between KV7 and KV1. It has been open since antiquity and contains a large amount of graffiti. The sarcophagus is broken (probably in antiquity), and the mummy was relocated to the mummy cache in KV35. There are two known plans of the tomb's layout contemporary to its construction. Though sizable, KV2 has been described as being "simplistic" in its design and decoration. The tomb was excavated at the base of a hill on the northwest side of the Valley of the Kings.

circa 1200 BCE

KV3: Tomb of Unidentified Son of Pharaoh Ramesses III
The Tomb KV3, located in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, was intended for the burial of an unidentified son of Pharaoh Ramesses III during the early part of the Twentieth Dynasty. It is similar in design to the "straight axis" tombs typical of this dynasty, and an ostracon written in hieratic script from the time of Ramesses III mentions the founding of a tomb for a royal prince, likely this tomb. The unfinished state of a couple of rooms in the tomb along with scant archeological evidence suggests that the tomb was never used.

circa 1205 BCE

KV4: Unfinished Tomb of Ramesses XI
The Tomb KV4, the unfinished tomb of Ramesses XI, located in the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank at Luxor (ancient Thebes) has been known and open since antiquity. The tomb was initiated for the burial of Ramesses XI but it is likely that its construction was abandoned and that it was never used for Ramesses's interment. KV4 is notable for being the last royal tomb that was quarried in the Valley and because it has been interpreted as being a workshop used during the official dismantling of the royal necropolis in the early Third Intermediate Period.

circa 1205 BCE

KV5: Tomb of Sons of Rameses II
The Tomb KV5, is a subterranean, rock-cut tomb in the Valley of the Kings. It belonged to the sons of Ramesses II. The tomb is now known to be the largest in the Valley of the Kings. Weeks' discovery is widely considered the most dramatic in the valley since the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922. Located near the tomb of Ramesses II, KV7, this tomb contained most of his children, both male and female, in particular those who died in his lifetime. The skull fragments of Amun-her-khepeshef, among others, were found inside and reconstructed.

circa 1120 BCE

KV6: Tomb of Ramesses IX
The Tomb KV6 was the final resting place of the 20th-Dynasty Pharaoh Ramesses IX. The decoration it contains indicates that the tomb was not finished in time for Ramesses's death but was hastily rushed through to completion. It is located in the central part of the Valley. Running a total distance of 105 metres into the hillside, the tomb begins with a gate and a shallow descending ramp. KV6 has been open since antiquity, as evident by the graffiti left on its walls by Roman and Coptic visitors.

circa 1205 BCE

KV7: Tomb of Rameses II
The Tomb KV7 of Rameses II, in the Valley of the Kings was the final resting place of Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II ("Ramesses the Great") of the Nineteenth Dynasty. It is located in the main valley. Unlike other tombs in the area, Tomb KV7 was placed in an unusual location and has been badly damaged by the flash floods that periodically sweep through the valley. Much of the decoration has been damaged beyond repair – its section of the Valley is particularly susceptible to flash floods – but it would have been decorated with the standard Book of Gates, Amduat and Litany of Ra.

circa 1195 BCE

KV8: Tomb of Merenptah
The Tomb KV8, located in the Valley of the Kings, was used for the burial of Pharaoh Merenptah of Ancient Egypt's Nineteenth Dynasty. The burial chamber, located at the end of 160 metres of corridor, originally held a set of four nested sarcophagi. The outer one of these was so voluminous that parts of the corridor had to have their doorjambs demolished and rebuilt to allow it to be brought in. These jambs were then rebuilt with the help of inscribed sandstone blocks which were then fixed into their place with dovetail cramps.

circa 1140 BCE

KV9: Tomb of Ramesses V
The Tomb KV9 in Egypt's Valley of the Kings was originally constructed by Pharaoh Ramesses V. He was interred here, but his uncle, Ramesses VI, later reused the tomb as his own. The layout is typical of the 20th dynasty – the Ramesside period – and is much simpler than that of Ramesses III's tomb (KV11). The workmen accidentally broke into KV12 as they dug one of the corridors. In the Graeco-Roman period, the tomb was identified as that of Memnon, the mythological king of the Ethiopians who fought in the Trojan War.

circa 1200 BCE

KV10: Tomb of Amenmesse
The Tomb KV10, located in the Valley of the Kings near the modern-day Egyptian city of Luxor, was cut and decorated for the burial of Pharaoh Amenmesse of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. However, there is no proof that he was actually buried here. Later, the decoration was replaced with scenes for Takhat and Baketwernel—two royal women dating to the late 20th Dynasty.

circa 1170 BCE

KV11: Tomb of Ramesses III
The Tomb KV11 is the tomb of Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses III. Located in the main valley of the Valley of the Kings, the tomb was originally started by Setnakhte, but abandoned when it broke into the earlier tomb of Amenmesse (KV10). Setnakhte was buried in KV14. The tomb KV11 was restarted and extended and on a different axis for Ramesses III. The tomb has been open since antiquity, and has been known variously as Bruce's Tomb (named after James Bruce who entered the tomb in 1768) and The Harper's Tomb (due to paintings of two blind harpers in the tomb).

circa 18th Dynasty

KV12: Unknown Occupant
The Tomb KV12 is an unusual tomb, used originally in the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, and then again in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties. It was probably used for multiple burials of royal family members, rather like KV5. The plan of KV12, particularly of its lower chambers, suggests that it was intended for multiple burials of royal family members. It lies on a south-north axis and is unusual in several ways. The builders of KV9 accidentally broke into this tomb when carrying out their excavations. The unusual design of the tomb with its multiple side chambers is similar to KV5 (but on a smaller scale), and also to KV27 and KV30.

circa 1190 BCE

KV13: Tomb of Chancellor Bay
The Tomb KV13, located in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, was cut and decorated for the burial of the Ancient Egyptian noble Bay, who was the of the Nineteenth Dynasty.

circa 1180 BCE

KV14: Tomb of Twosret and Setnakhte
The Tomb KV14 is a joint tomb, used originally by Twosret and then reused and extended by Setnakhte. The tomb has two burial chambers, the later extensions making the tomb one of the largest of the Royal Tombs, at over 112 metres. The original decoration showing the female Twosret was replaced with those of the male Setnakhte. Even later, the name of Setnakte was replaced by those of Seti II.

circa 1190 BCE

KV15: Tomb of Seti II
The Tomb KV15, located in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, was used for the burial of Pharaoh Seti II of the Nineteenth Dynasty. The tomb was dug into the base of a near-vertical cliff face at the head of a wadi running south-west from the main part of the Valley of the Kings. It runs along a northwest-to-southeast axis, comprising a short entry corridor followed by three corridor segments which terminate in a well room that lacks a well, which was never dug. This then connects with a four-pillared hall and another stretch of corridor that was converted into a burial chamber.

circa 1285 BCE

KV16: Tomb of Ramesses I
The Tomb KV16 is located in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. It was used for the burial of Pharaoh Ramesses I of the Nineteenth Dynasty. The burial place was discovered by Giovanni Belzoni in October 1817. As Ramesses I ruled for less than two years, his sepulchre is rather truncated, being only twenty-nine metres long. It consists of two descending staircases, linking a sloping corridor and leading to the burial chamber. Like the tomb of Horemheb (KV57), the grave is decorated with the Book of Gates. The sarcophagus, still in place in the final chamber, is constructed of red quartzite.

circa 1270 BCE

KV17: Tomb of Seti I
The Tomb KV17, located in Egypt's Valley of the Kings and also known by the names "Belzoni's tomb", "the Tomb of Apis", and "the Tomb of Psammis, son of Nechois", is the tomb of Pharaoh Seti I of the Nineteenth Dynasty. It is one of the best decorated tombs in the valley, but now is almost always closed to the public due to damage. When Belzoni first entered the tomb he found the wall paintings in excellent condition with the paint on the walls still looking fresh and some of the artists paints and brushes still on the floor.

circa 1110 BCE

KV19: Tomb of Mentuherkhepshef Son of Ramesses IX
The Tomb KV19, located in a side branch of Egypt's Valley of the Kings, was intended as the burial place of Prince Ramesses Sethherkhepshef, better known as Pharaoh Ramesses VIII, but was later used for the burial of Prince Mentuherkhepshef instead, the son of Ramesses IX, who predeceased his father. The first corridor was still incomplete when work was abandoned, and the tomb was used "as is". The tomb decorations show the tomb owner being escorted by his father and presented to several deities, including Osiris, Khonsu, Thoth and Ptah. What decoration which remains in this corridor is considered to be of the highest quality.

circa 1490 BCE

KV20: Tomb of Thutmose I and Hatshepsut
The Tomb KV20, was probably the first royal tomb to be constructed in the valley. KV20 was the original burial place of Thutmose I (who was later re-interred in KV38) and later was adapted by his daughter Hatshepsut to accommodate both her and her father. KV20 is distinguished from other tombs in the valley, both in its general layout and because of the atypical clockwise curvature of its corridors.

circa

KV24: Unknown Occupant
The tomb lies at the end of the West Valley, a short distance from KV 25. It is a tomb of non-royal design and consists of a deep rectangular shaft and a very rough rectangular chamber. The tomb was cut into the floor of the wadi at the base of a slope. The first part of the shaft cut through the hard-packed surface of the valley floor; the rest and the chamber were cut in the underlying rock.

Unknown

KV30: Unknown Occupant (Lord Belmore's Tomb)
The Tomb KV30, was discovered by Giovanni Belzoni in 1817, working on a commission from the Second Earl Belmore. As a consequence, it is also known as "Lord Belmore's tomb". Nothing is known about the tomb's original occupant or occupants. It may have been the original location of an 18th dynasty sarcophagus, found by Belzoni in 1817 and donated to the British Museum by the Earl of Belmore.

Unknown

KV33: Unknown Occupant
The Tomb KV33 is a non-royal tomb, located in the south branch of the southwest wadi, northeast of KV 34 (Thutmose III). It was discovered by Victor Loret in 1898 and was not fully cleared at the time of its discovery. The tomb site was eventually resealed for later detailed excavation. The tomb is small and accessible only via a flight of steps. Several hypotheses have been put forth as to who was the actual occupant, naming Thutmes III, member of his royal family or the vizier Rekhmire.

circa 1400 BCE

KV34: Tomb of Thutmose III
The Tomb KV34 was the tomb of 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Thutmose III. One of the first tombs to be dug in the Valley, it was cut high in the cliff face of the furthermost wadi. The tomb is different from earlier tombs in the Valley of the Kings both in terms of its size and decoration. Discovered in 1898 by the workmen of Victor Loret (antiquities inspector at the time), it is the earliest of the royal tombs which can be visited at present, built for the Pharoah in mid-Dynasty XVIII.

circa 1400 BCE

KV35: Tomb of Amenhotep II
The Tomb KV35, located in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, contains the tomb of Amenhotep II. Later, it was used as a cache for others. The mummies remained undisturbed until they were discovered by Victor Loret in 1898 CE. One of the deepest structures in the valley, this tomb has more than 90 steps down to a modern gangway, built over a deep pit designed to protect the inner, lower chambers from both thieves (which it failed to do) and from flash floods.

circa 1550 BCE

KV40: Burial site of Unknown Person
The Tomb KV40's original occupant of this tomb is unknown. Only the upper part of the shaft is accessible; the rest is filled with rubble, and nothing is known about the tomb's layout. Although the tomb was excavated by Victor Loret in 1899, no report was published.

circa 1410 BCE

KV42: Tomb of Hatshepsut-Meryetre
The Tomb KV42 was constructed for Hatshepsut-Meryetre, the wife of Thutmose III, but she was not buried in the tomb. It was reused by Sennefer, a mayor of Thebes during the reign of Amenhotep II, and by several members of his family. The tomb has a cartouche-shaped burial chamber, like other early Eighteenth Dynasty tombs.

circa 1285 BCE

KV47: Tomb of Siptah
The Tomb KV47 was used for the burial of Pharaoh Siptah of the Nineteenth Dynasty, though Siptah's mummy was found in KV35. KV47 was discovered on December 18, 1905 by Edward R. Ayrton. It is located near the tomb of Seti II in the south-west branch of the Valley.

circa 1285 BCE

KV57: Tomb of Horemheb
The Tomb KV57 is an ancient Egyptian tomb. Located in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, it was used for the burial of Horemheb, the last Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty. The tomb was located by Edward Ayrton in February 1908, who was working for Theodore Davis. Due to its location in the valley floor, the tomb was filled with debris that had been washed down in the occasional flash-flooding. The tomb is markedly different from the other major Eighteenth dynasty royal tombs. It does away with the dog-legged construction, and has painted bas-reliefs, rather than simple painted walls. Passages from the Book of Gates appear for the first time.

Unknown

KV61: Unoccupied
The Tomb KV61 is an unused tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. It was discovered by Harold Jones, excavating on behalf of Theodore M. Davis, in January 1910. The tomb consists of an irregularly-cut room at the bottom of a shaft. It was apparently unused and undecorated, thus its intended owner is unknown.

circa 1320 BCE

KV62: Tomb of Tutankhamun
The Tomb KV62 is the standard Egyptological designation for the tomb of young pharaoh Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings, now renowned for the wealth of valuable antiquities that it contained. Howard Carter discovered it in 1922 underneath the remains of workmen's huts built during the Ramesside Period; this explains why it was largely spared the desecration and tomb clearances at the end of the 20th Dynasty, although it was robbed and resealed twice in the period after its completion.

circa 1320 BCE

KV63: Burial Site of Person(s) Unknown
The Tomb KV63 is a recently opened chamber in Egypt's Valley of the Kings pharaonic necropolis. Initially believed to be a royal tomb, it is now believed to have been a storage chamber for the mummification process. The chamber contained seven wooden coffins and many large storage jars. All coffins have now been opened, and were found to contain only mummification materials, with the jars also containing mummification supplies including salts, linens, and deliberately broken pottery.

undated

KV64: Unknown Original Occupant
The Tomb KV64 is an Eighteenth Dynasty tomb of an unknown person, which was later re-used in the Twenty-second Dynasty for the burial of the priestess Nehmes Bastet, who held the office of "chantress' at the temple of Karnak. The tomb is located on the pathway to Tomb KV34 (Thuthmosis III) in the main Valley of the Kings. KV64 was excavated in 2011 and described in 2012 by Dr. Susanne Bickel and Dr. Elina Paulin-Grothe.

undated

KV65: Unknown Occupant
The Tomb KV65 is an unexcavated, possible tomb located in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor, Egypt. As of August 2008, when its discovery was announced, nothing of its layout, decoration or owner is known. The tomb entrance appears to be of an 18th Dynasty style.

Western Valley Tombs

circa 1345 BCE

WV22: Tomb of Amenhotep III
The Tomb WV22 was used as the resting place of one of the rulers of Egypt's New Kingdom, Amenhotep III. The tomb is unique in that it has two subsidiary burial chambers for the pharaoh's wives Tiye and Sitamen. The tomb's layout and decoration follow the tombs of the king's predecessors, Amenhotep II (KV35) and Thutmose IV (KV43), however the decoration is much finer in quality.

circa 1320 BCE

WV23: Tomb of Ay
The Tomb WV23, located at the end of the Western Valley of the Kings near modern-day Luxor, was the final resting place of Pharaoh Ay of the 18th Dynasty. The tomb had also been desecrated in history with many depictions of Ay's image or name erased from the tomb wall paintings. Its decoration is similar in content and colour to that of Tutankhamun (KV62), with a few differences.

See Also

References

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