Valley of the Queens and Kings

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Valley of the Queens


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The Valley of the Queens, also known as Biban el-Harim, Biban el-Sultanat,and Wadi el-Melikat, is a place in Egypt where wives of Pharaohs were buriedin ancient times. In ancient times, it was known as Ta-Set-Neferu, meaning -'the place of the Children of the Pharaoh', because along with the Queens of the18th, 19th and 20th dynasties (1550 1070 BCE) many princes and princesseswere also buried with various members of the nobility. The tombs of these

individuals were maintained by mortuary priests whom performed daily ritualsand provided offerings and prayers for the deceased nobility.

The valley is located near the better known Valley of the Kings on the westbank of the Nile across from Thebes (modern Luxor) . This barren area in thewestern hills was chosen due to its relative isolation and proximity to thecapital.
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The kings of the 18th dynasty, instead of the traditional building of pyramids asburial chambers (perhaps because of their vulnerability to tomb robbers), nowchose to be buried in rock-cut tombs.

This necropolis is said to hold more than seventy tombs, many of which are

stylish and lavishly decorated. An example of this is the resting place carvedout of the rock for Queen Nefertari (1290-1224 BCE) of the 19th Dynasty. The

polychrome reliefs in her tomb are still in tact.

The ancient Egyptians gave it the name Set Neferu, meaning "seat of beauty".From 1903-1906 an Italian expedition discovered about eighty tombs, some ofwhich belonged to children of royalty. Many were severely damaged having

been burned and or reduced to being used as stables for donkeys and camels.One of the most well-known tombs is that of Nefertari, the best-loved ofRamesses II's numerous wives. In her honor he built a beautiful temple at AbuSimbel.

Tomb of Nefertari

Nefertari (Nefertari Merytmut) c. (1300-1250 BC) was the Great Royal Wife(or principal wife) of Ramesses the Great. She is one of the best known

Egyptian queens, next to Cleopatra, Nefertiti and Hatshepsut. Her lavishlydecorated tomb, QV66, is the largest and most spectacular in the Valley of theQueens.
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Queen of Rameses II (19th Dynasty, 1279-1213 BCE).

The brilliant colors and draftsmanship of its painted reliefsmake it one of Egypt's most outstanding tombs.

Nefertari - Photo taken in her Abu Simbel temple


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The Valley of the Queens is the site of over 90 tombs of royal wives, sons, anddaughters from the 18th, 19th, and 20th Dynasties. (Royal women of the 18thDynasty appear not to have had one exclusive cemetery but were buried inmany, often remote locations, as well as occasionally in the Valley of theKings) Early tombs lie at the northern 'mouth' of the valley, later tombs nearerits southern end.

Other tombs include:

The Tomb of Khaemwese (Tomb 44): Scenes in Khaemwese's tomb show himbeing presented to the guardians of the gates to the afterlife along with hisfather. He is making an offering in the scene, and is dressed in a robe, wearinga necklace and the sidelocks of youth.

The Tomb of Queent Titi (Tomb 52): She is probably the queen of a 20thDynasty. She is depicted with the sidelocks common to the Egyptian young ofthe period and in the presence of the gods Thoth, Atum, Isis and Nephthys. Inthe next chamber the queen is shown making offerings to Hator the cow, and inthe last chamber the gods Neith, Osiris, Selquit, Nephthys and Thoth.

The Tomb of Amenhikhopeshef (Tomb 55): Amenhikhopeshef was a son ofRamses III and scenses show him with his father and the gods Thoth, Ptah andothers. He was probably about nine years old when he died. Scenes show him

being presented to various gods, including Anubis, the Jackal-headed god of

the dead, by his father, Ramses III. A premature baby was also found in totomb. This belonged to this mother, who aborted upon learning ofAmenhikhopeshef's death.


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Tomb no. 30 - Nebiri (probably), Head of the Stable, Dynasty XVIIITomb no. 31 - A QueenTomb no. 33 - Princess Tanezem(t) Dynasty XX (?)Tomb no. 36 - Princess, no nameTomb no. 38 - Queen Sitre' wife of Ramesses ITomb no. 40 - A Queen, cartouche blankTomb no. 42 - Prince Para'hirwenemef, Charioteer of the stable of the GreatHouse, son of Ramesses IIITomb no. 43 - Prince Set-hirkhopshef, King's son, Hereditary prince of theroyal children of his Majesty, Charioteer of the Great Stable. Son of RamessesIII.Tomb no.44 - Prince Kha'emweset, Sem- priest of Ptah. Son of Ramesses III.Tomb no. 46 - Imhotep (probably) Vizier. Tuthmosis I.

Tomb no.47 - Princess 'Ahmosi Daughter of Sekenenre'-Ta'a and Sit-dhout:Tomb no.51 - Queen Esi II mother of Ramesses VI, daughter of Hubalznet:Tomb no. 52- Queen Tyti RamessideTomb no. 53 - Prince Ramesses son of Ramesses IIITomb no. 55 - Prince Amen(hir)khopshef Royal Scribe, Overseer of Horses,son of Ramesses IIITomb no. 60 - Queen Nebttaui daughter of Ramesses IITomb no. 66 - Queen Nefertari Wife of Ramesses IITomb no.68 - Queen Merytamun daughter of Ramesses IITomb no.71 - Queen Bent'anta daughter of Ramesses II

Tomb no.73 - A Princess, no name. Dynasty XXTomb no.74 - Queen Tentopet Great King's mother and King's wifeTomb no.75 - A Queen, no name

Unnumbered Tombs and PitsQueen Mut. . . perhaps Tuy (Mut-tuy), wife of Seti I, mother of Ramesses II.


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West of Tomb 66.'Ahmosi King's son, son of Nebsu and IanA hundred metres east of Tomb 47 in a small valley. Dynasty XVIIPrincess Neferhet King's daughter, New Kingdom. Probably south-east ofTomb 75

Tombs in Branch valley, south-west of the Valley of the QueensRemains of canopic-jars, including one with text of a queen, Dyn XXV orXXVI (from excavation in 1895).Tomb of Princess - from time of Amenhotep III. Position unknown.

Valley of the Kings


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The Valley of the Kings is a valley in Egypt where for a period of nearly 500years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the kingsand powerful nobles of the New Kingdom (the Eighteenth through TwentiethDynasties of Ancient Egypt).[2][3] The valley stands on the west bank of the

Nile, across from Thebes (modern Luxor), within the heart of the ThebanNecropolis. The wadi consists of two valleys, East Valley (where the majorityof the royal tombs situated) and West Valley.

The area has been a focus of concentrated archaeological and egyptologicalexploration since the end of the eighteenth century, and its tombs and burialscontinue to stimulate research and interest. In modern times the valley has

become famous for the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun (with itsrumours of the Curse of the Pharaohs), and is one of the most famous


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archaeological sites in the world. In 1979, it became a World Heritage Site,along with the rest of the Theban Necropolis.

The Valley was used for primary burials from approximately 1539 BC to 1075BC, 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 wivesand children of both the nobles and pharaohs. Around the time of Ramesses I(ca. 1300 BC) the Valley of the Queens was begun, although some wives werestill buried with their husbands.

The quality of the rock in the Valley is very inconsistent. Tombs were built, bycutting 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 mostserious problem are the shale layers. This fine material expands when it comesinto contact with water. This has damaged many tombs, particularly duringfloods.

The Valley of the Kings, in Upper Egypt, Thebes, the burial place of thepharaohs of theNew Kingdom, 18th, 19th, and 20th Dynasties.

Most of the tombs were cut into the limestone following a similar pattern: threecorridors, an antechamber and a sunken sarcophagus chamber. Thesecatacombs were harder to rob and were more easily concealed. The switch to

burying the pharaohs within the valley instead of pyramids, was intended tosafeguard against tomb robbers. In most cases this did not prove to be affective.Many of the bodies, of the pharaohs, where moved by the Egyptian priests, and

placed in several caches, during the political upheaval of the 21st Dynasty.
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Construction of a tomb usually lasted six years, beginning with each new reign.

The text in the tombs are from the Book of the Dead, the Book of the Gates andthe Book of the Underworld.

The Valley of the Kings has two components - the East Valley and the WestValley. It is the East Valley which most tourists visit and in which most of thetombs of the New Kingdom Pharaohs can be found.

By the end of theNew Kingdom, Egypt had entered a long period of politicaland economic decline. The priests at Thebes grew in power and effectivelyadministered Upper Egypt, while kings ruling from Tanis controlled LowerEgypt. The Valley began to be heavily plundered, so the priests of Amenduring 21st Dynasty to open most of the tombs and move the mummies intothree tombs in order to better protect them. Later most of these were moved to a

single cache near Deir el-Bari. During the later Third Intermediate Period andlater intrusive burials were introduced into many of the open tombs.

Almost all of the tombs have been ransacked, including Tutankhamun's, thoughin his case, it seems that the robbers were interrupted, so very little wasremoved.The valley was surrounded by steep cliffs and heavily guarded. In1090 BC, or the year of the Hyena, there was a collapse in Egypt's economyleading to the emergence of tomb robbers. Because of this, it was also the lastyear that the valley was used for burial.The valley also seems to have sufferedan official plundering during the virtual civil war which started in the reign of

Ramesses XI. The tombs were opened, all the valuables removed, and themummies collected into two large caches. One, the so-called Deir el-Bahricache, contained no less than forty royal mummies and their coffins; the other,in the tomb of Amenhotep II, contained a further sixteen.

Exploring the Vally of the Kings

The Valley of the Kings has been a major area of modern Egyptologicalexploration for the last two centuries. Before this the area was a site for tourismin antiquity (especially during Roman times). This areas illustrates the changes

in the study of ancient Egypt, starting as antiquity hunting, and ending asscientific excavation of the whole Theban Necropolis. Despite the explorationand investigation noted below, only eleven of the tombs have actually beencompletely recorded.

The Greek writers Strabo and Diodorus Siculus were able to report that thetotal number of Theban royal tombs was 47, of which at the time only 17 were
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believed to be undestroyed. Pausanias and others wrote of the pipe-likecorridors of the Valley - i.e. the tombs.

Clearly others also visited the valley in these times, as many of the tombs havegraffiti written by these ancient toursits. Jules Baillet located over 2000 Greek

and Latin graffiti, along with a smaller number in Phoenician, Cypriot, Lycian,Coptic, and other languages.

Before the nineteenth century, travel from Europe to Thebes (and indeedanywhere in Egypt) was difficult, time-consuming and expensive, and only thehardiest of European travelers visited before the travels of Father ClaudeSicard in 1726, it was unclear just where Thebes really was. It was known to beon the Nile, but it was often confused with Memphis and several other sites.One of the first travelers to record what he saw at Thebes was Frederic Louis

Norden, a Danish adventurer and artist. He was followed by Richard Pococke,who published the first modern map of the valley itself, in 1743.

In 1799, Napoleon's expedition drew maps and plans of the known tombs, andfor the first time noted the Western Valley (where Prosper Jollois and douardde Villiers du Terrage located the tomb of Amenhotep III, WV22). TheDescription de l'gypte contains two volumes (out a total of 19) on the areaaround Thebes.

Nineteenth Century

European exploration continued in the area around Thebes during theNineteenth Century, boosted by Champollion's translation of hieroglyphs earlyin the century. Early in the century, the area was visited by Belzoni, workingfor Henry Salt, who discovered several tombs, including that of those of Ay inthe West Valley (WV23) in 1816, and Seti I, KV17 the next year. At the end ofhis visits, Belzoni declared that all of the tombs had been found and nothing ofnote remained to be found.

In 1827 John Gardiner Wilkinson was assigned to paint the entry of everytomb, giving them each a designation that is still in use today they were

numbered from KV1 to KV21 (although the maps show 28 entrances, some ofwhich were unexplored). These paintings and maps were later published in TheTopography of Thebes and General Survey of Egypt, in 1830. At the same timeJames Burton explored the valley. His works included making KV17 safer fromflooding, but he is more well known for entering KV5.


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In 1829, Champollion himself visited the valley, along with Ippolitio Rosellini.The expedition spend 2 months studying the open tombs, visiting about 16 ofthem. The copied the enscriptions and identfied the original tomb owners. Inthe tomb of KV17, they removed some wall decorations, which are now ondispaly in the Louvre, Paris.

In 1845 - 1846 the valley was explored by Carl Richard Lepsius' expedition,they explored and documented 25 main valley and 4 in the west.The later halfof the century saw a more concerted effort to preserve rather than simplygathering antiquities. Auguste Mariette's Egyptian Antiqities Service started toexplore the valley, first with Eugne Lefbre in 1883, then Jules Balliet andGeorge Bndite in early 1888 and finally Victor Loret in 1898 to 1899. Duringthis time George Daressy explored KV9 and KV6.

Loret added a further 16 tombs to the list of tombs, and explored several tombsthat had already been discovered.

When Gaston Maspero was reappointed to head the Egyptian AntiquitiesService, the nature of the exploration of the valley changed again, Masperoappointed Howard Carter as the Chief Inspector of Upper Egypt, and the youngman discovered several new tombs and explored several others, clearing KV42and KV20.

Twentieth Century

Around the turn of the Twentieth Century, the American Theodore Davis hadthe excavation permit in the valley, and his team (led mosty by Edward R.Ayrton) discovered several royal and non-royal tombs (KV43, KV46 & KV57

being the most important). In 1907 they discovered the possible Amarna Periodcache in KV55. After finding what they thought was the burial of Tutankhamun(KV61), it was announced that the valley was completely explored and nofurther burials were to be found.

Howard Carter then acquired the right to explore the valley and after asystematic search discovered the actual tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62) in

November 1922.

At end of the century, the Theban Mapping Project re-discovered and exploredtomb KV55, which has since be discovered to be probably the largest in thevalley, and was either a cenotaph or real burial for the sons of Ramesses II.Elsewhere in the eastern and western branches of the valley several otherexpeditions cleared and studied other tombs. Recently the Amarna Royal


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Tombs Project has been exploring the area around KV55 and KV62, theAmarna Period tombs in the main valley.

Twenty first Century

Various expeditions have continued to explore the valley, adding greatly to theknowledge of the area. In 2001 the Theban Mapping Project designed newsigns for the tombs, providing information and plans of the open tombs. A newvisitors' centre is currently being planned.On February 8, 2006, Americanarchaeologists uncovered a pharaonic-era tomb (KV63), the first uncoveredthere since King Tutankhamun's in 1922. The 18th Dynasty tomb included fivemummies in intact sarcophagi with coloured funerary masks along with morethan 20 large storage jars, sealed with pharaonic seals.

SAMPLE DECORATIONS

Decorations in the tombs vary greatly. Usually the sacred texts cover the wallsand sarcophagus, collectively known as the 'Books of the Dead'. The text, wasintended to aid the deceased, on his journey through the netherworld.


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Horus, Ramses I, Anubis


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FAMOUS PHARAOHS BURRIED IN THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS


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Ramses II

Ramesses III

The tomb is sometimes referred to as the "Harpers Tomb" due to the twoharpers playing to the gods in four of the chambers. Ten small chambers branchoff of the main corridors. These were for the placement of tomb furniture.

Ramesses IV

Three white corridors descend to the sarcophagus chamber. The chambersceilings depict the goddess Nut. The lid of the pink granite sarcophagus isdecorated with Isis and Nephthys, which were meant to serve as guardians overthe body. Their duties fell short, however, as the tomb was robbed in ancienttimes. Originally the priests placed the sarcophagus in Amenhotep II II's tombin order to hide the body, which was a common practice.

Ramesses IX

Two sets of steps lead down to the tomb door that is decorated with thePharaoh worshipping the solar disc. Isis and Nephthys stand behind him oneither side. Three corridors lead into an antechamber that opens into a pillaredhall. The passage beyond that leads to the sarcophagus chamber.
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Merneptah

The steep descent into the tomb is typical of the designs of the XIX Dynasty.

The entrance is decorated with Isis and Nephthys worshipping the solar disc.Text from the 'Book of the Gates' line the corridors. The outer granite lid of thesarcophagus is located in the antechamber, while the lid of the innersarcophagus is located down more steps in the pillared hall. Carved on the pinkgranite lid is the figure of Merneptah as Osiris.

Ramesses VI

Originally built for Ramesses V, three chambers and a 4th pillared chamberwas added by Ramesses VI. Complete texts of the Book of the Gates, the Bookof Caverns and the Book of Day and Night line the chambers. Portions of theBook of the Dead are located in the pillared chamber, along with scenes of theskygoddess, Nut.

Seti I

The longest tomb in the valley, 100m, contains very well preserved reliefs in allof its eleven chambers and side rooms. One of the back chambers is decorated


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with the Ritual of the Opening of the Mouth, which stated that the mummy'seating and drinking organs were properly functioning. Believing in the need forthese functions in the afterlife, this was a very important ritual. Thesarcophagus is now in the Sir John Soane Museum, London.

Tuthmose III

The tomb of Tuthmose III is at the far end of the East Valley and is one of theearliest in the Valley. Its burial chamber is in the shape of a cartouche (oval-shaped) and its inscriptions are interspersed with stick figures. The approach tothis unusual tomb is an ascent up wooden steps, crossing over a pit, and then asteep descent down into the tomb. The pit was probably dug as a deterrent totomb robbers. Two small chambers, decorated with stars, and a larger vestibule

are in front of the sarcophagus chamber, which is uniquely rounded anddecorated with only red and black.

Amenhotep II

A steep flight of stairs and a long unadorned corridor lead to the sarcophaguschamber. Three mummies, Tuthmosis IV, Amenhotep II III and Seti II, werefound in one side room and nine mummies were found in another.

Horemheb

This tomb's construction is identical to that of Seti I's with the exception ofsome of the inner decorations.

Other Important BurialsAncient Flowers Found in Egypt Coffin in Egypt's Valley of the Kings "KV63" National Geographic - June 30, 2006 - Follow-up story to those below
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Pharaonic tomb find stuns EgyptBBC - February 10, 2006
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New Tomb Opened in Egypt's Valley of KingsNational Geographic

Archaeologists have discovered an intact, ancient Egyptian tomb in the Valleyof the Kings, the first since King Tutankhamun's Tomb was found in 1922. The

tomb contains five sarcophagi with mummies, breaking the nearly century longbelief that there's nothing more to find in the valley where some of Egypt'sgreatest pharaohs were buried.

Found in the tomb was the red granite head ofKing Amenhotep III - father ofthe Pharaoh Akhenaten.

Researchers discover 3,400-year-old artifact depicting Queen Ti MSNBC -January 25, 2006
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Egyptologists have discovered a statue of Queen Ti, wife of one of Egyptsgreatest pharaohs and grandmother to the boy-king Tutankhamun, at an ancienttemple in Luxor, an Egyptian antiquities official said. The roughly 3,400-year-old statue was well-preserved. Ti's husband, Amenhotep III, presided over an

era which saw a renaissance in Egyptian art. A number of cartouches, or royalname signs, of Amenhotep III were found on the statue, and the statue's designand features allowed researchers to identify it as a New Kingdom, 18thDynasty statue of Queen Ti.

Akhenaten was the son of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy, a descendent of aHebrew tribe.
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Queen Tiy wearing a double feathered crown
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Valley of the Queens and Kings