Burials in the Valley of the Kings: Encyclopedia - Burials in the Valley of the Kings

Burials in the Valley of the Kings

Burials in the Valley of the Kings - Original burials

Sketch map of the major tombs in the Valley

The following is a list of who is buried where in the Valley of the Kings, in Thebes (modern Luxor in Egypt) and nearby areas.

Egyptologists use the acronym KV (from the words "King's Valley") to designate tombs located in the Valley of the Kings. The system was established by John Gardiner Wilkinson in 1821. Each tomb in the Valley of the Kings has since been allocated a sequential 'KV number' (those in the Western Valley are known by the WV equivalent) to aid identification.

The tombs are numbered in the order of 'discovery' from Ramesses VII (KV1) to Tutankhamun (KV62), although some of the tombs have been open since antiquity, and KV5 has only recently been rediscovered.

See also: Tomb Numbering Systems in the Valley on the Theban Mapping Project webpage.

Burials in the Valley of the Kings - 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.

The tomb of Ramesses VII.

The tomb of Ramesses IV.

The tomb of an unnamed son of Ramesses III.

The tomb of Ramesses XI.

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.

The tomb of Ramesses IX.

The tomb of Ramesses II.

The tomb of Merenptah.

Also known as the Tomb of Memnon or La Tombe de la Métempsychose, this is the tomb of Ramesses V and Ramesses VI.

The tomb of Amenmesse.

The tomb of Ramesses III (or Bruce's Tomb, The Harper's Tomb).

The occupant of this tomb remains unknown; it was possibly used as a family tomb.

The tomb of Bay and later Amenherkhepshef and Mentuherkhepshef.

The tomb of Twosret, later reused by Setnakhte.

The tomb of Seti II.

The tomb of Ramesses 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.

The tomb of Ramesses X.

The tomb of Mentuherkhepshef.

This was the originally the tomb of Hatshepsut and Thutmose I.

Known as Lord Belmore's tomb; its original occupant remains unknown.

The tomb of Tia'a.

The tomb of Thutmose III.

This tomb was originally the tomb of Amenhotep II. Over a dozen mummies, many of them royal, were relocated here (see list).

The tomb of the noble Maiherpri.

The tomb of Thutmose I.

Possibly the tomb of Amenhotep I.

The original owner of this tomb is unclear, but it may have been Queen Tetisheri.

The tomb of Hatshepsut-Meryetre.

The tomb of Thutmose IV.

The tomb of the noble Userhet.

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.

The tomb of Siptah.

The tomb of the noble Amenemopet called Pairy.

The original owner of this tomb is unknown, and it was possibly a store room.

This tomb contains animal burials – which were possibly the pets of Amenhotep II, whose tomb is nearby.

This was probably an embalming cache for the tomb of Tutankhamun.

The tomb maybe another mummy cache, and has the possible burials of several Amarna Period royals – Tiy and Smenkhkare/Akhenaten.

Known as the Gold Tomb, the original owner of this tomb is unknown

The tomb of Horemheb.

Known as Chariot Tomb, the original owner of this tomb remains unknown.

The tomb of Sitre In.

This tomb appears to have been unused.

The Tomb of King 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. Tutankhamun's tomb was the first royal tomb to be discovered that was still largely intact (although tomb robbers had entered it), and was the actually the last major discovery in the valley. The opulence of his grave goods notwithstanding, King 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.

These contained the burials of animals, and their precise location has been lost since their discovery.

The original owners of these tombs are unknown.

These are non-burial pits, some of which may have been intended as tombs, others were probably funerary deposits.

Burials in the Valley of the Kings - West Valley

The numbering the West Valley follows in sequence to that of the East Valley, and there are only four known burials / pits in the valley.

This is the tomb of one the greatest rulers of the Egyptian New Kingdom, Amenhotep III. It has recently been investigated, but is not open to the public.

This is the tomb of Ay and is the only tomb that is open to the public in the West Valley.

The original owner of this tomb is unknown.

This tomb may have been started as the Theban burial of Akhenaten, but it was never finished.

This was a storage chamber for Amenhotep III's tomb which was located nearby.

Burials in the Valley of the Kings - Deir el-Bahri

This tomb 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.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Burials in the Valley of the Kings", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki