Copyright © 2021 Michael J. Marfleet Published June 18th, 2021 The New Kingdom Theban royal necropolis, better known as the Valley of the Kings, is in fact two convergent valleys - the West Valley (XVIIIth Dynasty tombs only) and the Valley of the Kings proper (XVIIIth through XXth Dynasty tombs) - situated in the Theban Hills on the West Bank of the River Nile, opposite the modern city of Luxor. I. A brief introduction to the Valley(s) of the Kings c1570 to c1070bc by MICHAEL J MARFLEET The West Valley and the Valley of the Kings have been carved out by eons of sporadic torrential rains and runoff from the surrounding ridges and the pyramidal peak of el- Qurn, (see above). To date the two valleys have yielded eighty-five 'tombs'*. Sixty-five of these are numerically numbered, the remaining twenty alphabetically. Of the numerical 'tombs', KV1 through KV21, KV26 through KV40 and KV42 through KV64 lie in the Valley of the Kings (VoK) proper. KV22 through KV25 and KV65** lie in the West Valley, (Essay II appearing July 2nd). KV41, an incomplete pit/shaft 'tomb', lies outside the perimeter of the VoK on the outside of the topographical ridge that encloses the valley and forms part of the so-called 'gateway' to the VoK, (Figs. 1 & 2). Not all are true tombs. Of the eighty-five, twenty-four are known king tombs with twenty-six confirmed pharaoh 'owner/occupiers'. An additional four are not definitively associated with any king 'owner/occupier' but could be considered king tombs - KV19; KV25; KV33; & KV39. Of these KV19, intended for Ramses VIII, was only partially completed and subsequently usurped for the burial of a son of Ramses IX; KV25 was barely begun before being abandoned and never received a burial contemporary with its time, (ie: XVIIIth Dynasty); KV33 discovered in the 19th Century has not been fully excavated and lies essentially 'lost' beneath the narrow pathway that facilitates access to KV34/ Tuthmosis III at the southern extremity of the VoK; and KV39, professionally cleared in the 1990's and found replete with hundreds of mummy fragments, is enigmatically unique, (Essay III appearing on this website July 16th; & Technical Essay 8 appearing February 11th, 2022). Of these twenty-eight king tombs it is likely twenty- seven originally held king burials, KV25 being the sole exception. Fig. 1 Fig. 2 - 'Gateway' to VoK - 2008 El-Qurn v The remainder comprise XVIIIth Dynasty queen (Great Wife) tombs, nobles' tombs, pit or shaft 'tombs' and so-called 'tomb commencements'. Other than the queen tombs and tombs for nobles most of these were cut to house the remains of used funerary paraphernalia and never intended for the burial of humans. However, several were later re-used for burials. 'Tombs' A through T are all pit/shaft 'tombs' or 'tomb commencements'; ie: pit/ shaft 'tombs' barely begun, like KV54, (see below). KV A is the only lettered 'tomb' in the West Valley. All the others are located in the VoK. All king/queen tomb entryways are situated within or proximal to watercourses, and all but one lie inside the main escarpments. The sole exception is KV39 which sits above the main escarpment at an altitude of 250m. It is situated c35m higher and c150m further south than any other tomb. There are many large and exquisitely decorated tombs in the VoK, but if size matters KV5 sets the bar. It is the largest and most complex tomb in either of the valleys. Its subterranean extent covers almost one acre. Ironically it is not the tomb of a pharaoh but a nobles' tomb commissioned by the longest serving pharaoh of the New Kingdom, Ramses II/KV7; (the entrance to KV7 lies on the opposite flank of the valley and just to the south of KV5). KV5 was prepared for the sons who pre-deceased Ramses II. It in- cludes 100+ rooms, chambers & corridors on multiple levels, its footprint about 25% larger than the tomb of its creator, KV7 - a virtual 'necro-apartment complex', (Bib. 68)! It has been undergoing more or less continuous excavation since 1990. Specific tombs of note within the historical period that is the focus of these essays, the New Kingdom (Figs. 3, 4 & 5) • KV21 - A queen tomb found to contain the poorly preserved remains of Queen Ankhesen- amun, Great Wife of Tutankhamun - identified by DNA testing; (Technical Essay 2 appear- ing November 19th). • KV22 - The tomb of Amenhotep III - the only completed king tomb in the West Valley, (Essay II). • KV23 - Also in the West Valley, the ransacked king tomb tomb of Ay, successor to Tutankhamun, and probably originally intended for the re-burial of Amenhotep IV, (Akhen- aten). It was usurped and foreshortened from its original plan when Ay died in the fourth year of his reign. It is likely its original design was similar to the tomb of Ay's successor, Horemheb/KV57, in the VoK proper. KV23's architecture and proportions from the entry- way to the aborted well room are virtually identical with those of KV57, (Technical Essay 8). • KV25 - The third king tomb in the West Valley, barely begun and probably intended for Tutankhamun. Following his untimely death at the age of 18yrs, it was abandoned during cutting of the first corridor, (Technical Essay 8). • KV35 - The king tomb of Amenhotep II in which his restored mummy was discovered along with twelve other restorations including those of Amenhotep III, his Great Wife, Queen Tiye, the mother of Tutankhamun, Tuthmosis IV, Merenptah, Seti II, Siptah, Queen Tausret, and Ramses IV, V & VI, (Essay III). • KV36 - The pit/shaft tomb of the Nubian noble, Maiherpri, believed to have been Fan Bearer to Amenhotep III, and discovered almost intact, (Essay X appearing October 22nd). • KV39 - This probable king tomb is unique, and not just because of its situation. It is the only tomb with a reticulate plan - three chambers on three 90deg axes, the fourth axis incom- plete***; its entryway faces the summer solstice sunrise, and its altitude ensures it receives the rays of the morning sun before any other tomb in the two valleys. When excavated in the 1990's it was found to contain fragments of multiple burials including hundreds of human remains comprising at least nine unidentifiable individuals, perhaps more. The tomb may originally have been intended as a final resting place for the restored remains of the royals of the AMARNA Period, (Technical Essay 8). Thereafter it was employed as a site for restor- ations during the XXIst Dynasty prior to their transportation to DB320, the mummy cache located just south of Queen Hatshepsut's mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahari, ('Local Location Map' above & Essay III). The woeful condition of the remains is clear evidence of repeated violations. • KV46 - Begun as a queen tomb but completed as a nobles' tomb and discovered virtually complete with its two original occupants and their grave goods, (Essay X). • KV54 - Barely begun, just one meter deep, but the most celebrated of all pit/shaft 'tomb commencements'. It was found to contain some of the used funerary paraphernalia from the burial of Tutankhamun - an important find hidden in the least significant of cavities, (Tech- nical Essay 1 appearing November 5th). • KV55 - The infamous AMARNA Cache. 'Infamous' largely as a consequence of its casual excavation in 1907. It is a noble's tomb whose purpose and history still confounds scholars of Egyptology. The much decayed mummy of Tutankhamun's father, was found in this tomb (Technical Essay 2), along with a queen coffin, canopic jars and shrine possibly attributed to Queen Tiye, plus four magic bricks attributed to Amenhotep IV and seals impressed with the cartouche of the boy king, (Essay's III & X). • KV57 - Quite apart from its impressive size and the richness of its artwork the tomb of Horemheb is interesting in several other respects: 1. The design of the upper part of the tomb bears a strong resemblance to that of KV23, (Technical Essay 8); 2. The unfinished decor- ation in the burial chamber complex illustrates how the artisans went about their work, (Essay VI appearing August 27th); and 3. The disarticulated bones of at least six individuals were found scattered about the thoroughly ran-sacked burial chamber indicating the tomb may well have been a mummy cache, ultimately suffering the same fate as KV39, (Essay III). • KV62 - The tomb of Tutankhamun - the smallest king tomb in the valley and by far the rich- est discovery; (Essay X, & Technical Essays 5 & 6 appearing December 31st, 2021 & January 14th, 2022). • KV63 - The pit/shaft 'tomb' closest to KV62, and discovered 84 years later, that contained funerary paraphernalia possibly associated with the burial of Tutankhamun, (Technical Essay 1). It is a reasonable estimation that between two and six king tombs remain to be discovered or confirmed in the two valleys, plus a number of XVIIIth Dynasty queen (Great Wife) tombs, and perhaps as many as ten more pit/shaft 'tombs'. The possible locations of hitherto undiscovered tombs are explored in Essay IV appearing July 30th. The West Valley is examined in more detail in Essay II. Fig. 3 - New Kingdom Chronology Fig. 4 - Tombs noted in text Fig. 5 - Visitor Center model of the Valley of the Kings - Looking south Tombs noted in text Courtesy Dr R L Boyce --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * More correctly, hypogea - underground vaults. The numbering/lettering sequences do not consistently reflect the order in which the 'tombs' were discovered. ** Currently there is some confusion regarding the location of KV65. It had been reported about a decade ago that the presence of KV65 had been detected in the VoK and that the 'tomb' was yet to be excavated.