The Valley of Kings Sites

Site: KV 1, tomb of Ramses VII (20th Dynasty, 1136-1128 BC)

Location: TMP grid: N 99,803.743, E 94,006.25

Description: KV 1 is a small tomb of typical late Ramesside plan, but with only one corridor, burial chamber, and a possibly unfinished room beyond. A pit on the floor of the burial chamber was covered with a large, hollowed block of stone to form the sarcophagus.
History of Activity in the Tomb: The tomb has apparently been open since at least Greek and Roman times.

Site: KV 2, tomb of Ramses IV (20th Dynasty)

Location: TMP Grid Coordinates: N99724.282, E94072.587

Description: KV 2, the tomb of Ramses IV, lies near the entrance to the Valley of the Kings. The tomb consists of gently sloping corridors, followed by an antechamber, a burial chamber, and auxiliary rooms beyond the burial chamber. The original plan of the tomb was altered after the death of the King, and the room which would have been the first pillared hall was used for the burial chamber. Entrance Corridor A has a disk with Isis and Nephthys, King's names on the jambs and thicknesses. Corridor B has Kings' names with vultures, hawks, scarabs and winged sun disk on ceiling. Corridor C has Forms of sun god from Litany of Re on ceiling. Corridor D has Book of Caverns on walls, King's names and titles with stars on vaulted ceiling. Antechamber E has King's names and titles with stars on ceiling. Burial Chamber F has Amduat, Book of the Gates, Books of the Heavens on the ceiling with decan lists. Chamber G has Book of Caverns, representations of funerary objects, King's names on ceiling.
History of Activity in the Tomb: KV 2 has been open since antiquity and the tomb was used as a residence during the Coptic period.

Site: KV 3, ca. Ramses III (20th Dynasty)

Description: The tomb plan is unusual; it consists of two corridors, the second of which has a niche on the north side and a room on the south side, followed by a pillared hall with a side-room on the north side, and three smaller chambers, one of which is a vaulted burial chamber. The tomb is cut into the limestone hillside, with a shallow descent.
History of Activity in the Tomb: KV 3 was used as a Christian chapel during the Coptic period. The painted plaster decoration of the walls of KV 3 is preserved, though poorly, in the first corridor of the tomb.

Site: KV 4, tomb of Ramses XI (20th Dynasty)

Description: The tomb of Ramses XI was abandoned without being used for the king's burial, with the cutting of the first pillared hall and burial chamber left incomplete and the decoration started only in the first corridor. The plan consists of four corridors followed by Well Shaft Room (E), a pillared Hall (F) with a central descent, a short corridor (G), and the Burial Chamber (J). A deep shaft descends from the unfinished Burial Chamber (J) and its pillars are rectangular instead of square, with the ceiling between them vaulted. The Pillared Hall (F), whose elongated proportions are like those of 18th Dynasty tombs, was unfinished. A pair of rectangular niches are located in their usual positions on the north and south walls of corridor (C) near the entrance from corridor (B). Pivot holes for door leafs are present in the ceilings after the first three doorways as well as the entries to (F) and to (G).
Objects: Limestone chips left by the tomb builders, and small pieces of faience, gold gesso and cedar wood were found on the floors of the innermost rooms of the tomb.

The plan of KV 4.

Site: KV 6, tomb of Ramses IX (20th Dynasty)

Description: The tomb consists of four successive corridors, followed by an unexcavated Well-Shaft, a pillared hall, and a burial chamber. The first four corridors of the tomb are well-cut, but the Well-Shaft was left unexcavated, and a corridor which followed the pillared hall was enlarged to be used as the burial chamber. A pit to hold the coffin of the King was cut into the floor of the burial chamber.

Site: KV 7, tomb of Ramses II (19th Dynasty)

Description: KV 7 is one of the largest tombs in the Valley of the Kings. It covers more than 820 square meters; the burial chamber alone occupies 181 square meters.
The design of KV 7 conforms to the bent axis-plan. The entrance to KV 7 lies at a particularly low spot in the Valley and has been vulnerable to flood waters.

KV 7 Plan

The plan of KV 7.

Site: KV 8, Tomb of Merenptah (19th Dynasty)

Description: The tomb of Merenptah is 80 meters long and contains elements not found in tombs that came before it. The entrance (A) has steps descending to a corridor (B) which is followed by a stairway (C) with niches on either side. Another corridor (D) precedes a shaft (E) and next is the first pillared hall (F). The pillared hall has two columns in it and a side chamber (Fa) with two more columns and a niche. Two corridors (G, I) and a hall (H) come before the sunken Burial Chamber (J) with an arched ceiling and two rows of four square columns. There are niches off of each corner of the burial chamber. A chamber (K) with it's side chambers opens up behind the burial chamber.

Site: KV 10, Tomb of Amenmeses (19th Dynasty)

Description: The plan of the tomb consists of open entry passage (A), followed by three corridors (B-D), with a small chamber off the west wall of Corridor B, followed by Hall E (the usual site of the Well Shaft which was never cut here), a Pillared Hall F, with an unfinished side chamber Fa. Beyond the descent in F, corridor G has been provided with a vaulted ceiling while H is an unfinished approach that would have led to a sarcophagus chamber that was never begun.

Site: KV 11, begun by Setnakht and completed by Ramses III (20th Dynasty)

Description: KV 11 was begun by Setnakht, who completed the first three corridors, and completed by Ramses III, who added the side-chambers to Corridor C ,and finished the tomb through Chamber N and was buried there.

KV 11 Plan

TMP's plan of KV 11.

Site: KV 14 tomb of Tausert and Setnakht (19th and 20th Dynasties)

Description: A short open entry passage (A), extended outwards with a modern protective and three upper corridors (B, C, D) on an east-west axis lead to a well room (E) without shaft. This in turn opens into a room (F) with a central descent, but lacking pillars. A side chamber (Ga) opens off the south wall of the first lower corridor (G). After a second level corridor (H), the antechamber (I) beyond opens into the first burial hall (J1) with typical Ramesside vaulted ceiling over a sunken central floor flanked on each side by a gallery with four pillars and with shelves at the ends. Each side gallery has a small unfinished room (J1a - J1d) at each end. A descending ramp bisects the gallery platform on the entrance side while an axial passage at the level of the sunken floor divides the rear gallery platform, leading to corridor K1. This passage with its two side rooms (K1a, K1b), form the remains of an abandoned cutting for a larger second burial hall for which only one of the first quartet of pillars was cut free. A second horizontal corridor (L) leads to a completely cut second burial hall (J2), similar in form to J1 but larger, with ramps descending to the sunken central floor from both side platforms. An unfinished corridor (K2) continues westward on the central axis with a recess at each side, perhaps for the start of side rooms.

Site: KV 15, Seti II (19th Dynasty)

Description: The tomb lies on a NW-SE axis, and consists of a short entryway(A), three long corridors (B,C,D), a well room without a well shaft (E), a pillared hall with a central descent (F), and a sarcophagus chamber adapted from an unfinished lower corridor beyond (G). The slope of the entrance and the following corridors is minimal. The tomb is 75.38 m long and 6.53 m deep, and it covers an area of 257.22 square meters.

KV 15 Plan

Site: KV 16, tomb of Ramses I (19th Dynasty)

Description: The tomb of Ramses I is simple in plan, consisting of two stairways, A and C, with sloping corridor B between, followed by a Burial Chamber J with two side rooms Ja and JC and a deep niche Jb at the rear.

Site: KV 17, tomb of Seti I (19th Dynasty)

Description: KV 17 is the longest, deepest and most completely decorated of all the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. It is the first tomb to be decorated with what is called a "complete program" of religious texts. It is also the first tomb with a vaulted burial chamber. The tomb of Seti I consists of seven corridors and eleven chambers. The tomb opens with a series of four corridors (A, B, C, and D), a deep well shaft (E) and a four-pillared hall (F) with a two-pillared side room (Fa). At this point, the axis of the tomb shifts to the left and the tomb splits into two levels. On the lower level, corridors G and H lead to room I (Vestibule), which precedes the pillared burial chamber (room J), where the sarcophagus was found. Finally, niche Ja and rooms Jb, Jc, Jd, Je, and Jf are found directly off room (J), and at the rear of the burial chamber, a long passage (K), descends through the floor deep into the bedrock.

KV 17 Plan

The TMP's plan of KV 17.

Osiris in tomb of Sety

The photograph of "Osiris" from niche Ja shows the deterioration of paint on the walls of KV 17.

Site: KV 19, Ramses Mentuherkhepeshef (Dynasty 20, reign of
Ramses IX)

Description: The tomb is cut on a northwest-southeast axis, with a length of 38.51 m, a depth of 5.72 m, and an area of 135.68 square meters. The open-air approach ramp (A) passes over the entrance steps of KV 60, a non-royal tomb of Dynasty 18. A step down to a flat landing lies at the inner edge of the gate, and leads to the gently sloping floor of the first corridor (B). At C gate, only one door pivot hole is visible in the ceiling behind the left jamb. Since the cutting of the corridor beyond was abandoned, it is not likely that door leaves were installed. The quarrying of the tomb was abandoned after the start of the second corridor, and only the four-tiered work-face for quarrying the corridor remains beyond the two rectangular niches flanking the interior of the doorway. These niches had become an exclusively royal architectural feature in Dynasty 20, indicating the status of the intended occupant, perhaps Ramses VIII.

Site: KV 34 Thutmes III (Dynasty 18)

Description: The architecture of KV 34 represents a transition in royal tomb design. A steep entrance (A) gives access to a corridor (B), a room with central descent (C), and a second corridor (D), leading to a well shaft (E). The trapezoidal room (F) beyond the well has two central pillars and a stairwell at the northern end that descends to the burial chamber (J). The long axis is perpendicular to that of the corridors above. The axis of the descent and the burial chamber is at less than a right angle (72.64°) to that of the preceding corridors. This chamber is rectangular with rounded corners, resembling a cartouche and four side rooms (Ja-Jd).

Site: KV 35, Amenhotep II (Dynasty 18)

Description: The architecture of the tomb also adds some new features to earlier tomb designs: a room (Ea) was added to the base of the well shaft; the burial chamber (J) was changed to a rectangular shape and divided into a pillared forward section and a rear section with lowered floor, sometimes referred to as the "crypt". A sloping corridor (G) separates the descent in the first pillared hall (F) from the burial chamber (J). Two stairwells (A, C) and two sloping corridors (B, D) lead down to the well shaft (E) with a room (Ea) opening off the bottom. A rectangular room with two central pillars is located beyond the well. Its long axis is perpendicular to that of the preceding passages. A stairwell in the floor at the southeast corner of this room leads to a sloping corridor (G) and the Burial Chamber (J). This chamber has three pairs of pillars in the forepart that flank the central axis and a sunken portion beyond that is reached by a central stairs and contains the sarcophagus. There are four subsidiary rooms (Ja-Jd) off the western and eastern sides of this chamber. Only the Burial Chamber of the tomb is decorated.

Site: KV 43, Thutmes IV (Dynasty 18)

Description: The entrance to KV 43 lies high in the hillside above and southeast of KV 19. A sloping corridor (B) beyond the doorway at the bottom of the steps (A), a second stairwell (C) with a pair of recesses at the top, and a second corridor (D), lead to the well shaft (E) with a room opening off the base of the far wall. A door at the top of this rear wall leads to the first pillared hall (F). A change of axis occurs at the stairwell in the floor at the northeast corner of F. The new axis continues with another sloping corridor (G) and steps (H) into the antechamber (I). The axis turns again, back to the north, within the burial chamber (J). This rectangular room has three pairs of pillars in the forward section and a sunken floor in the rear, approached by a stairway, where the sarcophagus is located. Four side rooms (Ja-Jd) open off the burial chamber

KV 43 Plan

The TMP's plan of KV 43.

Hieratic inspection docket of Year 8 of Horemheb from Room I.

Site: KV 47 Siptah (Dynasty 19)

Description: The tomb extends on a north - south axis for 114.04 meters (374.14 feet) into the hillside to a depth of 13.12 meters (43.04 feet). The open-air entrance passage (A) has a central ramp with flanking steps fashioned of cut stone blocks set into the bedrock. A wooden beam was placed beneath the lintel of the first gateway leading to the sloping first corridor (B). A level corridor (C) with a pair of beam slots for lowering the sarcophagus follows, succeeded by another sloping corridor (D) with a pair of rectangular niches at the end, a well room (E) without a shaft and a pillared hall (F) containing four pillars and a central descent but with no side chamber. Beyond the descent are two level corridors (G, H), and an antechamber (I) that leads through a passage with abandoned lateral cuttings for a burial chamber(J1). These are followed by the actual unfinished burial chamber (J2), containing a granite sarcophagus set into a roughly rectangular depression in the floor.

KV 47 Plan

The TMP's plan of KV 47.

Isometric drawing of tomb KV 47

TMP's isometric drawing of tomb KV 47

TMP's isometric drawing of tomb KV 47.

Site: KV 55, called "Tomb of Queen Tiye" (18th Dynasty)

Description: The tomb consists of a set of stairs, a corridor and a burial chamber containing a niche at the south end. The niche may be the beginning of a side-room which was never completed.

Site: KV 57, Horemheb (19th Dynasty)

Description: The tomb lies on an S-N axis, and covers 469.67 square meters. It is 106.58 m in length and descends to a depth of 29.52 m. The stepped entryway (A) passes beneath an unusually deep overhang, leaving only the upper third of the stairs open, now covered by a modern shelter. The sloping corridor (B), beyond the first door, leads to a steep stairway (C), flanked at the top by trapezoidal recesses and with a second overhang above the bottom; the latter is an innovation with this tomb. The second sloping corridor (D) leads to Room E with its well shaft still partly filled with debris, although the excavators reported a small room opening off the bottom. A door in the far wall opens into a rectangular room with two pillars (F). Corridor G slopes down to another stairway (H) flanked by trapezoidal recesses at the top. The decorated antechamber (I) opens into the forepart of the burial chamber (J) where two rows of pillars flank a shallow ramp in the middle of the floor. Both I and J gates were once closed by wooden doors. Two sets of steps, one on the central axis and the second at the north end of the western aisle, lead down to the lowered floor of the rear part of the chamber. Doors in each side wall of the front and back part of J, as well as one in west end of the rear wall open into side rooms. On the east side there is a single room off the front (Je) and rear (Jd) parts of the chamber. On the west side of each part are two rooms, (Ja, Jaa) at the front and (Jb, Jbb) at the rear, with Jaa serving as a crypt entered from a pit in the floor of Ja. A large room (Jc), entered from a door in the rear wall of J, is still largely encumbered by debris. A door in its northeast corner opens into a smaller chamber (Jcc), in turn leading to an even smaller unfinished room (Jccc).

KV 57 Plan

TMP's plan of KV 57.

Site: KV 62, Tomb of Tutankhamen (18th Dynasty)

Description: KV 62 is a small tomb but it is known to all because of the treasures it held intact for over 3,000 years. It was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. When King Tutankhamen died suddenly at an early age, the tomb that perhaps was originally planned for him in the Western Valley, at some distance from his grandfather Amenhotep III, was nowhere near completion. It may have been decided that the King would be buried in a tomb that was to be given as a royal favor to a high official (Ay) in the main valley. Ay later took the Western Valley tomb (WV 23) when he succeeded Tutankhamen on the throne. Sixteen steps led down to a sealed doorway covered in ancient stamps of ancient Valley guards. The first room reached after the flight of 16 steps and a descending corridor, the Antechamber, is similar to the pillared section of the burial chambers in other tombs. This room held between 600 and 700 objects. In the west wall of the Antechamber a low doorway leads to the Annex; it is equivalent to the storerooms off the sides of the pillared hall in traditional tombs. This was the last room to be filled before sealing the tomb. The burial chamber is sunken and separated from the antechamber by a rubble partition wall. The room held 300 objects in addition to the four shrines, sarcophagus, three coffins, burial mask and mummy of the King.

KV 62 Plan

The TMP's plan of KV 62.