The Valley of the Kings: the cemetery of the pharaohs

  • The Valley of the Kings is the necropolis where the Egyptian pharaohs were buried, highlighting its importance in ancient culture.
  • Tombs, like that of Tutankhamun, are filled with treasures and rituals to ensure life after death.
  • Sixty-five tombs have been found, many of them famous, such as those of Ramses IV and Merenptah, with rich decoration and symbolism.
  • Despite looting, the valley continues to promise new discoveries and mysteries related to the pharaohs.
Jennifer Monge Sanz

8 minutes

King's Valley

Source: nationalgeographic.com

On the west bank of the Nile, near Luxor, lies the great valley where the ancient Egyptian pharaohs decided to establish their necropolis , which we know today as the Valley of the Kings.

Life after death was a fundamental concept in ancient Egyptian culture, and people lived their lives preparing for the moment of arrival in the other world. An example of this is the tombs that the pharaohs had built to ensure a safe passage to the world of the dead and a return with the rising of the sun.

Egyptian culture and life after death

The Egyptians believed that after death, the soul of the deceased traveled to the afterlife, where it hoped to be reunited with its body and all the belongings it had taken to the tomb. This is clearly related to ancient Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife .

All of this led to the performance of a wide variety of mortuary rituals and body preservation practices.

Mummification was the means of preserving the human body for use in the afterlife. Funerary masks and sarcophagi, adorned with colorful representations of the deceased, were believed to help the soul of the departed find its way back to its body.

The tombs had to be provided with everything (food, treasures, etc...) that was necessary in the afterlife.

The Valley of the Kings

During the New Kingdom (1539-1075 BC), this site was chosen as the royal burial ground for pharaohs and their families. The tombs were prepared for the afterlife, where the continuation of human life was promised and the pharaohs would become gods.

This place has been a favorite of both tomb robbers and archaeologists, who have been searching it for centuries and it continues to yield surprises . It's true that many of the tombs that may still be hidden today were looted; however, surprises can still appear, as happened with the discovery of Tutankhamun's intact tomb.

What kings are buried there?

So far, 65 tombs have been found in the Valley , some of which have not yet been excavated and others have achieved great fame, such as the Tomb of Tutankhamun (tomb KV62).

The Valley contains the tombs of the pharaohs of the 18th, 19th, and 20th Dynasties . The great Thutmose I, who reigned from 1504 to 1492 BC, belonged to the first of these dynasties. He is the first known king to have abandoned the Dra Abu el-Naga necropolis, where previous kings had established their tombs. Therefore, we should consider him the first to establish this Valley as a necropolis.

It is possible that this Valley was originally a family cemetery , because from the 18th Dynasty we find not only tombs of the pharaohs but also minor tombs of princesses, princes and queens, as well as some nobles close to the pharaoh's family.

Once the Valley of the Queens emerged, this panorama would change, and the smaller tombs would drastically decrease in number.

The tombs of the 18th Dynasty were the last to be located, thanks to the great secrecy surrounding their entrances. Furthermore, Thutmose I himself entrusted his right-hand man, the royal architect Ineni, with the construction of his tomb as the greatest of secrets. Ineni himself boasted of this, saying: " No one saw me, no one heard me ."

These pharaohs, unlike those of the Old Kingdom, abandoned the famous pyramids, tombs difficult to protect from theft , and chose to be buried in a remote, inaccessible place where their rest could be guaranteed. The chosen location was Luxor.

King's Valley

In addition to the great care taken in concealing the entrances to these tombs, there were also landslides in the Valley that further hid them . This is why the tombs of Tutankhamun and Yuya and Tuya were found intact.

The 21st Dynasty decided to move the capital of Egypt to Tanis , which caused the tombs in this valley to fall into oblivion.

List of known tombs associated with pharaohs or relatives:

  • KV1 Tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses VII of the XNUMXth Dynasty
  • KV2 Tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses IV of the XNUMXth Dynasty
  • KV3 tomb of the son of Ramesses III of the XNUMXth Dynasty
  • KV4 Tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses XI of the XNUMXth Dynasty
  • KV5 tomb of the sons of Ramses II of the XIX Dynasty
  • KV6 Tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses IX of the XNUMXth Dynasty
  • KV7 Tomb of Pharaoh Ramses II of the XNUMXth Dynasty
  • KV8 Tomb of Pharaoh Merenptah from the XNUMXth Dynasty
  • KV9 tomb of pharaohs Ramesses V and Ramesses VI of the XNUMXth Dynasty
  • KV10 Tomb of Pharaoh Amenmeses from the XNUMXth Dynasty
  • KV11 Tomb of Pharaoh Ramses III of the XNUMXth Dynasty
  • KV13 Tomb of Bay, XNUMXth Dynasty canviller of Siptah
  • KV14 tomb of pharaohs Tausert and Sethnajt, XNUMXth-XNUMXth Dynasties
  • KV 15 Tomb of Pharaoh Sethy II, XNUMXth Dynasty
  • KV16 Tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses I of the XNUMXth Dynasty
  • KV17 Tomb of Pharaoh Sethy I of the XNUMXth Dynasty
  • KV18 Tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses X of the XNUMXth Dynasty
  • KV19 tomb of Mentuhirjopshef, son of Ramesses IX, XNUMXth Dynasty
  • KV20 Tomb of the Pharaohs Thutmose I and Hatshepsut, of the XNUMXth Dynasty
  • WV22 Tomb of Pharaoh Amenhotep III of the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • WV23 Tomb of Pharaoh Ay from the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV32 Tomb of Tiaa, the mother of Thutmose IV of the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV34 Tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose III of the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV35 Tomb of Pharaoh Amenhotep II of the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV36 tomb of Maiherpi, Nubian nobleman from the court of Thutmose IV of the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV38 Tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose I of the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV39 possible tomb of pharaoh Amenhotep I of the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV40 Depository of grave goods, mummies and a later intruder burial, tomb dated to the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV42 Tomb of Hatshepsut Meritra, wife of Thutmose III, but used by Sennefer, mayor of Thebes in the time of Amenhotep II, belongs to the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV43 Tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose IV of the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV45 tomb of Userhat, nobleman from the time of Thutmose IV of the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV46 Tombs of Yuya and Tuya, in-laws of Amenhotep III of the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV47 Tomb of Pharaoh Siptah from the XNUMXth Dynasty
  • KV48 tomb of Amenemopet, vizier of Amenhotep II of the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV50, KV51 and KV52 Animal Tombs (probably pets of Amenhotep II) from the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV54 Warehouse of Tutankhamen's tomb of the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV55 tomb of Tiy, wife of Amenhotep II, and of Akhenaten, son of Amenhotep II of the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV56 the so-called gold tomb, probably the son of Seti II, of the XNUMXth-XNUMXth Dynasties
  • KV57 Tomb of Pharaoh Horemheb of the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV58 Deposits from the tomb of Horemheb of the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV60 Tomb of Sitra In, XNUMXth Dynasty Hatshepsut's nurse
  • KV61 empty tomb never used
  • KV62 Tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun from the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV63 Deposit for remains of grave goods from the Eighteenth Dynasty
  • KV64 Tomb of an Eighteenth Dynasty Princess with Later Intruder Burial
  • KV65 tomb discovered in 2008 and still unexcavated

The most famous tombs in the Valley of the Kings

There are 11 tombs that can be visited in the Valley of the Kings, although it all depends on the time we have for them, and not all of them are open at the same time. Some examples of these tombs that can be seen are the following:

Tomb of Ramses IV

A must-see tomb, adorned with paintings and undoubtedly one that will leave a lasting impression on any traveler. It's a tomb of corridors and columns bursting with color and hieroglyphs. Featuring a starry sky and a curious detail, it's the only one containing texts from the Book of Nut.

The tomb of Ramses VI

It is one of the best-preserved tombs in terms of the decoration of its walls. To this we must add the impressiveness of the burial chamber where we find the sarcophagus and that it is decorated with an astronomical ceiling.

ramsesiv

Tomb of the sons of Ramesses II

It is the largest tomb found in the valley, that is because this pharaoh had many offspring, which caused it to be continually enlarged. Cameras continue to be discovered to this day.

Merenptah's Tomb

Another of the largest tombs in the valley, filled with corridors decorated with scenes from the Book of the Dead , the Book of Gates and the Book of Amduat, leading to the final room with the sarcophagus.

Tutankhamun's tomb

Undoubtedly one of the best known pharaohs is Tutankhamun, the boy king, who also established his tomb in this valley. If you want to know him and his grave, we recommend you read: 

Tutankhamen's tomb today

There are pharaohs from these dynasties whose tombs have not been located, leaving the door open to new discoveries in the Valley or in some neighboring area.


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