Valley of the Queens

Valley of the Kings

Where is Valley of the Kings Located?

The Valley of the Kings is situated on the West bank of the Nile in Luxor, 25 km from the train station. It is one of the necropolises that, together with the city of Thebes, are classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

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About Valley of the Kings.

Valley of the Kings

It is a graveyard of ancient Egypt in the vicinity of Luxor, where the tombs of most of the pharaohs of the New Kingdom (18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties), as well as several queens, princes, nobles, and even some animals.

It was inaugurated by Tutmosis I, the third pharaoh of the XVIII dynasty, who, around 1500 a. C., ordered the royal architect Inani to construct his tomb in the greatest secrecy. It is believed that it was intended to be used as a family tomb. Still, with the successive changes in power, and the construction of new graves, the valley became a necropolis that remained in use for more than 400 years.

The Valley of the Kings comprises the East Valley and the West Valley. The first is one of the most visited places by tourists and is where most of the tombs are located. It includes 62 originally numbered graves as discovered but has now been renumbered according to their location within the valley.

The best-known and most-visited tombs are those of King Tuthmosis I, Tuthmosis III, Ramses VI, Mrenptah, and Amenhotep II; however, the tomb of Tutankhamun (Tut-Anj-Amun) is the one that deserves the most fame, since to this day it is the only one to have been discovered with all its treasures since it remained buried and therefore outside the reach of the looters until the year 1922.

History of the Valley of the Kings

View of the Valley of the Kings from the outside1

After the reunification of Egypt, the ancient civilization entered the New Kingdom (c. 1550 BC to c. 1077 BC), a period of wealth and prosperity. During this time, the pharaohs sought to create even more elaborate tombs to demonstrate their might. This led the early pharaohs to build the first tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

Behind the Theban hills, it was there that the pharaohs were able to create complex structures filled with riches for the afterlife. The site’s remote location was probably crucial as it protected the area from thieves.

In ancient times, its official name was the Great and Majestic Million-Year Necropolis of the Pharaohs, Life, Health and Prosperity, in Western Thebes, or Ta-seTa-Sekhet-ma’ate “great Field”).

The architecture of Valley of the Kings

A picture of the entrances to the tomb of Seti II.

The 63 known tombs at the site are all rock-cut tombs, a type of construction carved into a natural rock formation. Each varies significantly in size and complexity; some tombs contain more than 120 chambers, while others have only one.

Although early tombs tend to exhibit a “tilt” d axis” (in “which the aisles turn 90 degrees at least once), later tombs from the 19th and 20th dynasties are much more straight in design.

Although the Valley of the Kings was plundered by tomb robbers hundreds of years ago, thus removing most of the precious objects from the site, the interior decoration still demonstrates the power and influence of the pharaohs.

Many burial chambers are decorated with scenes from ancient religious texts, such as the Book of Doors, the Book of Caverns, and the Book of Earth. These works of art aimed to help the pharaohs on their journey to the afterlife.

East Valley Tombs

Tomb Ramesses VIIs.

The East Valley is where most of the tombs are located in the Valley of the Kings.

CHILDREN OF RAMSES II

The site’s largest tomb belongs to Ramses II’s sons (1303-1213 BC). Although it has only been partially excavated, at least four of the pharaoh’s estimated 52 sons are believed to be buried at this location. Since 2006, it has been known to have 200 corridors and chambers, making it the most complex structure in the area. However, like most tombs, it has also lost most of its funerary decoration due to looting.

TUTANKHAMUN

Inside King Tut’s Tomb in Valley of the Kings, Although Tutankhamun’s tomb is by far the most famous, it is pretty tiny. Egyptologists speculate that his body was most likely moved to an unplanned location due to the young king’s untimely death at 18 or 19. Regardless, the tomb remains one of the most critical discoveries in Egyptology due to the vast collection of artifacts that were discovered within.

West Valley Tombs

A picture of the walls of Ramses IV

There are only four known tombs, so tourists visit them.

AMENOPHIS III

The tomb of Amenhotep III not only housed the pharaoh but also had two subsidiary burial chambers for his wives, making it quite unusual compared to the others.

Valley of the Queens

Near the Valley of the Kings is a burial ground for the wives of the pharaohs, known as the Valley of the Queens. Like its male version, this cemetery comprises rock-cut tombs, with more than 100 of them. The best known of these is the tomb of Queen Nefertari, wife of Ramses II.

An image from one of the walls of the Temple of Ramses VII.

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