Valley of the kings - SpeedyLook encyclopedia

The valley of the Kings is an area of Egypt located on Western bank of the the Nile at the height of Thèbes (today the modern city of Louxor). The valley is made of a fault in the libyque Chaîne which leads to the valley of the Nile. It is known to shelter the tombs (hypogean) many Pharaon S of the Nouvel Empire. Oldest fall known on the site is that of Thoutmôsis {{Ier}} and, starting from Thoutmôsis {{III}}, except for Akhénaton, all Pharaons of, and S will be buried there (roughly from -1539 to -1075). The last one falls known being that from Ramsès {{XI}} (fall KV4). The valley of the Kings also shelters the tombs of certain wives and children of Pharaons, as those the noble ones for which the Pharaons wanted to reward the value. It is as from the period of the reign of Ramsès {{Ier}} that the Vallée of the Queens is used, even if some wives will be still buried with their husbands thereafter.

Its Arab name of Biban el-Moulouk means “the doors of the Kings” in reference to the doors which closed formerly the tombs.

Topology

The quality of the rock in the valley is very variable. Tombs were dug through various layers of stone with each one its own quality. This poses problems for the modern conservatives, as that had to pose some to the original architects. The building plans were probably changed consequently. The most serious problem comes from the layers of Schiste whose crystals tend to increase volume in contact with water. This damaged many tombs, in particular during the floods.

Plunderers of tomb

All the tombs listed in the valley were plundered as of the Antiquité. As opposed to what one often believes, even the Tombeau of Toutânkhamon does not have escaped with the plunderers. It is thought indeed that the door of the tomb was forced by twice, but that the plunderers, having been stopped, could carry only one small portion of the treasure. The other tombs were not likely to fall into the lapse of memory and the modern archeologists found often only small objects or vestiges estimated without value by the ancient robbers.

The ostentation of the funerary treasure of the Pharaon Toutânkhamon, of which all the historians agree to grant a short and unobtrusive reign to him, shows the possibility for the colossal treasures which were to have of the kings like, for example, Ramsès {{II}}.

The valley, surrounded by high cliffs which form a natural barrier, was strongly kept by troops of elite (the Medjai ) since the beginning of the exploitation of the site. It is around -1090 (the year of the Hyène), under the reign of Ramsès {{XI}}, that the collapse of the economy of Egypt and the royal capacity will involve the appearance of the first plunderers of tombs. The tearing of the country which will lead to the {{intermediate IIIe}} period will be the occasion of an organized plundering of the richnesses of the valley. Certain documents tend to prove that this plundering would have begun under the reign of Ramsès {{XI}}, perhaps because of not very scrupulous civils servant.

The tombs were opened, all the valuable articles were removed from it and the Momie S were gathered in two large hiding places: the very known hiding-place of Deir el-Bahari which did not contain less than forty royal mummies and their coffins, and the other, in the tomb of Aménophis {{II}}, which contained sixteen others of them.

Tombs

The 63 tombs of the valley are indexed under the names of KV1 to KV63 (Kv of English Kings' valley , some being indexed WV for West Valley like WV22). Among these tombs, only 25 were identified as being royal burials, the others, either do not have Pu still to be identified, or belong to dignitaries. Among the royal burials, two belong to queens having controlled, Hatchepsout and Taousert.

The tomb the KV5, largest of the valley, was built to bury the children of Ramsès {{II}}. Recent discoveries make it possible to estimate at 150 the full number of rooms of the burial.

the summit which overhangs the valley of the Kings is the legendary place of residence of the goddess Mert-Seger, the protective one of the village of craftsmen of Deir el-Médineh. It is them which will build the tombs of the valley of the Kings. In Arab, this mount names Al-Qurn (the horn).

Tourism

The tombs were tourist curiosities as of the period of the Greece and the ancient Rome S.

Nowadays, the majority of the tombs are not accessible to the public for reasons from conservation; it is estimated indeed that a great number of tourists can make double the water content of a tomb. The authorities proceed by bearing by opening the least exposed tombs and those which received installations necessary to their good conservation. The Bas-relief S of certain tombs preserve colors relatively sharp in spite of the devastations of time, the bad weather and the action of the Man.

Surroundings

Valley of the Queens
Valley of Noble the
Deir El-Bahari (funerary temples of Hatchepsout, Montouhotep {{II}})
Sheik Abd el-Gourna
Médinet-Habou (temple of the million years of Ramsès {{III}})
Ramesséum (funerary temple of Ramsès {{II}})
Colossi of Memnon (vestiges of the funerary temple of Aménophis {{III}})
Deir el-Médineh (village of the craftsmen)

External resources

Theban Mapping Project, detailed charts of all the tombs of the valley and virtual visit in 3D with comments (in English)

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