Entrance to King Tut’s tomb discovered - Nov 04, 1922 - HISTORY.com Entrance to King Tut’s tomb discovered Share this: Entrance to King Tut’s tomb discovered Author Entrance to King Tut’s tomb discovered URL Publisher A+E Networks British archaeologist Howard Carter and his workmen discover a step leading to the tomb of King Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. When Carter first arrived in Egypt in 1891, most of the ancient Egyptian tombs had been discovered, though the little-known King Tutankhamen, who had died when he was 18, was still unaccounted for. After World War I, Carter began an intensive search for “King Tut’s Tomb,” finally finding steps to the burial room hidden in the debris near the entrance of the nearby tomb of King Ramses VI in the Valley of the Kings. On November 26, 1922, Carter and fellow archaeologist Lord Carnarvon entered the interior chambers of the tomb, finding them miraculously intact. Thus began a monumental excavation process in which Carter carefully explored the four-room tomb over several years, uncovering an incredible collection of several thousand objects.

The most splendid architectural find was a stone sarcophagus containing three coffins nested within each other. Inside the final coffin, which was made out of solid gold, was the mummy of the boy-king Tutankhamen, preserved for more than 3,000 years. Most of these treasures are now housed in the Cairo Museum. Related Videos Tomb discovered in Valley of the Kings - Wikinews, the free news source Tomb discovered in Valley of the Kings From Wikinews, the free news source you can write! Friday, February 10, 2006 The Valley of the Kings in Luxor Archaeologists have discovered a tomb, referred to as KV63 , in Egypt 's Valley of the Kings . It is the first such discovery since Howard Carter's 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun 's tomb. The discovery was made by a team from the University of Memphis . Zahi Hawass , head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities said in a statement that five intact sarcophagi that all contained mummies and 20 large storage jars that were sealed with pharaonic seals had been recovered.

American archaeologist Kent Weeks , who was not part of the team but had seen photographs of the site, told the Associated Press that "It could be the tomb of a king's wife or son, or of a priest or court official". The find refutes the long held belief that the Valley of the Kings has little left to discover. According to Weeks: "It's ironic. A century ago, people said the Valley of the Kings is exhausted, there's nothing left," he said. "Suddenly Carter found Tutankhamun. So then they said, 'Now there's nothing to find.' Then we found KV5 . Now we have KV63." KV63 is located in the area between KV10 ( Amenmesse ) and KV62 (Tutankhamun), in the very centre of the Valley's eastern branch and near the main crossroads of the network of paths traversed by thousands of tourists every day. The tomb was found at a depth of some three metres beneath the ground. The burial site is believed to date from the latter portion of the 18th dynasty (ca. 14th century BC ), but the occupants have not yet been identified.

Sources Valley of the Kings -- National Geographic Space The Pyramids of Giza and the Nile Delta were the tombs of choice for pharaohs of Egypt's Old Kingdom. But New Kingdom pharaohs, who wanted to be closer to the source of their dynastic roots in the south, built their crypts in the hills of this barren tract west of Luxor, now called the Valley of the Kings. Photograph by Kenneth Garrett By Brian Handwerk The ancient Egyptians built massive public monuments to their pharaohs. But they also spent time and treasure creating hidden underground mausoleums that no one was ever meant to see. The most famed collection of such elaborate tombs—the Valley of the Kings—lies on the Nile's west bank near Luxor. During Egypt's New Kingdom (1539-1075 B.C.) the valley became a royal burial ground for pharaohs such as Tutankhamun, Seti I, and Ramses II, as well as queens, high priests, and other elites of the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties.

The tombs evidence elaborate preparations for the next world, in which humans were promised continuing life and pharaohs were expected to become one with the gods. Mummification was used to preserve the body so that the deceased's eternal soul would be able to reanimate it in the afterlife. The underground tombs were also well stocked with all the material goods a ruler might need in the next world. Treasures—like the golden masks found with King Tut—are dazzling, but the tombs also contained the more mundane. "They included furniture, clothes (even underwear), and jewelry [though] it's curious that we have no books—from Tut at least," says Salima Ikram, a professor of Egyptology at American University in Cairo and a National Geographic grantee. Tombs were also well provisioned with enough food and drink, including wine and beer, for royal feasting in the next world, as well as sacred objects meant to help the deceased achieve eternal life, even favored companions. "[We find] pets buried nearby," Ikram says. "Hunting dogs, pet baboons, and gazelles." More Mysteries Await?

Tomb robbers, treasure hunters, and archaeologists have been combing the Valley of the Kings for centuries—yet it continues to yield surprises. Many thought that the 62 tombs discovered before 1922 represented all that would be found in the valley—until Howard Carter discovered the resting place of a boy king called King Tutankhamun. In 2005 a team led by archaeologist Otto Schaden discovered the valley's first unknown tomb since Tutankhamun's. The site, dubbed KV 63, was found only about 50 feet (15 meters) from the walls of Tut's resting place. KV 63 had no mummy but housed sarcophagi, pottery, linens, flowers, and other materials. Some believe it heralds the presence of another as yet undiscovered tomb. "KV 63 is an embalming cache; there must be a tomb to go with it," Ikram says. At least one late Ramesside pharaoh's tomb (Ramses VIII) is still undiscovered, and many believe it may be found within the valley.

Clues to such discoveries may be found in period Egyptian writings that mention notables who likely rated tombs but have not been identified. "You try to find out what hasn't been discovered, and figure out where they might possibly be, and then look in those areas," said David P. Silverman, an Egyptologist at the University of Pennsylvania. "You never know what you are going to find." But if more tombs are found, will they be as relatively unmolested as Tut's? The odds are against it. Though their entrances were well hidden, nearly all of the valley's known royal tombs were likely robbed before the end of the 20th dynasty—Egyptian records testify to robbers' trials and to the harsh punishments handed down. By the time the Greek writer Diodorus Siculus visited the valley's tombs (circa 60 B.C.) he wrote, "We found nothing there except the results of pillage and destruction." It's possible, perhaps, that any tomb yet to be found was so well hidden that it also escaped the notice of ancient thieves. Only time will tell.

Mummy Mystery: Multiple Tombs Hidden in Valley of Kings - Seeker Dec 5, 2013 09:10 AM ET Mummy Mystery: Multiple Tombs Hidden in Valley of Kings Multiple tombs lay hidden in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, where royalty were buried more than 3,000 years ago, awaiting discovery. Previous Next Przemyslaw Idzkiewicz, CC Attribution Share-Alike 2.5 Generic Multiple tombs await discovery in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, say researchers working on the most extensive exploration project in the valley since the 1920s. Rossella Lorenzi/Semmel Concerts King Tut's Mask "Tutankhamun: His Tomb and the Treasures" is a new exhibition now in Zurich that has meticulously reconstructed the tomb complex and its treasures. Specially trained craftspeople in Cairo built more than 1,000 exact replicas under scientific supervision. The work took over five years. Here is a replica of the famous mask of King Tut, weighing 24 lbs, which was pressed over the head of the king's bandaged mummy. The idealized portrait of the young king echoes the style of the late Amarna period.

The life-like eyes are formed by bright quartz, with obsidian inlays for the pupils. Rossella Lorenzi/Semmel Concerts King Tut, With Wife This scene, depicted on the backrest of King Tut's throne, shows how Tutankhamen used to lean back in a relaxed manner while his wife, Anchesenamun, stood beside him and rubbed ointment into his shoulder. Rossella Lorenzi/Semmel Concerts Tomb Discovery This is how the tomb of the boy king Tutankhamun appeared to archaeologist Howard Carter when he discovered it in 1922. Rossella Lorenzi/Semmel Concerts King Tut's Tomb in 3-D Tutankhamun's tomb and its contents, as viewed in a 3-D model. A corridor led to an antechamber and an annex filled with objects. The antechamber opened into the coffin chamber with King Tut's sarcophagus. The coffin chamber led to another small room filled with King Tut's treasures. Rossella Lorenzi/Semmel Concerts Treasures Galore Two tiny mummified female fetuses were found in the tomb with the king.

But they were not the only companions placed in the tomb for King Tut's journey to the afterlife. The boy king was buried with more than 5,000 priceless objects, including this treasure chest. Rossella Lorenzi/Semmel Concerts Boy Throne The famous gold throne found in the tomb was ordered when Tutankhamen became king at the age of nine. Rossella Lorenzi/Semmel Concerts Lion Head The dead king in the underworld was akin to the sun at night and, in the New Kingdom, this was identified with the god of death, Osiris. The heads of lions corresponded to the time the sun god spent in the body of the god of heaven in feline form. The facial details of the lion head –- the rims of the eyes, tip of the nose and tear ducts -- are given almost life-like properties through the use of glass. Rossella Lorenzi/Semmel Concerts Hired Help for the Afterlife These figures were supposed to take the place of the king in performing the daily tasks that came up in the afterlife. A total of 413 of these figures, known as ushabtis, were found in Tutankhamun's tomb.

Among the collection, 365 were responsible for carrying out day-to-day duties, 36 ushabtis served as overseers for groups of 10 workers each, and 12 acted as monthly supervisors Multiple tombs lay hidden in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, where royalty were buried more than 3,000 years ago, awaiting discovery, say researchers working on the most extensive exploration of the area in nearly a century. The hidden treasure may include several small tombs, with the possibility of a big-time tomb holding a royal individual, the archaeologists say. Egyptian archaeologists excavated the valley, where royalty were buried during the New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.), between 2007 and 2010 and worked with the Glen Dash Foundation for Archaeological Research to conduct ground- penetrating radar studies. ( See Photos of Egypt's Valley of the Kings ) Weird Facts About King Tut and His Mummy The team has already made a number of discoveries in the valley, including a flood control system that the ancient Egyptians created but, mysteriously, failed to maintain.

The system was falling apart by the time of King Tutankhamun , which damaged many tombs but appears to have helped protect the famous boy-king's treasures from robbers by sealing his tomb. The team collected a huge amount of data that will take a long time to analyze properly, wrote Afifi Ghonim, who was the field director of the project, in an email to LiveScience. "The corpus was so extensive it will take years, maybe decades, to fully study and report on," wrote Ghonim, an archaeologist with the Ministry of State for Antiquities in Egypt who is now chief inspector of Giza. The project is part of "the most extensive exploration in the Valley of the Kings since Howard Carter's time," he said, referring to the Egyptologist whose team discovered King Tut's tomb in 1922. Lost Egyptian Pyramids Found? The search for undiscovered tombs "The consensus is that there are probably several smaller tombs like the recently found KV 63 and 64 yet to be found. But there is still the possibility of finding a royal tomb," wrote Ghonim in the email.

"The queens of the late Eighteenth Dynasty are missing, as are some pharaohs of the New Kingdom, such as Ramesses VIII ." That sentiment was echoed by the famous, and at times controversial, Egyptologist Zahi Hawass at a lecture in Toronto this past summer. Hawass was the leader of the Valley of the Kings team. "The tomb of Thutmose II , not found yet, the tomb of Ramesses VIII is not found yet, all the queens of dynasty 18 [1550-1292 B.C.] were buried in the valley and their tombs not found yet," said Hawass, former minister for antiquities, during the lecture. "This could be another era for archaeology," he added in an interview. Ghonim said that it is hard to say how many tombs remain undiscovered but it is "more than just a couple." Locating tombs in the Valley of the Kings is difficult to do even with ground-penetrating radar, a non-destructive technique in which scientists bounce high-frequency radio waves off the ground and measure the reflected signals to find buried structures.

( 10 Modern Tools for Indiana Jones ) Multiple tombs await discovery in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, say researchers working on the most extensive exploration project in the valley since the 1920s. Przemyslaw Idzkiewicz, CC Attribution Share-Alike 2.5 Generic Radar instruments and related computing power have vastly improved in the last couple of decades, scientists say. Even so, it "is difficult to avoid false positives in a place like the Valley of the Kings. There (are) many faults and natural features that can look like walls and tombs. Our work did help refine the technology for use here and it does have a place." In one instance, radar work carried out by a previous team suggested that tombs dating from the Amarna period (the period within the New Kingdom in which Tutankhamun lived) could be found in a certain area of the main valley. The team excavated the spot but didn't find any tombs. When the undiscovered tombs — those that do exist — are unearthed, they may not hold their original occupants.

For instance, KV 64, a small tomb discovered in 2011by a University of Basel team, was found to hold a female singer named Nehmes Bastet who lived around 2,800 years ago. She apparently re-used a tomb that was created for an earlier, unknown, occupant. Mummy Mystery: Tombs Still Hidden in Valley of Kings Mummy Mystery: Multiple Tombs Hidden in Egypt's Valley of Kings By Owen Jarus, Live Science Contributor | December 4, 2013 09:43am ET MORE Multiple tombs await discovery in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, say researchers working on the most extensive exploration project in the valley since the 1920s. Their conclusion is based on excavations and ground-penetrating radar. Credit: Photo by Przemyslaw Idzkiewicz, CC Attribution Share-Alike 2.5 Generic Multiple tombs lay hidden in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, where royalty were buried more than 3,000 years ago, awaiting discovery, say researchers working on the most extensive exploration of the area in nearly a century.

The hidden treasure may include several small tombs, with the possibility of a big-time tomb holding a royal individual, the archaeologists say. Egyptian archaeologists excavated the valley, where royalty were buried during the New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.), between 2007 and 2010 and worked with the Glen Dash Foundation for Archaeological Research to conduct ground- penetrating radar studies. [ See Photos of Egypt's Valley of the Kings ] The team has already made a number of discoveries in the valley, including a flood control system that the ancient Egyptians created but, mysteriously, failed to maintain. The system was falling apart by the time of King Tutankhamun , which damaged many tombs but appears to have helped protect the famous boy-king's treasures from robbers by sealing his tomb. The team collected a huge amount of data that will take a long time to analyze properly, wrote Afifi Ghonim, who was the field director of the project, in an email to LiveScience.

"The corpus was so extensive it will take years, maybe decades, to fully study and report on," wrote Ghonim, an archaeologist with the Ministry of State for Antiquities in Egypt who is now chief inspector of Giza. The project is part of "the most extensive exploration in the Valley of the Kings since Howard Carter's time," he said, referring to the Egyptologist whose team discovered King Tut's tomb in 1922. The search for undiscovered tombs "The consensus is that there are probably several smaller tombs like the recently found KV 63 and 64 yet to be found. But there is still the possibility of finding a royal tomb," wrote Ghonim in the email. "The queens of the late Eighteenth Dynasty are missing, as are some pharaohs of the New Kingdom, such as Ramesses VIII ." That sentiment was echoed by the famous, and at times controversial, Egyptologist Zahi Hawass at a lecture in Toronto this past summer. Hawass was the leader of the Valley of the Kings team.

"The tomb of Thutmose II , not found yet, the tomb of Ramesses VIII is not found yet, all the queens of dynasty 18 [1550-1292 B.C.] were buried in the valley and their tombs not found yet," said Hawass, former minister for antiquities, during the lecture. "This could be another era for archaeology," he added in an interview. Ghonim said that it is hard to say how many tombs remain undiscovered but it is "more than just a couple." Locating tombs in the Valley of the Kings is difficult to do even with ground-penetrating radar, a non-destructive technique in which scientists bounce high-frequency radio waves off the ground and measure the reflected signals to find buried structures. [ 10 Modern Tools for Indiana Jones ] Radar instruments and related computing power have vastly improved in the last couple of decades, scientists say. Even so, it "is difficult to avoid false positives in a place like the Valley of the Kings. There (are) many faults and natural features that can look like walls and tombs.

Our work did help refine the technology for use here and it does have a place." In one instance, radar work carried out by a previous team suggested that tombs dating from the Amarna period (the period within the New Kingdom in which Tutankhamun lived) could be found in a certain area of the main valley. The team excavated the spot but didn't find any tombs. When the undiscovered tombs — those that do exist — are unearthed, they may not hold their original occupants. For instance, KV 64, a small tomb discovered in 2011by a University of Basel team, was found to hold a female singer named Nehmes Bastet who lived around 2,800 years ago. She apparently re-used a tomb that was created for an earlier, unknown, occupant. Still, Ghonim said they could indeed find a tomb whose original occupants are buried within. "It is not impossible however for one or more to be intact," he said. And if they do find such pharaohs, they may also find their brains, as work by Hawass and Dr.

Sahar Saleem of Cairo Universitysuggests the Egyptians didn't remove the brains of their dead pharaohs in the mummification process . An ancient flood control system While the prospect of new tombs is tantalizing, they are but one of many things the researchers looked for in the valley. Last spring, the researchers gave a taste of what was to come at the Current Research in Egyptology conference at the University of Cambridge. We "made a number of finds, which we believe will change our understanding of how the ancient Egyptians managed and utilized the site," Ghonim wrote in the email. Not only did the archaeologists look for new tombs in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, but they discovered evidence of an ancient flood control system, the remains of workers' huts and numerous graffiti (an example seen here), among other findings. Credit: Photo courtesy Afifi Ghonim The researchers discovered, for instance, the ancient Egyptians created a flood control system in the valley that, for a time, prevented the tombs from being damaged by water and debris. They detected a deep channel that would have run through the valley about 32 feet (10 meters) below the modern-day surface.

As part of their anti-flood measures the Egyptians would have emptied this channel of debris and built side channels that diverted water into it, allowing water and debris to pass through the valley without causing damage. [ Images: Beautiful Sarcophagus of an Egypt Pharaoh ] Strangely enough, the ancient Egyptians "for some reason after building it, they let it fall into disrepair rather quickly. By (the) time Tutankhamun was buried, flooding events had become a problem again," Ghonim said. "That was bad for most tombs, but good for Tutankhamun since, at least according to one theory, flooding events effectively sealed the tomb and made it inaccessible to later tomb robbers ." Today flood control is still a problem in the Valley of the Kings, and scientists are looking at ways to protect the tombs. "There have been many studies recommending what to do, but the need to keep the valley open and the costs involved remain a problem. There's also the need to develop a consensus on such an important thing," Ghonim said.

More discoveries and challenges Many more finds will be detailed in scientific publications in the future, including the excavation of huts used by the workers who built the tombs and the documentation of graffiti left throughout the valley's history. One important challenge that Egyptian antiquities in general face is the need to bring tourists back to Egypt. In June, at a lecture at Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum , Hawass explained such tourist money not only helps Egypt's economy but also provides much needed funds for excavation and conservation. The flow of tourists has been disrupted at times since the 2011 revolution as the political turmoil has kept many foreign visitors away. The lecture by Hawass was given a few weeks before the ouster of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi. Archaeologists enter tomb of King Tut - Nov 26, 1922 - HISTORY.com Archaeologists enter tomb of King Tut Share this: Archaeologists enter tomb of King Tut Author Archaeologists enter tomb of King Tut URL Publisher A+E Networks In Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, British archaeologists Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon become the first souls to enter King Tutankhamen’s tomb in more than 3,000 years.

Tutankhamen’s sealed burial chambers were miraculously intact, and inside was a collection of several thousand priceless objects, including a gold coffin containing the mummy of the teenage king. When Carter first arrived in Egypt, in 1891, most of the ancient Egyptian tombs had been discovered, and the majority of these had been hopelessly plundered by tomb raiders over the millennia. However, Carter was a brilliant excavator, and in the first years of the 20th century he discovered the tombs of Queen Hatshepsut and King Thutmose IV. Around 1907, he became associated with the Earl of Carnarvon, a collector of antiquities who commissioned Carter to supervise excavations in the Valley of the Kings. By 1913, most experts felt there was nothing in the Valley left to be uncovered. Carter, however, persisted in his efforts, convinced that the tomb of the little-known King Tutankhamen might still be found. King Tutankhamen was enthroned in 1333 B.C. when he was still a child.

He died a decade later at the age of 18 and thus made only a faint impression on the history of ancient Egypt. In the 13th century B.C., Tutankhamen and the other “Amarna” kings were publicly condemned, and most records of them were destroyed–including the location of Tutankhamen’s tomb. A century later, in the 12th century B.C., workers building a tomb for Ramses VI inadvertently covered Tutankhamen’s tomb with a deep layer of chips, further protecting it from future discovery. After World War I, Carter began an intensive search for Tutankhamen’s tomb and on November 4, 1922, discovered a step leading to its entrance. Lord Carnarvon rushed to Egypt, and on November 23 they broke through a mud-brick door, revealing the passageway that led to Tutankhamen’s tomb. There was evidence that robbers had entered the structure at some point, and the archaeologists feared they had discovered yet another pillaged tomb. However, on November 26 they broke through another door, and Carter leaned in with a candle to take a look.

Behind him, Lord Carnarvon asked, “Can you see anything?” Carter replied, “Yes, wonderful things.” It was the antechamber of Tutankhamen’s tomb, and it was gloriously untouched. The dusty floor still showed the footprints of the tomb builders who left the room more than 3,000 years before. Apparently, the robbers who had broken into Tutankhamen’s tomb had done so soon after it was completed and were caught before moving into the interior chambers and causing serious damage. Thus began a monumental excavation process in which Carter carefully explored the four-room tomb over several years, uncovering an incredible collection of several thousand objects. In addition to numerous pieces of jewelry and gold, there was statuary, furniture, clothes, a chariot, weapons, and numerous other objects that shed a brilliant light on the culture and history of ancient Egypt. The most splendid find was a stone sarcophagus containing three coffins nested within each other. Inside the final coffin, made out of solid gold, was the mummified body of the boy-king Tutankhamen, preserved for 3,200 years. Most of these treasures are now housed in the Cairo Museum.

Related Videos Valley of the Kings | archaeological site, Egypt | Britannica.com Valley of the Kings Alternative Titles: Wādī al-Bībān al-Mulūk, Wādī Al-Mulūk Related Topics Africa Valley of the Kings, Arabic Wādī Al-Mulūk, also called Valley of the Tombs of the Kings or Arabic Wādī Bībān al-Mulūk, long narrow defile just west of the Nile River in Upper Egypt . It was part of the ancient city of Thebes and was the burial site of almost all the kings ( pharaohs ) of the 18th , 19th , and 20th dynasties (1539–1075 bce), from Thutmose I to Ramses X . Located in the hills behind Dayr al-Baḥrī , the 62 known tombs exhibit variety both in plan and in decoration. In 1979 UNESCO designated the valley part of the World Heritage site of ancient Thebes, which also includes Luxor , the Valley of the Queens , and Karnak .

Tutankhamun’s tomb (lower left) in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor (ancient Thebes), Egypt. © Robert Holmes A discussion of some of the most important sites associated with ancient Egypt. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Valley of the Kings, Egypt, designated a World Heritage site in 1979. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Overview of the Valley of the Kings, Egypt. Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz The kings of the New Kingdom (c. 1539–1075 bce), fearing for the safety of their rich burials, adopted a new plan of concealing their tombs in a lonely valley in the western hills behind Dayr al-Baḥrī. There, in tombs sunk deep into the heart of the mountain, pharaohs were interred, as were several queens, a few officials of high rank, and the numerous sons of Ramses II . The plan of the tombs varies considerably but consists essentially of a descending corridor interrupted by deep shafts to baffle robbers and by pillared chambers or vestibules.

At the farther end of the corridor is a burial chamber with a stone sarcophagus in which the royal mummy was laid and store chambers around which furniture and equipment were stacked for the king’s use in the next world. Similar Topics Oxyrhynchus The walls were in many cases covered with sculptured and painted scenes depicting the dead king in the presence of deities, especially the gods of the underworld, and with illustrated magical texts similar to those found in funerary papyri , designed to help him on his journey through the nether regions. There were a number of these texts; they represent differing but not necessarily conflicting views of the afterlife, in which the king had to undergo trials and surmount perils. In the “ Book of That Which Is in the Underworld,” for instance, he travels in the boat of the sun god through 12 divisions that represent the 12 hours of the night. In the “ Book of Gates,” giant serpents guard the portals through which the sun has to pass as strange demons help or hinder the boat on its way.

Other funerary compositions include the “Book of Day” and the “ Book of Night,” which depict Nut , the sky-goddess, spread out across the heavens, as well as the “ Book of the Heavenly Cow,” in which Nut is transformed into a cow on whom Re ascends to the firmament. Astronomical figures decorate the ceilings of several burial chambers. Virtually all the tombs in the valley were cleared out in antiquity. Some had been partially robbed during the New Kingdom, but all were systematically denuded of their contents in the 21st dynasty , in an effort to protect the royal mummies and to recycle the rich funerary goods back into the royal treasury. In the time of Strabo (1st century bce), Greek travelers were able to visit 40 of the tombs. Several tombs were reused by Coptic monks, who left their own inscriptions on the walls. Only the little tomb of Tutankhamun (reigned 1333–23 bce), located on the floor of the valley and protected by a pile of rock chippings thrown down from a later Ramesside tomb, escaped pillage.

The wonderful treasures that were exhumed from Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 and that now reside in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo vividly indicate how rich the burial of a great pharaoh of the empire’s heyday must have been. The longest tomb (number 20) belongs to Queen Hatshepsut (reigned c. 1472–58), whose burial chamber is nearly 700 feet (215 metres) from the entrance and descends 320 feet (100 metres) into the rock. Tutankhamun, gold funerary mask found in the king’s tomb, 14th century bce; in the Egyptian … © Lee Boltin Mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut in the Valley of the Kings, Thebes, Egypt. © Vova Pomortzeff/Shutterstock.com Valley of the Kings (New Book of Knowledge) | Scholastic News Edition 4 | Scholastic.com EMAIL The Valley of the Kings is the burial place for pharaohs from ancient Egypt's New Kingdom (1570-1070 B.C.).

(The New Kingdom was a period of Egyptian history that included the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties.) It is located on the west bank of the Nile River opposite the modern town of Luxor (ancient Thebes). This dry and desolate place is one of the richest archaeological sites on Earth. The Tombs There are more than sixty tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Some were carved into the mountainsides, others into the valley floor. Each tomb is assigned a number, preceded by the letters "KV" (King's Valley). When a new tomb is discovered it is given the next number in sequence. This system was established in the 1800's by British Egyptologist John Gardner Wilkinson. The tombs in the Valley were made in many different shapes and sizes. They usually consisted of a combination of corridors and chambers. The tomb of Queen Hatshepsut (KV 20), who ruled Egypt as king, contains a curving central corridor nearly a quarter mile long. The largest tomb yet discovered in the valley is called KV 5. It was not built for a pharaoh, however. It was built for the sons of the pharaoh Ramses II.

For more information, see the feature accompanying this article. Most of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings were decorated with religious texts. These texts were intended to guide the pharaoh into the afterlife. They included the Book of the Dead and the Book of Gates. Many tombs were also decorated with brightly painted relief carvings featuring the pharaoh and various gods. In the tomb of Seti I (KV 17) the ceiling of the burial chamber features a painting of the night sky with all the Egyptian constellations. Buried with the pharaohs was everything they would need to exist comfortably in the afterlife. This included furniture, preserved food, games, jars of wine, cosmetics, and many kinds of jewelry made of precious metals and semiprecious stones. These last items in particular made the tombs tempting targets for robbers. Almost every tomb was robbed and emptied of its contents in ancient times. The most famous exception is the tomb of Tutankhamen (KV 62). His tomb was discovered essentially intact in 1922 by Egyptologist Howard Carter. Not every tomb in the Valley of the Kings was constructed for a pharaoh or other royalty.

In rare cases, a commoner who served the pharaoh well might be rewarded with a small tomb in the Valley. Maiherperi, a royal fan-bearer under Thutmose IV, was buried in tomb KV 36. The non-royal parents of Queen Tiy were buried in KV 46. History The first pharaoh to be buried in the Valley of the Kings was Thutmose I. He knew that all the pyramid tombs of the previous pharaohs had been robbed. (The pyramids were large, obvious targets for tomb robbers.) So Thutmose decided to be buried in a secret, isolated location: the Valley of the Kings. The architect of this tomb (possibly KV 38) was Ineni. Ineni wrote on the walls of his own tomb that he built Thutmose's tomb with "No one seeing, no one knowing." Some scholars have suggested that to keep the tomb s location a secret, Ineni used captured foreigners as workers and had them killed when the tomb was completed. The final tomb built in the Valley of the Kings was for Ramses XI (KV 4). He was the last ruler of the 20th dynasty.

At the end of the 20th dynasty, Egypt began a steady decline. The government could no longer afford to guard the Valley of the Kings. The tombs were robbed and the Valley was abandoned as the burial place of Egypt's kings. Over the centuries many of the tombs became lost to history. Some were covered or filled by rocks and other debris washed in by the heavy rains that occasionally occur in the Valley. Tutankhamen's tomb remained hidden for so long because its entrance had been covered by debris left from the building of another tomb nearby. The Valley Today After thousands of years, the Valley of the Kings still holds secrets. In 2005, a short shaft was discovered not far from the tomb of Tutankhamen. At the bottom of the shaft was a single small chamber. The chamber (KV 63) was not the burial place of a king, however, and no mummy was found inside. Instead, it was what Egyptologists call an embalmers cache. It contained an assortment of materials used in the mummification process. These included dozens of jars of natron (the salt used to dry a body for mummification), bandages, and coffins of various sizes.

Egyptologists will continue to work in the Valley of the Kings for many years to come, studying previously discovered tombs and searching for still-hidden tombs and other treasures. —Bob Brier Mummy mystery: Multiple tombs hidden in Egypt's Valley of Kings | Fox News Mummy mystery: Multiple tombs hidden in Egypt's Valley of Kings Published December 05, 2013 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Email Print Multiple tombs await discovery in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, say researchers working on the most extensive exploration project in the valley since the 1920s. Their conclusion is based on excavations and ground-penetrating radar. (Photo by Przemyslaw Idzkiewicz, CC Attribution Share-Alike 2.5 Generic) Multiple tombs lay hidden in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, where royalty were buried more than 3,000 years ago, awaiting discovery, say researchers working on the most extensive exploration of the area in nearly a century. The hidden treasure may include several small tombs, with the possibility of a big-time tomb holding a royal individual, the archaeologists say.

Egyptian archaeologists excavated the valley, where royalty were buried during the New Kingdom (1550 - 1070 B.C.), between 2007 and 2010 and worked with the Glen Dash Foundation for Archaeological Research to conduct ground- penetrating radar studies. [ See Photos of Egypt's Valley of the Kings ] The team has already made a number of discoveries in the valley, including a flood control system that the ancient Egyptians created but, mysteriously, failed to maintain. The system was falling apart by the time of King Tutankhamun, which damaged many tombs but appears to have helped protect the famous boy-king's treasures from robbers by sealing his tomb. [pullquote] Tomb of ancient Egyptian princess discovered The team collected a huge amount of data that will take a long time to analyze properly, wrote Afifi Ghonim, who was the field director of the project, in an email to LiveScience. "The corpus was so extensive it will take years, maybe decades, to fully study and report on," wrote Ghonim, an archaeologist with the Ministry of State for Antiquities in Egypt who is now chief inspector of Giza.

The project is part of "the most extensive exploration in the Valley of the Kings since Howard Carter's time," he said, referring to the Egyptologist whose team discovered King Tut's tomb in 1922. The search for undiscovered tombs "The consensus is that there are probably several smaller tombs like the recently found KV 63 and 64 yet to be found. But there is still the possibility of finding a royal tomb," wrote Ghonim in the email. "The queens of the late Eighteenth Dynasty are missing, as are some pharaohs of the New Kingdom, such as Ramesses VIII." That sentiment was echoed by the famous, and at times controversial, Egyptologist Zahi Hawass at a lecture in Toronto this past summer. Hawass was the leader of the Valley of the Kings team. "The tomb of Thutmose II, not found yet, the tomb of Ramesses VIII is not found yet, all the queens of dynasty 18 [1550 - 1292 B.C.] were buried in the valley and their tombs not found yet," said Hawass, former minister for antiquities, during the lecture.

"This could be another era for archaeology," he added in an interview. Ghonim said that it is hard to say how many tombs remain undiscovered but it is "more than just a couple." Locating tombs in the Valley of the Kings is difficult to do even with ground-penetrating radar, a non-destructive technique in which scientists bounce high-frequency radio waves off the ground and measure the reflected signals to find buried structures. [ 10 Modern Tools for Indiana Jones ] Radar instruments and related computing power have vastly improved in the last couple of decades, scientists say. Even so, it "is difficult to avoid false positives in a place like the Valley of the Kings. There (are) many faults and natural features that can look like walls and tombs. Our work did help refine the technology for use here and it does have a place." In one instance, radar work carried out by a previous team suggested that tombs dating from the Amarna period (the period within the New Kingdom in which Tutankhamun lived) could be found in a certain area of the main valley. The team excavated the spot but didn't find any tombs.

When the undiscovered tombs those that do exist are unearthed, they may not hold their original occupants. For instance, KV 64, a small tomb discovered in 2011by a University of Basel team, was found to hold a female singer named Nehmes Bastet who lived around 2,800 years ago. She apparently re-used a tomb that was created for an earlier, unknown, occupant. Still, Ghonim said they could indeed find a tomb whose original occupants are buried within. "It is not impossible however for one or more to be intact," he said. And if they do find such pharaohs, they may also find their brains, as work by Hawass and Dr. Sahar Saleem of Cairo Universitysuggests the Egyptians didn't remove the brains of their dead pharaohs in the mummification process . An ancient flood control system While the prospect of new tombs is tantalizing, they are but one of many things the researchers looked for in the valley. Last spring, the researchers gave a taste of what was to come at the Current Research in Egyptology conference at the University of Cambridge.

We "made a number of finds, which we believe will change our understanding of how the ancient Egyptians managed and utilized the site," Ghonim wrote in the email. The researchers discovered, for instance, the ancient Egyptians created a flood control system in the valley that, for a time, prevented the tombs from being damaged by water and debris. They detected a deep channel that would have run through the valley about 32 feet (10 meters) below the modern-day surface. As part of their anti-flood measures the Egyptians would have emptied this channel of debris and built side channels that diverted water into it, allowing water and debris to pass through the valley without causing damage. [ Images: Beautiful Sarcophagus of an Egypt Pharaoh ] Strangely enough, the ancient Egyptians "for some reason after building it, they let it fall into disrepair rather quickly. By (the) time Tutankhamun was buried, flooding events had become a problem again," Ghonim said.

"That was bad for most tombs, but good for Tutankhamun since, at least according to one theory, flooding events effectively sealed the tomb and made it inaccessible to later tomb robbers." Today flood control is still a problem in the Valley of the Kings, and scientists are looking at ways to protect the tombs. "There have been many studies recommending what to do, but the need to keep the valley open and the costs involved remain a problem. There's also the need to develop a consensus on such an important thing," Ghonim said. More discoveries and challenges Many more finds will be detailed in scientific publications in the future, including the excavation of huts used by the workers who built the tombs and the documentation of graffiti left throughout the valley's history. One important challenge that Egyptian antiquities in general face is the need to bring tourists back to Egypt. In June, at a lecture at Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum , Hawass explained such tourist money not only helps Egypt's economy but also provides much needed funds for excavation and conservation. The flow of tourists has been disrupted at times since the 2011 revolution as the political turmoil has kept many foreign visitors away.

The lecture by Hawass was given a few weeks before the ouster of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi. Copyright 2013 LiveScience , a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Question: Who was the Egyptian king whose tomb an treasures were discovered in the Valley of the Kings in 1922?
Answer: Tutankhamen