Detailed description and hieroglyphic texts of the first discoveries of the Osireion – Small Objects and Graffiti .. Part ( 10 )

The Small Objects

A few small objects were found in the filling of the passages and halls, apparently having been thrown away as mere rubbish . The building itself had evidently been rifled, and every object removed, whether of value or not .

Detailed description and hieroglyphic texts of the first discoveries of the Osireion – The Passages .. Part ( 9 )

The Sloping and The Northern Passages

The sloping passage leading from the hall towards the Temple of Seti was inscribed on the South side with the 17^th chapter, on the North side with the 99^th chapter, of the Book of the Dead .

Detailed description and hieroglyphic texts of the first discoveries of the Osireion – The Great Hall .. Part ( 8 )

The Great Hall

The Great Hall, the floor of which was more than forty feet below the surface of the desert, was fifteen feet wide, thirty-four feet long, and seventeen feet high . There were three doorways, one to the south, leading to the South Chamber ; one to the east, to the sloping passage ; one to the north, to the north passage .

Detailed description and hieroglyphic texts of the first discoveries of the Osireion – The South Chamber .. Part ( 7 )

The South Chamber

The chamber south of the Great Hall is sculptured on the east, south, and west walls with the 168^th chapter of the " Book of the Dead " . At first sight the arrangement appears confused, but a closer examination shows a very definite order .

The Osireion - The Central Hall and related annexes .. Part ( 6 )

The Central Hall

From the First Transverse Chamber a short passage leads eastward into the grand imposing Central Hall of the Cenotaph . This is a three-aisled chamber, 100 feet by 65 feet, surrounded by seventeen small cells, of which one, the middle one of the end wall, has been pierced to give access to a further transverse chamber .

The Osireion - The West Section .. Part ( 5 )

About the Site

Behind the temple of Seti I, and at a distance of only 26 feet from its wall behind the seven sanctuaries and Osiris chambers, lies a very remarkable building, which was discovered in 1902-3 by Prof. Margaret Alice Murray and Sir Flinders Petrie, partly excavated in 1911-1914 by Dr. Henri Édouard Naville, for the Egypt Exploration Society, and in 1925-1926 by Dr. Henri Frankfort, for the same society .

The Temple of Ramses II at Abydos ( Part 4 )

The richness and beauty of the temple

The temple of Ramses II, which was erected early in that king's reign, lies a short distance to the north-west of that of Seti I .

The Temple of Seti I at Abydos .. ( Part 3 )

The sanctuaries, and south wall of the second Hypostyle Hall

One should now enter the first sanctuary at the west end, which was dedicated to Horus . On its walls Seti is shown worshipping that god ; and especially noticeable are the beautiful reliefs on the east side (29), where one sees the sacred barque of Horus standing in its shrine, the king burning incense before it, while below he makes various offerings to Horus and Isis .

The Temple of Seti I at Abydos .. ( Part 2 )

Historical notes

When Seti I, the second king of a new dynasty, came to the throne, he must have realised that he could offer no better proof of the legitimacy of his descent from the ancient Pharaohs of Egypt than by displaying an active regard for their souls' welfare .

Abydos .. Part ( 1 )

El-Balyana ( Baliana ), 321½ miles from Cairo by rail, 354 by river, it is located about 6.8 miles ( 11 kilometers ) west of the Nile , it is a small town in the Sohag Governorate, is the starting-point for the visit to Abydos, which is one of the most interesting of Ancient Egyptian sites,

El-Amarna - The Boundary Stelae : The Stelae's Description .. Part ( 29 )

This is the last part in El-Amarna . Please Note : The letters A, B, F, J, K, M, N, P, Q, R, S, U, V and X Refers to the boundary stelae .

C. Description of the Stelae

These monuments are of an almost invariable form, of which Plate 26 gives an excellent example . They are rounded at the top, and the sky from which Aten sends his divergent rays on the altar and on the royal pair is correspondingly arched .

El-Amarna - The Boundary Stelae : Their Distribution, History and Contents .. Part ( 28 )

Please Note : The letters A, B, F, J, K, M, N, P, Q, R, S, U, V and X Refers to the boundary stelae .

The southern tombs of El Amarna .. The Unknown and Unimportant Tombs .. Part ( 27 )

The tomb No. 15 ( Plates 38, 39 )

Tomb No. 15 is that of Suti I, who may be distinguished by a numeral from Suti, or Sutau, who was Overseer of the Treasury, and whose tomb is No. 19 . This tomb is of the cross-corridor type, with the head of the T coming first, and the columned hall forming the leg behind, and with the addition behind of a large columnar hall, or at least the rough commencement of one .

The southern tombs of El Amarna .. The Tomb of Ay ( No. 25 ) .. Part ( 26 )

A. General notes

Tomb No. 25 is important, not for its condition, for it is unfinished, but for its owner, who was that Ay ( Eye ) who, after serving Akhenaten in the king's youth, and being a supporter of his religious policy all through, finally succeeded to the throne after the death of Tutankhamun, and has his actual burial-place in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes, where it is No. 23, known as ' The Tomb of the Apes ' .

The southern tombs of El Amarna .. The Tomb of Any ( No. 23 ) .. Part ( 25 )

Tomb No. 23 belongs to Any ( or Eny ) . The position of this tomb will best be learnt from the map ( Plate 13-c ) . A broad road leads to it from the river, marking out the spot as the site of an important tomb .

The southern tombs of El Amarna .. The Tomb of May ( No. 14 ) .. Part ( 24 )

A. Previous Work

The existence of this large tomb ( No. 14 ) must have been patent to visitors at all periods ; but as the entrance was almost completely blocked with sand, what was visible was extremely unpromising, and the tomb was not cleared by M. Urbain Bouriant in 1883 . This task, however, was carried out by M. Alessandro Barsanti ten years later, and M. Georges Émile Jules Daressy published most of the texts of this tomb of a " flabellifère ", but not his name, for he found it erased from the inscriptions .

The southern tombs of El Amarna .. The Tomb of Nekht-pa-Aten ( No. 12 ) – The Tomb Of Nefer-kheperu-her-sekheper ( No. 13 ) .. Part ( 23 )

The Tomb of Nekht-pa-Aten ( No. 12 )

Tomb No. 12 belongs to Nekht-pa-Aten . This tomb, which was to have been of the same type as Tombs 10 and 13, has only had its facade and entrance completed . Inside there is a small area of floor, and the upper parts of three columns have been detached and remain as square pillars of rock .

The southern tombs of El Amarna .. The Tomb of Apy ( No. 10 ) – The Tomb Of Ramose ( No. 11 ) .. Part ( 22 )

The Tomb of Apy ( No. 10 )

A. Architectural Features ( Plate 30 )

Tomb No. 10 belongs to Apy ( or Ipy ), who was ' Royal Scribe and Steward ', not quite so big a man as some of his fellows . This tomb as it stands is small, simple, and rude . Only the door and entrance-way are completed and decorated . The passage to it through the rock slope has not yet been cut down to the floor-level, so that one descends by rough steps into the tomb .

The southern tombs of El Amarna .. The Tomb of Mahu ( No. 9 ) .. Part ( 21 )

A. Site and Condition of the Tomb

Tomb No. 9 belongs to Mahu or Meh, who was Akhenaten's chief of police . This tomb was opened by M. Urbain Bouriant in 1883 for the first time . Norman De Garis Davies has suggested that it was because the head of the New Scotland Yard at Akhetaten knew better than any one else ' the risk, or rather the certainty, that his tomb would be plundered after his death ' that he chose its location in such an inconspicuous position .

The southern tombs of El Amarna .. The Tomb of Tutu ( No. 8 ) .. Part ( 20 )

Tomb No. 8 is that of Tutu, who may be the Dudu who figures somewhat suspiciously in Aziru's correspondence in the Amarna Tablets, and lies under grave suspicion of having been at least rather less than loyal in his dealings with his royal master .

The southern tombs of El Amarna .. The Tomb of Parennefer ( No. 7 ) .. Part ( 19 )

Tomb No.7 is that of Parennefer, who was ' Royal craftsman, Washer of hands of His Majesty ' . This tomb is the northernmost of the tombs of the South Group, being excavated at the extreme end of the line of foot-hills ( Plate 13-c ) . Lying high up on a steep slope, its entrance was probably always traceable, if not actually open . A road which leads from it to the city across the plain helps to mark down the site . The name of the owner is injured wherever it occurs .

El-Amarna - The southern group of the rock tombs .. Part ( 18 )

1.  Situation :-

We now move southwards towards the southern group of tombs, they are located off three miles from the south of the northern group . On our way we notice, about the centre of the arc formed by the high desert behind the city, a long and narrow promontory jutting out from the high ground, and enclosing at its broader western point a small hollow .

The rock tombs of El Amarna .. The Tomb of Penehsy ( No. 6 ) – The Sculptured Scenes .. Part ( 17 )

B. The Sculptured Scenes

1.  The Entrance Portal ( Plates 5, 6 ) .

The rock tombs of El Amarna .. The Tomb of Penehsy ( No. 6 ) – The Architectural Features .. Part ( 16 )

The last of the important tombs of the northern group is No. 6, that of Penehsy . its architectural features must have been almost exactly like those of Meryra I, consisting of a large hall, a second hall ( both columned ), and a shrine .

The rock tombs of El Amarna .. The Tomb of Penthu ( No. 5 ) .. Part ( 15 )

A – Architectural Features

Exterior . ( Plates 1, 2 )

This tomb is hewn in the cliff, 60 yards or thereabouts to the South of No. 4 ( Meryra ) . The rock here forms an overhanging face about 30 feet high, and by cutting back the foot-slope on the left hand a vertical wall 70 feet long and 15 feet high was gained for a façade with but little labour .

The rock tombs of El Amarna .. The Tomb of Meryra I ( No. 4 ) .. Part ( 14 )

A. Historical Notes

Close to the tomb of Ahmose lies the Tomb No. 4, which is that of Meryra I, which is one of the largest, and perhaps the most important of the whole series .

The rock tombs of El Amarna .. The Tomb of Ahmose ( No. 3 ) .. Part ( 13 )

A. Historical Notes

We now cross the mouth of the valley which here divides the northern group into two, and proceed south-eastwards along the cliffs to the Tomb No. 3, which is that of Ahmose, who was Veritable Scribe of the King, Fan-bearer on the right hand of the King, Superintendent of the Court-house, and Steward of the House of Akhenaten, a very important and confidential servant of the Pharaoh indeed, and closely attached to his person .

The rock tombs of El Amarna .. The Tomb of Meryra II ( No. 2 ) – The East and North Wall .. Part ( 12 )

4.  The Tribute of the Nations - East Wall . ( Plates 37 comprising Plates 38 to 40, and 47 ) .

The rock tombs of El Amarna .. The Tomb of Meryra II ( No. 2 ) .. Part ( 11 )

Historical Notes

Tomb No. 2 is that the Meryra II, who should be distinguished from his namesake Meryra I, who was a very much bigger man, being " High-priest of the Aten in Akhetaten, and Bearer of the Fan in the right hand of the King " . His tomb is No. 4 on the other side of the ravine in the northern group . Our Meryra II is merely a Royal Scribe and Superintendent of the Royal Harem .

The rock tombs of El Amarna .. The Tomb of Huya ( No. 1 ) .. Part ( 10 )

The No. 1 of the list is the tomb of Huya, who, according to the inscriptions in it, was Superintendent of the Royal Harem, Superintendent of the Treasury, and Superintendent of the House – all the offices being held in connexion with the household, not of the Pharaoh, but of his mother Queen Tiy .

El-Amarna - The Private Houses .. The Official Residence of a Noble – Workmen's Houses – Foreigners' Houses .. Part ( 9 )

Such was the estate of a private individual – not a particularly wealthy one perhaps, but nevertheless quite a warm man . And every private house conforms to the principles just described . A prince might have a dozen columns in his entrance hall and a few more rooms, a poor man was content with a hovel consisting of a central room with mere cubby-holes opening off it, but the principle of a main living-room surrounded by others to keep it cool is invariable .

El-Amarna - The Private Houses .. The Typical Private Estate .. Part ( 8 )

From Palaces and Temples we descend to private houses . These are best studied in the North Suburb, for not only is that the one section of the city to be completely excavated, but the houses on the whole belong to the middle classes and display perfectly the essentials of the Amarna house without the elaborations and additions of the nobleman's mansion .

El-Amarna - The public buildings .. The Small Temple – The Temple Magazines – Maru-Aten – The North Palace .. Part ( 7 )

In connection with the King's House was the smaller temple – the Chapel Royal one might almost call it – of Hat-Aten . The main entrance to this is on the Royal Road, but, as we have seen, the King had a private entrance from his own house, and so had the priests from their quarters to the South .

El-Amarna - The public buildings .. Penehsy House – Records Office – The Great Palace – The Kings Palace – The Royal Magazines .. Part ( 6 )

The royal estate are consists of The House of Penehsy, The Great Palace, The King's House, The Royal Magazines and The Priests' Quarters .

El-Amarna - The public buildings .. The Great Temple .. Part ( 5 )

Before we begin to discuss the various types of buildings it would be advisable to say a word about the building methods and materials . Tell el-Amarna is a city of mud brick . Only in very exceptional circumstances was stone used .

El-Amarna - The City of Akhenaten .. The North Suburb – The South Suburb– The Workmen's Village – The Royal Tomb .. Part ( 4 )

The Northern Group of tombs lies on either side of a bold gap in the line of hills through which a mountain-track across the ridge from El-Sheikh Said enters the plain of El-Amarna . It includes some of the best and most important tombs, such as those of Huya, Meryra ( I and II ), Ahmose, Penehsy, and Penthu .

El-Amarna - The City of Akhenaten .. The Main City – The North City - The Tombs - The Altars – The Tomb Chapels .. Part ( 3 )

When the city of Akhenaten grew and the population increased it naturally expanded towards the North, occupying an area beyond the wady north of the Great Temple but still within easy reach of the centre of the city . To this area the name of the North Suburb has been given . That it is a later expansion is proved not only by the comparatively high proportion of objects bearing the names of Akhenaten's immediate successors, but also by the fact that, as we have seen, it was still spreading northwards when the city was deserted .

El-Amarna - The City of Akhenaten .. General Thoroughfares and The Limits of The City – The Central – The Official Quarters .. ( Part 2 )

The site chosen by Akhenaten for his new capital lies about halfway between Cairo and Luxor on the East bank of the Nile . Here the cliffs of the high desert recede from the river, leaving a great semicircle about eight miles long and three broad .

El-Amarna – Historical Notes .. Part ( 1 )

We are now within the sacred territory of Akhenaten's holy city, Akhetaten, better known to most people as El-Amarna . The present appearance of this once great and famous city is not imposing . The area is located on the east bank of the Nile River in the modern Egyptian province of Minya, some 58 km ( 36 miles ) south of the city of al-Minya .

Tombs : KV59 – KV60 - KV61 .. The last part of The Valley of the Kings

Are unidentified and uninscribed, but KV60 was known for the nurse " Sit-Ra, called In ", and it contained burials of the nurses of Tuthmosis IV or Hatshepsut .

KV56 : The Gold Tomb & KV58 : The Chariot Tomb .. Part ( 36 )

KV56 – The Gold Tomb

In 5 January 1908, Mr. Edward Russell Ayrton and Mr. Theodore Monroe Davis discovered in this tomb part of the jewellery of Queen Tausret and Seti II, which had perhaps been cached here by Setnakht, when he usurped KV14, the queen's tomb . This tomb is uninscribed and unidentified .

Tombs : KV49 – KV50 – KV51 – KV52 - KV53 .. Part ( 35 )

These are all small uninscribed tomb, of no interest to the visitor . Nos. 50, 51, and 52 contained the mummified bodies of royal pets, monkeys, dogs, an ibis, and some ducks, so they called " The Animal Tombs " .

Tombs : KV37 – KV40 – KV41 – KV44 - KV45 - KV48 .. Part ( 34 )

KV37 – Unknown

The tomb was discovered on 1899 by Victor Loret, and the excavation was made by Loret for the Service des Antiquités on 1899 .

KV36 – Tomb of Maiherperi .. Part ( 33 )

Also known as the Standard-Bearer ( or Fan-Bearer ) to the King . Maiherperi must have been high in favour with Queen Hatshepsut to be allowed a tomb in the valley . His funerary furniture, including a specially fine copy of The Book of the Dead, with coloured vignettes, found in the tomb, and Maiherperi's canopic chest of resin-coated wood with gilded details, now occupies several cases in U 17 ( 3800-3823 ) at Cairo museum .

Tombs from : KV26 to KV33 .. Part ( 32 )

Are situated in the main valley . They are uninscribed and unidentified .

KV24 ( WV24 ) and KV25 ( WV25 ) .. Part ( 31 )

Also in the Western Valley, are uninscribed and unidentified .

KV21 – Unknown Tomb .. Part ( 30 )

This tomb is one of a group of four uninscribed and unidentified tombs not far from the tomb of Hatshepsut, and between it and the tomb of the vizier Userhet ( No. 45 ) .

KV12 – Unknown Tomb .. Part ( 29 )

This tomb, which has not been identified, unknown and unpublished, lies about midway between the tomb of Haremhab and that of Amenhotep II ( 57 and 35 ) . It was discovered before 1739 by Richard Pococke .

KV62 – Tomb of Tutankhamun .. Part ( 28 )

General view

The discovery of this tomb, with its priceless contents, by far the most valuable find of modern Egyptology from an artistic point of view, though less important historically, was made by Mr. Howard Carter, working in collaboration with the late Earl of Carnarvon, on 4^th November, 1922 .

KV57 – Tomb of Horemhab .. Part ( 27 )

Historical notice

This was the last of the great Mr. Theodore Monroe Davis finds, and was discovered by Edward Russell Ayrton and Mr. Theodore Monroe Davis in 1908 . It lies close to the Gold Tomb ( KV56 ), on the right hand of the path leading to the tomb of Amenhotep II and near the inspector's office .

KV55 – Tomb of Queen Tiye (?) or King Akhenaten (?) .. Part ( 26 )

General view

This tomb, unsculptured and uninscribed, has great historical interest . It was discovered in 1907 by Mr. Edward Russell Ayrton and Mr. Theodore Monroe Davis, and lies between the tomb of Ramses VI ( KV9 ) and that of Ramses IX ( KV6 ), quite close, in fact, to the tomb of Tutankhamun .

KV47 – Tomb of Siptah .. Part ( 25 )

Another Mr. Theodore Monroe Davis find . The tomb lies near those of Setnakht, Tuthmosis I and Seti II, in the west side of the valley . Siptah was, it will be remembered, the Pharaoh who was the first husband of Queen Tausret, and who, indeed, attained the royal title by his marriage with that lady, who was queen in her own right .

KV46 – Tomb of Yuya and Tjuyu .. Part ( 24 )

General view

This is another of the Mr. Theodore Monroe Davis finds, and was one of the most important of them, not because of any quality in the tomb itself, which is a comparatively rude and unpretentious piece of work, consisting merely of a flight of steps, a steeply sloping corridor, a second flight of steps, and the burial-chamber, but because of the historical importance of the persons who occupied it, and of the wealth and beauty of the funerary furniture found in it .

KV43 – Tomb of Tuthmosis IV .. Part ( 23 )

General view

This tomb was excavated by Mr. Howard Carter and Mr. Theodore Monroe Davis in 1903 . The results of the work are now to be seen in the Cairo Museum ( see No. 3000, U 48, east, there, the front of the king's battle-chariot ) .

KV42 – Tomb of Hatshepsut-Meryet-Ra .. Part ( 22 )

This tomb was certainly made for a royalty, but it is unfinished and uninscribed . It consists of a rough flight of steps, a sloping passage, a small chamber, and the oval burial-hall, with two pillars .

KV39 – Tomb of Amenhotep I .. Part ( 21 )

Historical Notes

This tomb was found by Lord Carnarvon and Mr. Howard Carter in 1914, at the head of a small lateral valley of the ravine at the extreme northern end of the Theban necropolis, above " Dra Abu el-Naga " .

KV38 – Tomb of Tuthmosis I .. Part ( 20 )

From the point of view of history, this tomb is the most important in the valley, as it was the one which set the fashion of such interments . It lies on the west side of the valley close to the tomb of Tausert and Setnakht ( KV14 ) and between it and that of Seti II ( KV15 ) .

KV35 – Tomb of Amenhotep II .. Part ( 19 )

This tomb lies westwards from the central area of the valley, the path to it leading past the tombs of Amenmesses ( KV10 ) and Ramses III ( KV11 ), on the left, and that of Haremhab ( KV57 ) on the right .

KV34 – Tomb of Tuthmosis III .. Part ( 18 )

The tomb of the great conqueror is situated in a lonely and remote revine at the south-east corner of the main valley . The path to it turns south after leaving the centre of the valley, and the tombs of Setnakht, Siptah, Tuthmosis I and Seti II are left on the right hand after we have taken the left-hand turning at the parting of the path .

KV23 ( WV23 ) – Tomb of Ay .. Part ( 17 )

It will be remembered that after the death of Akhenaten, and the short reigns of Smenkhkere and Tutankhamun, the throne was seized by a priest, " The Divine Father Ay ", who had no claim to royal descent, and was not even of high rank in the priesthood .

KV22 ( WV22 ) – Tomb of Amenhotep III .. Part ( 16 )

To reach this tomb we must leave the Valley of the Kings, and enter the Western Valley, which branches off from the road to the main valley about four hundred yards before the latter is reached .

KV20 – Tomb of Tuthmosis I & Hatshepsut .. Part ( 15 )

In mere extent this is one of the greatest tombs in the valley, being 700 feet in length, and reaching a vertical depth below the surface of about 320 feet .

KV18 – Tomb of Ramses X & KV19 – Tomb of Prince Mentu-hir-khopshef .. Part ( 14 )

KV18 – Tomb of Ramses X

This late Ramesside Pharaoh had a titulary as immense as he was himself unimportant, he was known as Ra-kheper-maet-setep-en-re and Ramses-Amen-hir-khopshef-mery-Amun .

KV17 – Tomb of Seti I .. Part ( 13 )

Judging from the available evidence, including that of the noble head of his mummy, which was found at El-Deir el-Bahari in 1881, Seti I was one of the best, as he was certainly one of the most dignified, of Egyptian Pharaohs,

KV16 – Tomb of Ramses I .. ( Part 12 )

We now return to what may be reckoned the central area of the valley, and passing the tombs of Ramses III and Amenmesses, we come to that of Ramses I, which, with No. 17 ( Seti I ) and No. 18 ( Ramses X ),

KV15 – Tomb of Seti II .. Part ( 11 )

Leaving No. 14, the tomb of Maiherperi ( No. 36 ) is passed, and a little beyond it we come to No. 15, the tomb of Queen Tausret's second husband Seti II .

KV14 – Tomb of Queen Tausert and Setnakht .. Part ( 10 )

As we have already seen, this tomb, which lies close to that of the chancellor Bay (*), was originally that of Queen Tausert . It makes the apex of a triangle of which the tomb of Siptah ( 47 ) and that of Bay ( 13 ) are the other two angles .

KV11 – Tomb of Ramses III .. Part ( 9 )

Setnakht and Ramses III had both had luck with their first tomb . Setnakht, as we have just seen, abandoned his on finding that he had pierced the wall of that of Amenmesses .

KV9 – Tomb of Ramses V and Ramses VI .. Part ( 8 )

This tomb was begun for Ramses V, whose full titulary may be given here, together with that of Ramses VI, who usurped his tomb, as an example of the ridiculous titularies of these Ramesside Pharaoh, the length of whose names was in inverse proportion to the strength of their reigns .

KV8 – Tomb of Merneptah .. Part ( 7 )

This tomb lies on the right, away from the interesting group which includes the tomb of Tutankhamun and other famous sepulchers .

KV1 to KV7 .. Tombs in the Valley of the Kings .. Part ( 6 )

KV1 – Tomb of Ramses VII

This tomb lies on the right-hand side of the road, in a little valley which leads westwards from a point before the barrier at the entrance to the valley is reached .

Historical notes .. Decoration & The funerary texts of the royal tombs at The Valley of the Kings .. Part ( 5 )

It will at once be noticed that the decoration of the royal tombs is of a totally different type from that with which we have become familiar in the mastabas of the Old Kingdom, and the rock-tombs of the Middle Kingdom, or that which we shall shortly see in the mortuary chapels of the Theban nobles .

Historical notes .. The most important tombs at The Valley of the Kings .. Part ( 4 )

With the story of the finding of the tomb of Tutankhamun the modern history of the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings closes for the present, though we have no warrant for the belief that the interruption is more than a temporary one .

Historical notes about discovery some tombs at The Valley of the Kings .. Part ( 3 )

A few years later ( 1898 ) Victor Loret, acting on information secretly supplied from native sources, discovered the tomb of Amenhotep II, which is now No. 35 in the valley . It had been plundered ;

Historical notes about The Valley of the Kings .. Part ( 2 )

It will be noticed that the general rule is that the earlier tombs in the valley, in accordance with what was the essence of the plan, are on the whole inconspicuous, as regards their outward aspect and entrance, compared with the later ones .

Historical notes about The Valley of the Kings .. Part ( 1 )

" We came to a part that is wider ", says Richard Pococke, the early Eastern traveler, writing in 1743 of his visit to the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings ( KV ), " being a round opening like an amphitheatre, and ascended by a narrow step passage about ten feet high, which seems to have been broken down thro' the rock … By this passage we came to Biban el-Meluke, or Bab el-Meluke, that is, the gate or court of the kings, being the sepulchers of the Kings of Thebes " .