KV34
Encyclopedia
Tomb KV34 in the Valley of the Kings
(near the modern-day Egypt
ian city of Luxor
) was the final resting place of 18th dynasty
Pharaoh
Thutmose III
.
One of the first tombs to be dug in the Valley, it was cut high in the cliff face of the furthermost wadi
. A steep corridor leads down, in a dog
-leg shape, from the entrance past a deep well to a trapezoid
al antechamber. Beyond the antechamber lies the cartouche
-shaped burial chamber, off which stand four smaller side chambers. The stone sarcophagus
in which Thutmose was laid to rest is still in place in the burial chamber, albeit damaged by tomb robbers.
Many of the wall decorations are in an unusual style not found elsewhere in the Valley of the Kings. On a yellow-tinged background (intended to resemble aged papyrus
), the earliest known version of the Amduat
is traced, depicting the gods of Ancient Egypt
as simple (almost naive) stick figures, in papyrus writing style. The Litany of Ra
also appears in the burial chamber, with a similar execution. (Also, on the way up the staircase to the tomb, you can see on the cliff wall graffiti done by the workmen building the tomb.)
The tomb was plundered in antiquity and its location lost. It was rediscovered and first excavated in 1898 under Victor Loret
.
Valley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings , less often called the Valley of the Gates of the Kings , is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom .The valley stands on the west bank of...
(near the modern-day Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian city of Luxor
Luxor
Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate. The population numbers 487,896 , with an area of approximately . As the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open air museum", as the ruins of the temple...
) was the final resting place of 18th dynasty
Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt...
Pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
Thutmose III
Thutmose III
Thutmose III was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. During the first twenty-two years of Thutmose's reign he was co-regent with his stepmother, Hatshepsut, who was named the pharaoh...
.
One of the first tombs to be dug in the Valley, it was cut high in the cliff face of the furthermost wadi
Wadi
Wadi is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some cases, it may refer to a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain or simply an intermittent stream.-Variant names:...
. A steep corridor leads down, in a dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
-leg shape, from the entrance past a deep well to a trapezoid
Trapezoid
In Euclidean geometry, a convex quadrilateral with one pair of parallel sides is referred to as a trapezoid in American English and as a trapezium in English outside North America. A trapezoid with vertices ABCD is denoted...
al antechamber. Beyond the antechamber lies the cartouche
Cartouche
In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an ellipse with a horizontal line at one end, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name, coming into use during the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty under Pharaoh Sneferu, replacing the earlier serekh...
-shaped burial chamber, off which stand four smaller side chambers. The stone sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
in which Thutmose was laid to rest is still in place in the burial chamber, albeit damaged by tomb robbers.
Many of the wall decorations are in an unusual style not found elsewhere in the Valley of the Kings. On a yellow-tinged background (intended to resemble aged papyrus
Papyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
), the earliest known version of the Amduat
Amduat
The Amduat is an important Ancient Egyptian funerary text of the New Kingdom. Like many funerary texts, it was found written on the inside of the pharaoh's tomb for reference...
is traced, depicting the gods of Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
as simple (almost naive) stick figures, in papyrus writing style. The Litany of Ra
Litany of Re
The Litany of Re is an important Ancient Egyptian funerary text of the New Kingdom. Like many funerary texts, it was written on the inside of the tomb for reference by the deceased...
also appears in the burial chamber, with a similar execution. (Also, on the way up the staircase to the tomb, you can see on the cliff wall graffiti done by the workmen building the tomb.)
The tomb was plundered in antiquity and its location lost. It was rediscovered and first excavated in 1898 under Victor Loret
Victor Loret
Victor Clement Georges Philippe Loret was a French Egyptologist.-Biography:Loret studied with Gaston Maspero at the École des Hautes Études. In 1897 he became the head of the Egyptian Antiquities Service. In March 1898, he discovered KV35, the tomb of Amenhotep II in the Valley of the Kings...
.
External links
- Theban Mapping Project: KV34 - Includes description, images, and plans of the tomb.