Valley of the Kings
Gateway to the Afterlife
The Valley of the Kings is the most renowned collection of royal tombs. Its primary purpose was to protect the royal tombs of the pharaohs of the new kingdom, as they were disappointed by the pyramids’ inability to secure their royal treasures from thieves and desecration. The pyramids were the traditional burial sites for the royals and priests situated near the city of Memphis. However, they were more exposed to robbery and occupation, especially during the Hyksos invasion. Therefore, the pharaohs had to find another way to create safe necropolises. They opted for deep rock-cut galleries and tombs that were hidden and secret, situated underneath the ground.
It appears that the ancient Egyptians valued the safety of the valley over the popularity of the more commonly recognized pyramids. They achieved this through the creation of the Valley of the Kings, which contains the tombs of over 25 kings belonging to the 18th and 21st dynasties.
Valley of the Kings: Gateway to the Afterlife provides a window to the past.
Luxor Tours & Activities
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The Location of Valley of the Kings
The location of the royal cemetery was meticulously chosen. Its location on the west side of the Nile holds significant importance. In ancient Egyptian mythology, the sun god died on the western horizon and was reborn on the eastern horizon. This is why the West came to have funerary associations and cemeteries were generally located on the west bank of the Nile.
In the New Kingdom era, the kings were buried near a pyramid-shaped peak in a carefully chosen valley. The pyramid symbolized eternal life and a natural one was seen as divine. The peak was sacred to the goddess Hathor, known as the “Mistress of the West” and associated with funerary rites.
The Valley of the Kings was chosen as the final resting place of Pharaoh due to its isolated nature. Tomb robberies were common even in ancient times, and the Egyptians were aware of this. They knew the fate of the Old and Middle Kingdom pyramids and thus opted for hidden, underground tombs in a secluded desert valley. Thutmose I, the third king of the Eighteenth Dynasty, was the first New Kingdom ruler to be buried in the Valley of the Kings. According to Ineni, the high official who was in charge of the digging of his tomb, “I oversaw the excavation of the cliff-tomb of his Person [the king] in privacy; none seeing, none hearing.”
The ancient Egyptians built massive public monuments to their pharaohs. But they also spent time and treasure creating hidden underground mausoleums.
Tomb Building – Cutting and Construction
After the king, vizier, architects, and chief stonemasons finalized the location, the workers could begin cutting the tomb. The scribe would record the issuance of tools and their return. The workers would use large, spike-like chisels and mallets to break the rock, while debris would be removed by other workers using leather or wicker baskets. Limestone, being a relatively soft stone, allowed for reasonable progress, except when Flint posed an obstacle.
The workers cut a large space and painted a red line on the ceiling to ensure straight paths for the stone cutters. The red line also served as a central point for measurements to ensure parallel walls, correct angles, and perpendicular doorways. Some tombs still have these red lines visible. The cutting of a tomb required great skill as no external construction aids could be used.
The workers used small chisels to shape the corridors, leaving a rough surface for pounders and polishers to finish. They cut the rock into small blocks, leaving steps for stone cutters to work at greater heights. Niches were often finished at the same time as the corridors to save the workers from using scaffolding.
In ancient times, big rooms needed pillars for support. Initially, they were rough but then painted with axial lines for guidance. Many workers could finish their tasks concurrently. In burial chamber KV42, painters and plasterers worked simultaneously with finishers and smoothers. The painted walls were complete, but the ceiling and pillars remained unfinished. This may have been due to the sudden death of Hatshepsut-Meryet-Ra, but it shows that workers could collaborate when necessary.
The tomb of Thutmose IV (KV43) reveals how the work crews ensured that the walls were parallel and perpendicular while constructing the corridors. Plaster blobs were used as plumb line pins. Once the cutting crew had smoothed the rock to a polished finish, their job was done. The walls were examined to determine the size and shape of the tools used.
Decorations of the Valley of the Kings’ tombs
In ancient times, the majority of the tombs belonging to the royal families were decorated with religious texts and images. The early tombs were adorned with scenes from the Amduat, which was a religious text that described the journey of the sun god through the twelve hours of the night. Later, from the time of Horemheb, the tombs were decorated with the Book of Gates, which showed the sun god passing through the twelve gates that divided the nighttime. This ensured the safe passage of the tomb owner through the night. While the earliest tombs were usually sparsely decorated, non-royal tombs were often left completely undecorated.
During the Late Nineteenth Dynasty, the Book of Caverns was introduced. It divided the underworld into massive caverns which contained deities and the deceased who waited for the sun to pass through and restore them to life. This book was placed in the upper parts of the tombs. A complete version of the Book of Caverns can be found in the tomb of Ramesses VI. The burial of Ramesses III saw the Book of the Earth being introduced. This book divided the underworld into four sections, climaxing in the sun disc being pulled from the earth by Naunet.
From the burial of Seti I onwards, the ceilings of the burial chambers were decorated with what came to be known as the Book of the Heavens. This book describes the sun’s journey through the twelve hours of night. From Seti I’s time, the Litany of Re, which is a lengthy hymn to the sun god, began to appear.
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The valley became a royal burial place for pharaohs like as Tutankhamun, Seti I, and Ramses II, as well as queens, high priests, and other elites of the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties, during Egypt’s New Kingdom (1539-1075 B.C.).
The Valley of the Kings is one of the world’s most well-known archaeological sites. This is a royal burial cemetery featuring ornately decorated tombs for the Egyptian pharaohs who reigned from (1539-1075 B.C.). In this little region, there are around 60 graves, but just a few are available to the public.
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