The Valley of the Kings

This is a list of tombs found in the Valley of the Kings, sorted chronologically. Tombs with a KV-number are situated in the Eastern Valley, those with a WV-number are situated in the Western Valley.

KV20

Owner: Thutmosis I and Hatshepsut
Discovered: before 1799.
Archaeological Information: Archaeological examination of the tomb in 1903/1904 by Howard Carter.
It was long thought that this tomb was originally built for Hatshepsut, and that she removed the remains of her father from his presumed original tomb (KV38) to her own, but recent examination has given ground to the hypothesis that the tomb was originally built for Thutmosis I.

KV38

Owner: Thutmosis I
Discovered: March 1899 by Victor Loret.
Archaeological Information: This tomb was long considered as Thutmosis I's original tomb, but recent examination has suggested that the tomb was built by Thutmosis III for the re-burial of his grandfather, Thutmosis I.

KV42

Owner: Meriyetre Hatshepsut
Discovered: before December 1900.
Archaeological Information:The identification of this tomb has always been doubted. Because both its layout and decoration both point strongly to a royal tomb, and because it architecturally fits between KV38 and KV34, it has sometimes been credited to Thutmosis II. The foundation deposits, however, seem to point to this tomb being made for queen Meriyetre Hatshepsut, one of the wives of Thutmosis III.

KV34

Owner: Thutmosis III
Discovered: February 1898 by Victor Loret.
Archaeological Information: This is the first royal tomb that can positively be identified. Its well shaft, antechamber and burial chamber have been decorated.

KV35

Owner: Amenhotep II
Discovered: March 1898 by Victor Loret.
Archaeological Information: This tomb is a further evolution of KV34. Only the burial chamber is decorated, mostly with the same motives as KV34.

KV36

Owner: Maiherperi, an official from the time of Thutmosis IV.
Discovered: March 1899 by Victor Loret

KV43

Owner: Thutmosis IV
Discovered: January 1903 by Howard Carter.
Archaeological Information: This is the first tomb with a polychrome decoration. The well shaft and the burial chamber have been decorated, mostly with scenes where the king stand before various deities.

WV22

Owner: Amenhotep III
Discovered: before 1799.
Archaeological Information: The well shaft, antechamber and burial chamber are decorated with the same motives as KV43. This tomb also contains a burial chamber for queen Tiye and for princess Satamun, Amenhotep III's wife and daughter/wife respectively.

KV46

Owners: Yuya and Tjuyu, the parents of queen Tiye.
Discovered: February 1905 by James Quibell.
Archaeological Information: Although this tomb had already been robbed several times in antiquity, it is one of the few tombs that still contained much of the original funerary equipment, including the mummies of Yuya and Tjuyu.

WV25

Owner: Akhenaten (?)
Discovered: in 1817 by Giovanni Belzoni.

KV55

Owner: (unknown)
Discovered: January 1907 by Edward R. Ayrton.
Archaeological Information: This tomb is probably one of the most enigmatic ever to have been found in Egypt. It contains remains of funerary equipment of queen Tiye, Akhenaten and other members of the royal family of the late 18th Dynasty, it refers to a king whose name has been hacked out, the inscriptions on the coffin are sometimes in feminine and the mummy can not be identified beyond the fact that it must have belonged to a close, male relative of Tutankhamun's. It has sometimes been suggested that this mummy beloned to Semenekhkare, the elusive successor of Akhenaten, but others would tend to view the mummy as Akhenaten's.

KV62

Owner: Tutankhamun
Discovered: 1922 by Howard Carter.
Archaeological Information: This is the most intact royal tomb found in the Valley of the Kings. The wealth of the burial is beyond any imagination and takes up most of the 1st floor in the Cairo Museum.

WV23

Owner: Ay
Discovered: winter of 1816 by Giovanni Belzoni.
Archaeological Information: this is the first tomb in the Valley of the Kings without a bent axis. It is often assumed that this tomb was originally prepared for Tutankhamun, but it was unfinished when he died and thus the king was buried in a small tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

KV57

Owner: Horemheb
Discovered: February 1908 by Edward R. Ayrton.

KV16

Owner: Ramesses I
Discovered: October 1817 by Giovanni Belzoni.

KV17

Owner: Seti I
Discovered: October 1817 by Giovanni Belzoni.
Archaeological Information: This is the first tomb to have been decorated entirely. It is considered the most beautiful tomb in the Valley.

KV7

Owner: Ramesses II
Discovered: open in part since antiquity.
Archaeological Information: This tomb uses the bent-axis ground plan abandoned since the end of the 18th Dynasty. It needs further clearing.

KV5

Owners: several sons of Ramesses II
Discovered: before 1799.
Archaeological Information: The first archaeological examination was started in 1987 by Kent Weeks. It was only then that the exceptional state of this tomb became clear. It houses at least 95 chambers for at least 52 sons of Ramesses II.

KV8

Owner: Merneptah
Discovered: open since antiquity.
Archaeological Information: This tomb is much simpler than the tomb of Ramesses II. It has set the standard for most of the remaining tombs to be built in the Valley.

KV10

Owner: Amenmes
Discovered: open since antiquity
Archaeological Information: While cutting KV11, the tomb of Ramesses III, this tomb was accidentally broken into.

KV15

Owner: Seti II
Discovered: open since antiquity

KV56

Owner: (unknown, but to be dated to the end of the 19th Dynasty)
Discovered: January 1908 by Edward R. Ayrton
Archaeological Information: This tomb represents one of the most splendid finds of jewellery ever made in the Valley of the Kings.

KV13

Owner: Chancellor Bay
Discovered: open since antiquity

KV47

Owner: Siptah
Discovered: December 1905 by Edward R. Ayrton

KV14

Owner: Taweseret, usurped by Sethnakht
Discovered: open in part since antiquity

KV11

Owner: originally begun for Sethnakht, but completed for Ramesses III
Discovered: open in part since antiquity

KV3

Owner: a son of Ramesses III
Discovered: open since antiquity

KV2

Owner: Ramesses IV
Discovered: open since antiquity

KV9

Owner: Ramesses V, but usurped by Ramesses VI
Discovered: open since antiquity

KV1

Owner: Ramesses VII
Discovered: open in part since antiquity

KV6

Owner: Ramesses IX
Discovered: open since antiquity

KV19

Owner: Mentuherkhepeshef, a son of Ramesses IX
Discovered: 1817 by Giovanni Belzoni

KV18

Owner: Ramesses X
Discovered: open in part since antiquity

KV4

Owner: Ramesses XI
Discovered: open since antiquity
Archaeological Information: This tomb has never been used by Ramesses XI.

And many other smaller tombs and pits...