Valley of the Kings (or Valley of the Biban el mulok) is the royal burial places of the kings in Luxor Governorate in Upper Egypt, dates back the 15th century BC, Until the 11th century BC, tombs were built for the pharaohs and the most powerful nobles of the New Kingdom (18th to 20th Dynasty of ancient Egypt). The valley is located on the west bank of the Nile, on the opposite bank of contemporary Thebes (Luxor), in the heart of the Theban City of the Dead.
The valley actually consists of two valleys, the eastern valley (where most of the royal tombs are located) and the western valley.
The region has been the subject of focused exploration by archaeologists and Egyptologists since the end of the eighteenth century, and its tombs and tombs still stimulate the interest of researchers. In modern times, the valley became famous for the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb (along with the accompanying rumors about the curse of the Pharaohs, and it is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. In 1979, it became a World Heritage Site, among the rest of the Theban City of the Dead.
It is locally called Biban al-Muluk, and next to it is the Valley of the Queens, or Biban the Harem, in which the queens and women of the Pharaohs are buried. In this era, ancient Egypt witnessed an unparalleled urban renaissance, and religious architecture took on a new character. After the Pharaoh’s tomb and his temple were one architectural mass – the pyramids are the best examples of them – an important transformation occurred in the New Kingdom era, and the Pharaoh’s tomb was separated from his temple.
The burial places of the kings of the eighteenth to twentieth dynasties in this valley are also indicated. Ancient hieroglyphic texts indicate that security reasons related to preserving graves and protecting them from plunder were the primary motivation for this transformation, which was represented by digging graves hidden under the rocks and dirt of the valley, while temples were built in the open plains.
The looting of tombs with valuable possessions in ancient Egypt was widespread, and groups specialized in robberies arose, which sometimes occurred in broad daylight. The ancient texts tell of chaos and unrest, especially during the reign of the Ramesside kings, and of specific cases of looting, scandals, and failure to pursue thieves, and of stages of tightening of guarding and periodic reports on the condition of the graves, and of the establishment of special courts to try thieves, headed by the Minister of State and including the High Priest and senior officials. Court and army leaders.
The tombs of the Valley of the Kings are similar to each other in their basic parts and general form, despite the difference in details. They are all tombs dug into the rock, underground, and most of the time they are centered towards a longitudinal axis.
There are graves with an inclined axis of varying degrees, the first of which is an upright axis. They consist of an entrance. (A door) leads to a long and narrow corridor composed of several parts, some of which are drawers. On the walls of this corridor are niches and side rooms, and at the end of it there is the burial room where the coffin contains the mummified body (the mummy), and adjacent to it are other attached rooms containing various and precious funerary furniture, which are rooms It rises on columns and can consist of more than one floor.
Among the most important tombs of the Eighteenth Dynasty are the tombs of Tuthmosis I, Thutmosis III, Tuthmosis IV, Amenhotep II, and Amenhotep III, but the richest of them was the tomb of Tutankhamun. 1354-1345 BC. He is the pharaoh who lived in a period of great turmoil that followed the death of the monotheistic pharaoh Akhenaten.
He died young and an ordinary tomb was hastily dug for him. It was less luxurious than others, but it was the most famous and rich in treasures and antiquities. The tomb consisted of an entrance with a staircase, followed by a corridor that led at the end to the only decorated burial hall, and next to it was a hall in which treasures of funerary furniture were kept.
This was the only tomb that reached us without being vandalized by thieves who did not initially succeed in finding its valuables. The ruins of the tomb of Ramesses VI also contributed to its concealment until it was revealed in the twenties of the last century by the Englishman Howard Carter.
Thousands of unique finds were extracted from it in their scientific, artistic and historical value, including chariots, coffins, golden statues and other finds that are considered the jewel of the collections of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Among the tombs of the Nineteenth Dynasty there is the huge tomb of Ramses II, which was not fully completed, and the tomb of Seti I, which is the largest and most important of the Theban tombs, to which a 100-meter-long entrance leads to a group of rooms on pillars and two floors.
There are the graves of the Twentieth Dynasty pharaohs, including the Ramessides I, III, IV, VI, VII, and Ninth, and the tomb of Queen Hatshepsut, which consists of a long, sloping corridor that ends with a staircase leading to the burial chamber, and the tomb of Queen Nefertiti, the second wife of Ramsses II. In addition to the pharaohs, their wives and children, priests and senior officials were also buried in the Valley of the Kings.
These royal tombs were decorated with various scenes painted in color or carved and containing religious mythological themes and written texts that showed the ancient Egyptians’ belief in the continuation of the afterlife, and that it helped the king to communicate with the gods, triumph over death, and pass into the world of immortality in his tomb, “the House of Eternity.
The burials of the Valley of the Kings have attracted interest for a long time, as ancient historians such as Strabon and Diodore de Sicile wrote about them, and Napoleon’s campaign against Egypt also described them. For nearly two centuries until today, it has been subject to careful restoration work, especially drawings, and continuous and advanced excavation work that leads to the discovery of more of it. Egyptian and international delegations participate in it. Some of them have also been opened to tourists, making them one of the most important cultural and tourist attractions in Egypt and the world.
The official name of the site in ancient times was The Great and Majestic Necropolis of the Millions of Years of the Pharaoh, Life, Strength, Health in The West of Thebes, or more usually, Ta-sekhet-ma’at (the Great Field)
A huge procession transported 22 ancient Egyptian royal mummies in specially designed capsules through Cairo to a new museum, where they will be displayed in a way that gives them greater splendor.
The procession transported 18 kings and four queens, most of them kings of the New Kingdom, from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square in central Cairo to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat, about five kilometers to the southeast.
Immediately upon the arrival of the royal mummies at the museum, which was officially opened, artillery fired 21 shots in salute to them.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi stood to receive the mummies that passed, carried in carts decorated with golden Pharaonic decorations.
The celebration was attended by the heads of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Tourism Organization.
Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass said that each mummy was placed in a special capsule filled with nitrogen to ensure its safety. The capsules were placed on carts designed to carry them and ensure their stability.
Enjoy visiting the Valely of the kings when you book a private Hurghada to Luxor day trip.
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