The Valley of the Kings is the place where there are 63 tombs of the most important kings of Egypt. It is also known as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings due to the large number of kings buried in it. It was used from 1539 BC to 1075 BC, starting from King Thutmose I to King Ramses VVI.
The Valley of the Kings is located on the western bank of the Nile in Luxor. It is one of the most important archaeological and tourist sites in the world. So the archaeologists have been around for 2 centuries to discover this site. It became a World Heritage site in 1979.
The ancient name of this site has been the Great tomb for millions of years which was is the ancient Egyptian language Ta-sekhet-ma’at (great field).
This place was a secret. The guards were guarding it to stop thieves from stealing the tombs of the kings throughout the ancient Egyptian civilization. Unfortunately, most of the tombs were stolen in ancient times, except for the tomb of King Tutankhamun and the tomb of Yuya and Tuya.
Today, the tombs of the Valley of the Kings are numbered with a numbering system established by John Wilkinson in 1827. While preparing a map of Thebes, the tombs were numbered according to the date of discovery. The tomb of King Tutankhamun was the most recent.
Most tombs are decorated with religious texts and scenes such as the Amduat, which describes the journey of the sun during the 12 hours of the night. Also, there are tombs decorated with a book of gates, which showing the sun god when he passes through the 12 gates. As well as, The Book of Caves divided the underworld into caves where the gods and the dead are waiting for the sun god to pass and bring them back to life.
The construction of these great tombs required a large number of workers throughout the ages. The workers of the Valley of the Kings lived in Deir El-Medina. The most important tools that workers used in digging these tombs were the hammer and chisel.
The most famous tombs in the Valley of the Kings:
- Tomb of the young king Tutankhamun, discovered in 1922. It was found intact.
- Tomb of the great King Thutmose III.
The tomb of King Amenhotep II, which is full of religious scenes.
- Tomb of King Seti I, the longest tomb in the valley.
- Tomb of King Ramses VI.
you can visit The Valley of the Kings with Cairo and Luxor Tour in 5 Days