Tomb KV53 is located in the
Valley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings ( ar, وادي الملوك ; Late Coptic: ), also known as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings ( ar, وادي أبوا الملوك ), is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th ...
, in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. It was discovered in 1906 by
Edward R. Ayrton
Edward Russell Ayrton (17 December 1882 – 18 May 1914) was an English Egyptologist and archaeologist.
Early life
Ayrton was the son of William Scrope Ayrton (1849-1904), a British consular official in China, and his wife Ellen Louisa McClat ...
excavating on behalf of
Theodore M. Davis
Theodore M. Davis (May 7, 1838 – February 23, 1915) was an American lawyer and businessman. He is best known for his excavations in Egypt's Valley of the Kings between 1902 and 1913.
Biography
Theodore Montgomery Davis was born in Springfield, ...
. It has been excavated but never been fully planned, and consists of a single chamber at the end of a shaft.
Discovery, layout, and contents
KV53 was discovered in 1906 by Edward Ayrton during excavations conducted on behalf of the American millionaire Theodore Davis. After thoroughly investigating the southern section of the side valley leading to the tomb of
Amenhotep II (
KV35
Tomb KV35 is the tomb of Pharaoh Amenhotep II located in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt. Later, it was used as a cache for other royal mummies. It was discovered by Victor Loret in March 1898.
Layout and history
It has a dog's leg shape, ...
), excavation moved to the other side of the path, to the north of
KV29
Tomb KV29 is an ancient Egyptian tomb in the Valley of the Kings, located in the Theban Necropolis in Egypt. It is located near the mid- Eighteenth Dynasty tombs of Tiaa (KV32), Thutmose II or Merytre-Hatshepsut (KV42), and Thutmose III (KV34). The ...
. KV53 was discovered underneath later workmens' huts.
The tomb consists of a shallow shaft that descends to a large room. Ayrton notes the tomb had been looted in antiquity, with the only find noted being an
ostracon dedicated to
Meretseger naming a certain "Hora, chief scribe of the Place of Truth".
Several more ostraca had been found in the shaft fill, and more still which were likely contemporary with them had been used to construct the walls of the workers' dwellings.
Recent excavations
Excavations conducted in this area in the winter of 2009-2010, attempting to relocate tombs
KV50
Tomb KV50 is located in the Valley of the Kings, in Egypt. It was discovered in 1906 by Edward R. Ayrton excavating on behalf of Theodore M. Davis. Together with KV51 and KV52, it forms a group known as the "Animal Tombs". It contained the burial ...
,
KV51,
KV52 and KV53, revealed 18th Dynasty blue painted pottery, tools, and
hieratic
Hieratic (; grc, ἱερατικά, hieratiká, priestly) is the name given to a cursive writing system used for Ancient Egyptian and the principal script used to write that language from its development in the third millennium BC until the ris ...
and figured
ostraca including a sketch of a seated queen presenting an offering, and depictions of sexual scenes with women and animals. Cartouches of
Ramesses II
Ramesses II ( egy, wikt:rꜥ-ms-sw, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is oft ...
were also present on ostraca.
References
External links
Theban Mapping Project: KV53– Includes detailed maps of most of the tombs.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kv53
1905 archaeological discoveries
Valley of the Kings