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 ...
, Tomb KV12 is an unusual tomb, used originally in the
Eighteenth Dynasty of
Ancient Egypt, and then again in the
Nineteenth and
Twentieth Dynasties. It was probably used for multiple burials of royal family members, rather like
KV5
Tomb KV5 is a subterranean, rock-cut tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
It belonged to the sons of Ramesses II. Though KV5 was partially excavated as early as 1825, its true extent was discovered in 1995 by Kent R. Weeks and his exploration team. ...
.
The builders of
KV9
Tomb KV9 in Egypt's Valley of the Kings was originally constructed by Pharaoh Ramesses V. He was interred here, but his uncle, Ramesses VI, later reused the tomb as his own. The layout is typical of the 20th Dynasty – the Ramesside period ...
broke into KV12 whilst excavating that tomb. During the excavation, rumors of the second tomb had circulated throughout the camp, however, leading scientists dismissed the idea and continued on. Little did they realize the mistake that was about to be made. The tomb diggers broke through the ground into the tomb only to find the remains of multiple family members in the new tomb. Researchers are still working on identifying the family members and collecting the other artifacts in the tomb.
References
* Reeves, N & Wilkinson, R.H.
The Complete Valley of the Kings, 1996, Thames and Hudson, London.
* Siliotti, A.
Guide to the Valley of the Kings and to the Theban Necropolises and Temples, 1996, A.A. Gaddis, Cairo.
External links
Theban Mapping Project: KV12- Includes description, images, and plans of the tomb.
Images showing KV12 and KV9
Valley of the Kings
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