Tomb KV61 is an unused tomb in
Egypt's
Valley of the Kings. It was discovered by
Harold Jones, 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, ...
, in January 1910. The tomb consists of an irregularly-cut room at the bottom of a shaft. It was apparently unused and undecorated, thus its intended owner is unknown.
Discovery and clearance
Upon discovery, Jones' hopes were high, as the shaft fill appeared undisturbed, and the doorway was securely sealed. Removing the blocking, the chamber was revealed to be half-filled with "water sodden" debris.
The excavation ultimately yielded nothing:
Hopeful of finding some evidence of the owner of the tomb... work was carefully proceeded with til ever corner of the tomb was bare and bare were the results – for never even a potsherd was found.
Jones' foreman Ahmed suggested the tomb was not robbed but cleared in antiquity, although Jones doubted that the tomb was used or even finished.
Nicholas Reeves
Carl Nicholas Reeves, FSA (born 28 September 1956), is a British Egyptologist, archaeologist and museum curator.
Background
A specialist in Egyptian history and material culture, Reeves is a graduate (first class honours) in Ancient History fr ...
concurs with Jones, finding it likely that the tomb was never used, as a dismantled burial would be unlikely to have been cleared as thoroughly nor to have a carefully closed entrance. The tomb entrance was likely blocked up by the quarrymen to await a burial that never eventuated; the muddy fill likely entered the tomb through the blocking during flood events.
Re-clearance
The tomb was re-cleared by the
University of Basel Kings' Valley Project during their 2017–2018 season. The tomb was cleared of the modern rubbish that had accumulated inside since it was last visited by the
Theban Mapping Project The Theban Mapping Project is an archaeological expedition devoted to Ancient Egypt. It was established in 1978 by the Egyptologist Dr. Kent R. Weeks at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1985, it was moved to the American University in Cair ...
in the 1980s. The unfinished and unused nature of the tomb was confirmed; the ceiling was noted to be low and in bad condition. The entrance is well below the modern ground level, leaving the open tomb vulnerable to future flood events. An iron cover was prepared and, due to the irregular shape of the tomb's entrance, was placed on short modern walls. Clearance in the immediate area around the shaft to prepare for the walls uncovered several
ostraca, most affected by humidity, and the remains of the
Nineteenth Dynasty
The Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XIX), also known as the Ramessid dynasty, is classified as the second Dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian New Kingdom period, lasting from 1292 BC to 1189 BC. The 19th Dynasty and the 20th Dynasty furt ...
workers huts that once covered the area.
References
Further reading
* 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: KV61includes detailed maps of most of the tombs.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kv61
1910 archaeological discoveries
Valley of the Kings