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King's Valley

The Valleys - The Places

What: The Burial place of the Pharaohs, a few Queens and some other members of the Royal Family. In all Valleys combined there are 110 Tombs

Known as: Ta Sekhet Ma’at, the Great Field: or in Hieroglyphs as The Great and Majestic Necropolis of the Millions of Years of the Pharaoh, Life, Strength, Health in The West of Thebes”

When: In use from 17th to the 20th Dynasty during the Ancient Egyptian Period until the Roman and then Coptic Period. In 1979 UNESCO added the site, along with other in the Theban Necropolis to its World Heritage list

Where: Theban Necropolis, across the other side of the Theban Hills from the Queen’s Valley with the Artisan’s Village at Deir el Medina positioned in between

Why here: The Wadi has 2 separate Valleys, the East Valley holds the majority of the Royal Tombs and the West Valley.The Valley seems to have been selected for its hidden appearance, the highest Hill in the area, known as Peak Hill, which resembles a Pyramid and the fact that the Valley and its occupants could be guarded closely by the Medjay. To learn about the Medjay, click here.

Tomb Layout

The Tomb Layout was essential. For an Ancient Egyptian, a lack of care and attention to the pathway and decoration of the Tomb could lead to your soul, after your death, not being able to properly and correctly navigate their way out of the Underworld. This would prevent their ascension into the Field of Reeds. For more information about this, click here. 

As you can see from the diagram, the Tomb contained 2 pathways:

1.) the pathway for the deceased’s soul to reach the Underworld, face the Weighing of the Heart in Hall of Two Truths before using the Spells and directions which would have been depicted on the Tomb’s Walls to successfully navigate their Flight for Resurrection

2.) the pathway for the deceased’s soul to coming from by day from the Underworld to the Field of Reeds

For details about the Weighing of the Heart, click here.                   To learn about the Spells, click here. 

For more information about the Flight for Resurrection, click here.                        To understand where the Field of Reeds is, click here.

Geology

Click on the Image to learn about the Geology and Geography of the Valley of the Kings

Brief History

Click on the Image to read about a brief summary of the history of the Valley of the Kings

Burials

Click on the Image to view a list of Map of the Burials 

Modern excavations in the Valley of the Kings

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