KV29

Last updated
KV29
Burial site of Unknown
Egypt adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
KV29
Coordinates 25°44′21.5″N32°36′2.2″E / 25.739306°N 32.600611°E / 25.739306; 32.600611 Coordinates: 25°44′21.5″N32°36′2.2″E / 25.739306°N 32.600611°E / 25.739306; 32.600611
Location East Valley of the Kings
Discoveredbefore 1832
Excavated by University of Basel (2011, 2016)
 Previous
KV28
Next 
KV30

Tomb KV29 is an ancient Egyptian tomb in the Valley of the Kings, in the Theban Necropolis of Egypt. It is located near the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty tombs of Tiaa (KV32), Thutmose II or Merytre-Hatshepsut (KV42), and Thutmose III (KV34). The tomb was known since the 1830s and given the number KV29 in 1899 but no records of an earlier excavation exist. The entrance shaft was previously planned by the Theban Mapping Project in the 1990s. The tomb was first excavated by the University of Basel King's Valley Project in 2011. Excavation continued in 2016 but the rest of the tomb is filled with debris and its layout is unknown.

Contents

Location and exploration

The tomb is located in a small side valley that leads towards the tomb of Thutmose III (KV34) and is close to other tombs of similar date, including the tomb of Thutmose IV's mother Tiaa (KV32) and KV42. Given its proximity to these tombs, it is thought to date to the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty. It has a simple layout consisting of a vertical shaft and a single chamber. [1]

KV29 was known since the 1830s, when its location was noted by the early Egyptologists James Burton and John Gardiner Wilkinson. [2] It was mentioned again in the 1880s by Eugène Lefébure [3] and assigned a tomb number in 1899. In the 1990s the shaft was mapped by the Theban Mapping Project. [1]

Excavation

Excavation of the shaft began in January of 2011; half the depth proved to be flood debris from the 1994 flood and modern debris from the 1960s onwards. The rest of the shaft contained clean fill washed in during earlier floods. The final 3 metres (9.8 ft) of debris in the 9 metres (30 ft) deep shaft consisted of hard packed limestone chips; fragmentary ceramics and four pieces of an alabaster jar were recovered from this layer. The shaft was capped with an iron door at the conclusion of the 2011 season. [1]

Excavation resumed in 2016. The shaft was found to open to the west onto a room, also filled with debris. The extent of the room was investigated using a telescoping camera and flashlights. The architectural layout of the room is unknown, as it is so full of debris any possible side chamber doorways are obscured. [4]

Citations

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KV20</span> Ancient Egyptian tomb in the Valley of the Kings

KV20 is a tomb in the Valley of the Kings (Egypt). It was probably the first royal tomb to be constructed in the valley. KV20 was the original burial place of Thutmose I and later was adapted by his daughter Hatshepsut to accommodate her and her father. The tomb was known to the Napoleonic expedition in 1799 and had been visited by several explorers between 1799 and 1903. A full clearance of the tomb was undertaken by Howard Carter in 1903–1904. KV20 is distinguishable from other tombs in the valley, both in its general layout and because of the atypical clockwise curvature of its corridors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KV56</span> Ancient Egyptian tomb aka "Gold Tomb"

Tomb KV56, also known as the Gold Tomb, is a tomb located in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor, Egypt. It was discovered by Edward R. Ayrton in January 1908 and contained what is thought to be the intact burial of a royal child from the late Nineteenth Dynasty. The burial and casket have disintegrated, leaving a thin layer of gold leaf and stucco in the original location. Most famously the tomb contained spectacular gold and silver jewellery including earrings, rings, silver bracelets with the names of Seti II and Twosret inscribed, and a pair of small silver gloves. The original occupant of this tomb is unknown but was possibly an Eighteenth Dynasty queen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KV61</span> Ancient Egyptian tomb, unfinished and unused

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, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KV4</span> Ancient Egyptian Tomb in the Valley of the Kings

KV4 is a tomb in the Valley of the Kings (Egypt). The tomb was initiated for the burial of Ramesses XI but it is likely that its construction was abandoned and it was not used for Ramesses's interment. It also seems likely that Pinedjem I intended to usurp this tomb for his own burial, but that he too abandoned the plan. KV4 is notable for being the last royal tomb that was quarried in the Valley and because it has been interpreted as being a workshop used during the official dismantling of the royal necropolis in the early Third Intermediate Period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KV47</span> Ancient Egyptian tomb of Pharaoh Siptah

Tomb KV47, located in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, was used for the burial of Pharaoh Siptah of the Nineteenth Dynasty. It was discovered on December 18, 1905 by Edward R. Ayrton, excavating on behalf of Theodore M. Davis; Siptah's mummy had been found earlier, cached in KV35. It was the last of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasty kings tombs to be uncovered in the Valley. Ayrton stopped his excavation in 1907 due to safety fears, and Harry Burton returned in 1912 to dig further. The cutting of a side passage was halted after the workmen cut into Side Chamber Ja of the tomb of Tia'a (KV32). The tomb was unfinished at the time of its use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KV32</span> Ancient Egyptian tomb of Tiaa, the wife of Amenhotep II

Tomb KV32, located in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, is the burial site of Tia'a, the wife of Amenhotep II and mother of Thutmose IV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KV26</span> Ancient Egyptian tomb in the Valley of the Kings

Tomb KV26 is an ancient Egyptian tomb of the Eighteenth Dynasty located in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. It is located in a side valley leading to the tomb of Thutmose III (KV34). It was visited by the early Egyptologist James Burton in the 1820s or 1830s, and by Victor Loret in 1898. It was mapped in the 1980s by the Theban Mapping Project. The first documented excavation of the tomb was carried out in 2009 by the University of Basel's Kings' Valley Project. The tomb contained evidence of at least one burial and fragmented pottery and stone vessels of mid-Eighteenth Dynasty date but nothing is known about its occupant(s).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KV28</span> Ancient Egyptian tomb in the Valley of the Kings

Tomb KV28 is an ancient Egyptian tomb located in the Valley of the Kings in the Theban Necropolis in Upper Egypt. It was first excavated by persons unknown, and excavation in the 1990s led by Donald P. Ryan found the bones of three individuals, fragments of a limestone canopic jar, numerous wooden fragments, and early to mid Eighteenth Dynasty pottery. The occupants were possibly nobles, given the tomb's proximity to the tomb of Thutmose IV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KV30</span> Ancient Egyptian tomb in the Valley of the Kings

Tomb KV30 is an ancient Egyptian tomb located in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. It likely dates to the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty and was used for the burial of an unknown individual. It may have been discovered by Giovanni Belzoni in 1817, working on a commission from the Second Earl Belmore. It was excavated in 2009-2010 by the University of Basel's Kings' Valley Project.

Tomb KV33 is an ancient Egyptian tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. It is located close to the tomb of Thutmose III, KV34. The tomb dates to the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty and was used for the burial of an unknown individual. The layout is simple, consisting of descending steps and a main chamber with two adjoining rooms. KV33 was discovered by Victor Loret in 1898. The small tomb was open to visitors in the early 1900s when it was described in a tourist guidebook. In modern times, a bench was built over the entrance. In 2012 the tomb was excavated for the first time by the University of Basel's Kings' Valley Project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KV37</span> Ancient Egyptian Tomb in the Valley of the Kings

Tomb KV37 is an ancient Egyptian tomb located in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. The presence of bone fragments and white-washed storage jars indicate that the tomb was used for a burial, probably in the Eighteenth Dynasty. However, its original occupants are unknown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KV21</span> Ancient Egyptian tomb

Tomb KV21 is an ancient Egyptian tomb located in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. It was discovered in 1817 by Giovanni Belzoni and later re-excavated by Donald P. Ryan in 1989. It contains the mummies of two women, thought to be Eighteenth Dynasty queens. In 2010, a team headed by Zahi Hawass used DNA evidence to tentatively identify one mummy, KV21A, as the biological mother of the two fetuses preserved in the tomb of King Tutankhamun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KV27</span> Ancient Egyptian tomb in the Valley of the Kings

Tomb KV27 is located in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. This tomb was visited by John Wilkinson, but was not fully explored until the 1990s, by Donald P. Ryan of Pacific Lutheran University. The tomb consists of four rooms and is undecorated; nothing is known about its occupant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KV31</span> Ancient Egyptian tomb in the Valley of the Kings

KV31 is an ancient Egyptian tomb located in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor, Egypt. Only the top of the shaft was known prior to excavation by the University of Basel Kings' Valley Project in 2010, and no earlier excavations are known, although it is suggested that the stone sarcophagus excavated by Giovanni Battista Belzoni in 1817 may have originated from this tomb. The tomb was found to be filled with mixed debris of pottery sherds and linen fragments, as well as the remains of five mummified elite individuals dating to the Eighteenth Dynasty.

Tomb KV59 is an unused tomb located in the Valley of the Kings, in Egypt. It is located in a side valley between KV37 and KV26 and opposite KV31. It is not known for certain when the tomb was discovered or by whom. It was excavated and mapped in 2010-2011 by the University of Basel. The tomb had filled with debris washed in from several floods and the rock was affected by moisture but it otherwise appeared to be unused.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valley of the Kings</span> Necropolis in ancient Egypt

The Valley of the Kings, also known as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings, is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, rock-cut tombs were excavated for the pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KV64</span> Ancient Egyptian tomb discovered in 2011

KV64 is the tomb of an unknown Eighteenth Dynasty individual in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor, Egypt that was re-used in the Twenty-second Dynasty for the burial of the priestess Nehmes Bastet, who held the office of "chantress" at the temple of Karnak. The tomb is located on the pathway to KV34 in the main Valley of the Kings. KV64 was discovered in 2011 and excavated in 2012 by Susanne Bickel and Elina Paulin-Grothe of the University of Basel.

The majority of the 65 numbered tombs in the Valley of the Kings can be considered minor tombs, either because at present they have yielded little information or because the results of their investigation was only poorly recorded by their explorers, while some have received very little attention or were only cursorily noted. Most of these tombs are small, often only consisting of a single burial chamber accessed by means of a shaft or a staircase with a corridor or a series of corridors leading to the chamber, but some are larger, multiple chambered tombs. These minor tombs served various purposes, some were intended for burials of lesser royalty or for private burials, some contained animal burials and others apparently never received a primary burial. In many cases these tombs also served secondary functions and later intrusive material has been found related to these secondary activities. While some of these tombs have been open since antiquity, the majority were discovered in the 19th and early 20th centuries during the height of exploration in the valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehmes Bastet</span> Egyptian priestess (c. 945–712 BCE)

Nehmes Bastet or Nehemes-Bastet was an Ancient Egyptian priestess who held the office of "chantress"; she was the daughter of the high priest of Amun. She lived during the Twenty-second Dynasty and was buried in tomb KV64 in the Valley of the Kings. It was excavated in 2012 and discovered to be a reuse of a tomb for the burial of a woman of an earlier dynasty, whose name, as yet, is unknown.