KV37

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KV37
Burial site of Unknown
KV37.jpg
Schematic of KV37
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KV37
Coordinates 25°44′18.6″N32°36′02.5″E / 25.738500°N 32.600694°E / 25.738500; 32.600694 Coordinates: 25°44′18.6″N32°36′02.5″E / 25.738500°N 32.600694°E / 25.738500; 32.600694
Location East Valley of the Kings
Discovered1899
Excavated by Victor Loret (1899)
University of Basel (2016-2017)
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KV38

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. [1]

Contents

Location, discovery and excavation

KV37 is located in a side branch of the southern side valley, just below the tomb of Thutmose III (KV34). [2] Cut into the base of the cliff near the stairs to KV34, it is now well below the modern ground level. The tomb was discovered by Victor Loret in 1899; his excavation mentioned finds of ostraca and artefacts bearing the names of Thutmose IV and Seti I. The tomb also evidently contained pottery vessels that were noted by Elizabeth Thomas. [3]

Re-excavation

The tomb was re-cleared by the University of Basel Kings' Valley Project during their 2016–2017 field season. Part of the fill on the north side had to be excavated to access the tomb, as it lies several metres below the modern ground level; no artefacts were encountered in this fill. The stairs were covered with modern debris and rubbish, as well as sherds of Eighteenth Dynasty pottery. The interior of the tomb also contained flood-washed debris to a depth of several centimetres; the single room was covered with a layer of fine sand. The pieces of pottery observed by Thomas were found gathered in the centre of the chamber. The pottery was recovered, cleaned, and reassembled, with an initial estimate of twenty jars. [3] Further study revised this estimate to twenty-nine jars, some pieces of which were badly eroded. [4] The tomb itself was mapped and extensively photographed; several masons marks in red paint were noted on the walls of the entrance passageway. At the conclusion of the investigation, an iron door was fitted at the base of the stairs to prevent the tomb from filling with debris. [3]

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">KV52</span> Ancient Egyptian "animal tomb"

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<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 Dr. Susanne Bickel and Dr. 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.

References

  1. Reeves, Nicholas; Wilkinson, Richard H. (2010). The Complete Valley of the Kings: Tombs and Treasures of Egypt's Greatest Pharaohs (Paperback reprint ed.). London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. p. 183. ISBN   978-0-500-28403-2.
  2. "KV 37 (Unknown)". Theban Mapping Project. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Bickel, Suzanne; Paulin-Grothe, Elina (2017). "Report on work carried out during the field season 2016-2017" (PDF). University of Basel Kings' Valley Project: 6–9. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  4. Bickel, Suzanne; Paulin-Grothe, Elina (2018). "Report on work carried out during the field season 2017-2018" (PDF). University of Basel Kings' Valley Project: 14. Retrieved 26 July 2021.