| KV8 | |
|---|---|
| Burial site of Merenptah | |
 Merenptah's stone sarcophagus in KV8 | |
  KV8 | |
| Coordinates | 25°44′26″N32°36′3″E / 25.74056°N 32.60083°E |
| Location | East Valley of the Kings |
| Discovered | Open in antiquity |
| Excavated by | Howard Carter |
| Layout | Straight axis |
Tomb KV8, located in the Valley of the Kings, was used for the burial of Pharaoh Merenptah of Ancient Egypt's Nineteenth Dynasty.
Contents
The burial chamber, located at the end of 160 metres of corridor, originally held a set of four nested sarcophagi. The outer one of these was so voluminous that parts of the corridor had to have their doorjambs demolished and rebuilt to allow it to be brought in. These jambs were then rebuilt with the help of inscribed sandstone blocks which were then fixed into place with dovetail cramps.
The pillars in Chamber F were removed to allow passage of the sarcophagus, only two were replaced. The other two pillars may have been stolen by Paneb, a worker in the craftsman's village (Deir el-Medina), for use in his own tomb.
During the Third Intermediate Period, Merenptah's mummy was relocated to the mummy cache in DB320. His outer sarcophagus was smashed to retrieve the middle sarcophagus for reuse by Psusennes I in his own tomb in Tanis. The inner sarcophagus was left intact. [1]
