KV63 is a chamber in Egypt's Valley of the Kingspharaonicnecropolis. Initially believed to be a royal tomb, it is now believed to have been a storage chamber for the mummification process.[1] It was found in 2005 by a team of archaeologists led by Otto Schaden.
The chamber contained seven wooden coffins and many large storage jars. All coffins have now been opened, and were found to contain only mummification materials, with the jars also containing mummification supplies including salts, linens, and broken pottery.
Some clay seal impressions contain text, such as the partial word 'pa-aten,'[2] part of the birth name of Tutankhamun's wife, Ankhesenamun.[2] This inscription, the architectural style of the chamber, and the form of the coffins and jars all point to an Eighteenth Dynasty date, roughly contemporary with Tutankhamun, whose tomb is nearby.
KV63 was revisited by Schaden's team again in 2010, along with a TV team. Another 16 storage jars were explored, and a wooden bed with lions' heads, along with pieces of wine jars, were discovered. The team arrived at the theory that the chamber was probably used by Tutankhamun's family embalmers, about 1337–1334 BC.
Discovery
The area immediately above the chamber in March 2005, one to two months after KV63's initial discovery.
The vertical shaft of KV63 was re-discovered on 10 March 2005. The discovery that the shaft led to a chamber was announced on 8 February 2006, by the Supreme Council of Antiquities, which credited the find to a team of U.S.archaeologists from the University of Memphis, under the leadership of Dr. Otto Schaden. The chamber—given the name "KV63" in accordance with the sequential numbering convention used in the Valley—was initially thought to be a tomb, the first new one to be revealed there since the discovery of KV62, the tomb of Tutankhamun, by Howard Carter in 1922.
KV63 is located in the area between KV10 (Amenmesse) and KV62 (Tutankhamun),[3] in the very centre of the Valley's eastern branch and near the main crossroads of the network of paths traversed by thousands of tourists daily.
Image and mapping of Kings Valley tombs showing the location of KV63 relative to other tombs.
The discovery was made as the archaeological team was excavating the remains of 19th dynasty workmen's huts at the entrance to KV10, looking for evidence to clarify the succession of Amenmesse. The area around the huts had accumulated rubble from occasional flooding. Both Theodore M. Davis and Howard Carter had dug in the area in the early twentieth century, but had not removed these particular huts. While exploring a layer of dark rock, the dig came across chips of white stone (these being the last level excavated by Carter). Further exploration revealed a straight edge of cut stone, which turned out to be on the upper lip of a vertical shaft. Unfortunately, the discovery came at the end of the 2004–05 digging season, and further excavations were postponed until the team recommenced its work the following autumn.
Description of chamber
The overhang on the shaft of KV63 has been compared with and found to be similar to other Eighteenth Dynasty tombs (KV55 and that of Yuya and Thuya), thereby dating the construction to the latter portion of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ca. 14th century BC) of the New Kingdom (16th century to 11th century BC).[4] It is also broadly speculated that all three tombs are the work of the same architect, or at least the same school of architects.
The shaft descends some five metres. At the bottom of this pit stands a 1.5 metre tall door made of stone blocks. Behind this door, in which the team originally opened a small window for the 10 February 2006 event, stands the single chamber.
No seals were found on the door, and it was initially believed that KV63 was a reburial and had experienced some intrusion in antiquity. The blocking stones in the doorway were not original, suggesting that the doorway had been opened and closed a few times. The original blocking stones were found inside the tomb, giving evidence that someone had re-entered and sealed the tomb in antiquity.
The chamber measures some four metres by five and has plain white walls. It contained seven wooden coffins, including one scaled for a child and one for an infant. Two of the adult coffins and the child's coffin feature yellow funerary masks; the others have black funerary masks. It has been suggested that those with yellow faces may have been designed for female occupants. There is extensive termite damage on some coffins and the result was likened by the excavating team to "black paste"; however, at least two coffins were virtually untouched by termites. These termites seem to have come from the workers' huts above the shaft, and therefore probably date from the pharaonic era. There was no evidence of water damage. However, now that the chamber has been opened, the site is at risk of damage from flash floods.[2]
The identity of the owners of the coffins is unknown; in any case none contained human remains, all having been used to hold material relating to the embalming process. There is no evidence for the chamber having been sealed more than once and it thus seems that the deposit represents embalming debris from one particular person's mummification.
The chamber also held 28 large storage jars, approximately 75cm tall, made from both pottery and alabaster. The jars weighed around 40 or 43kg (90–95 pounds), varying slightly in size and weight. Three of them appear to have been broken in antiquity at the rim or lower neck. Most of the jars were discovered with intact lids, but did not bear pharaonic seal impressions. Shortly after their manufacture, the jars were whitewashed while standing in sand, and the bottoms show the original clay. A large ostracon, not identified to have come from one of the storage jars at the time, was discovered and broken during the modern opening of the tomb.
According to Dr. Schaden, the method of sealing the storage jars had been deliberate. A mud plug was first inserted, then a seal, and then a large plaster seal. Apparently, it was of importance that it should be done in this precise manner. This supports the idea that there was a reason behind the placing of the artifacts and that the chamber was not merely a dumping ground.
There was over 175kg of natron in the chamber, some inside the coffins and some inside little sacks. The jars and contents are similar to those from KV54, the Tutankhamunembalming cache.
Work has been ongoing to remove the coffins and the storage jars to KV10, which has adequate space for a conservation team to conduct a thorough examination and analysis of the coffins and jars in a proper, scientific manner. A pulley system was devised to facilitate the safe removal of the coffins and jars from the shaft. Grass buckets and bubblewrap were used to lift the jars out from the place where they were packed away for 3000 years. The removal of jars began on 2 March 2006 and most jars have been relocated safely along with one large sealed alabaster jar, which contained small pots packed in mud. Twelve of the storage jars have thus far been examined. Contents include natron, wood, seeds, shells, carbon, assorted pottery, small animal bones, papyrus fragments, mud trays, mud seals, and pieces of twine or rope.[5] Egyptologist Salima Ikram is supervising the removal and examination of the contents.[5]
On first examination there appeared to be stuffing extruding between the lid and the bottom of the youth coffin labeled 'G'. When the coffin was opened this stuffing was revealed to be five pillows.[2][6] As textile remnants from ancient Egypt are relatively rare, and pillows extremely so,[7] the materials used for these will be of great interest. On May 26, 2006, a 42cm. pink gold leaf anthropoid coffinette was discovered inside the youth coffin, under the pillows.
The last and only completely sealed coffin was opened on June 28, 2006. The coffin contained no mummy, only artifacts used for mummification or to decorate a body. It looked like it had once been used, as there was an impression of a human body in the bottom of the coffin. It is theorized that this body was moved or destroyed in antiquity.
Due to its proximity to the tomb of Tutankhamun and the resemblances between the portraits in the sarcophagi, as well as the style contemporary to the latter part of the 18th Dynasty, there was groundless speculation at the time of the first discovery that the coffins were once used for the bodies of Kiya and/or even Ankhesenamen. However, there is no reason to believe that the coffins were other than that of basic types used for private persons, probably derived from undertakers' stock for use to contain embalming debris.
Given the location of the tomb, and the fact that its entrance was sealed by the same flood layer that sealed that of Tutankhamun, it seems most likely that KV63 was the main embalmers' cache for Tutankhamun's burial. In this case, the long-known group of material deriving from his funeral found in KV54 probably represents an 'overflow' of material requiring disposal after KV63 had been sealed.
KV55 is a tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. It was discovered by Edward R. Ayrton in 1907 while he was working in the Valley for Theodore M. Davis. It has long been speculated, as well as much disputed, that the body found in this tomb was that of the famous king, Akhenaten, who moved the capital to Akhetaten. The results of genetic and other scientific tests published in February 2010 have confirmed that the person buried there was both the son of Amenhotep III and the father of Tutankhamun. Furthermore, the study established that the age of this person at the time of his death was consistent with that of Akhenaten, thereby making it almost certain that it is Akhenaten's body. However, a growing body of work soon began to appear to dispute the assessment of the age of the mummy and the identification of KV55 as Akhenaten.
The tomb of Tutankhamun, also known by its tomb number, KV62, is the burial place of Tutankhamun, a pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt, in the Valley of the Kings. The tomb consists of four chambers and an entrance staircase and corridor. It is smaller and less extensively decorated than other Egyptian royal tombs of its time, and it probably originated as a tomb for a non-royal individual that was adapted for Tutankhamun's use after his premature death. Like other pharaohs, Tutankhamun was buried with a wide variety of funerary objects and personal possessions, such as coffins, furniture, clothing and jewelry, though in the unusually limited space these goods had to be densely packed. Robbers entered the tomb twice in the years immediately following the burial, but Tutankhamun's mummy and most of the burial goods remained intact. The tomb's low position, dug into the floor of the valley, allowed its entrance to be hidden by debris deposited by flooding and tomb construction. Thus, unlike other tombs in the valley, it was not stripped of its valuables during the Third Intermediate Period.
Tomb WV23, also known as KV23, is located in the Western Valley of the Kings near modern-day Luxor, and was the tomb of Pharaoh Ay of the Eighteenth Dynasty. The tomb was discovered by Giovanni Battista Belzoni in the winter of 1816. Its architecture is similar to that of the tomb of Akhenaten, with a straight descending corridor leading to a "well chamber" that has no shaft. This leads to the burial chamber, which now contains the reconstructed sarcophagus, which had been smashed in antiquity. The tomb had also been anciently desecrated, with many instances of Ay's image or name erased from the wall paintings. Its decoration is similar in content and colour to that of the tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62), with a few differences. On the eastern wall there is a depiction of a fishing and fowling scene, which is not shown in other royal tombs, normally appearing in burials of nobility.
Tomb KV42 is an ancient Egyptian tomb in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor, Egypt. It was constructed for Hatshepsut-Meryetre, the wife of Thutmose III, but she was not buried in the tomb. It may have been reused by Sennefer, a mayor of Thebes during the reign of Amenhotep II, and by several members of his family. The tomb has a cartouche-shaped burial chamber, like other early Eighteenth Dynasty tombs.
The tomb of Yuya and Thuya, also known by its tomb number KV46, is the burial place of the ancient Egyptian noble Yuya and his wife Thuya, in the Valley of the Kings. They were the parents of Queen Tiye, the chief wife of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. Their tomb was discovered in February 1905 by the Egyptologist James E. Quibell, excavating under the sponsorship of American millionaire Theodore M. Davis. The tomb was robbed in antiquity but preserved a great deal of its original contents including chests, beds, chairs, a chariot, and numerous storage jars. Additionally, the riffled but undamaged mummies of Yuya and Thuya were found within their disturbed coffin sets. Prior to the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, this was considered to be one of the greatest discoveries in Egyptology.
Tomb KV11 is the tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses III. It is located in the main valley of the Valley of the Kings. The tomb was originally started by Setnakhte, but abandoned when it unintentionally broke into the earlier tomb of Amenmesse (KV10). Setnakhte was buried in KV14. The tomb KV11 was later restarted and extended and on a different axis for Ramesses III.
Thuya was an Egyptian noblewoman and the mother of queen Tiye, and the wife of Yuya. She is the grandmother of Akhenaten, and great grandmother of Tutankhamun.
The area of the Valley of the Kings, in Luxor, Egypt, has been a major area of modern Egyptological exploration for the last two centuries. Before this, the area was a site for tourism in antiquity. This area illustrates the changes in the study of ancient Egypt, beginning as antiquity hunting and ending with the scientific excavation of the whole Theban Necropolis. Despite the exploration and investigation noted below, only eleven of the tombs have actually been completely recorded.
Tomb KV36 is the burial place of the noble Maiherpri of the Eighteenth Dynasty in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt.
Tomb KV10, located in the Valley of the Kings near the modern-day Egyptian city of Luxor, was cut and decorated for the burial of Pharaoh Amenmesse of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. However, there is no proof that he was actually buried here. Later, the decoration was replaced with scenes for Takhat and Baketwernel—two royal women dating to the late 20th Dynasty.
Tomb KV40 is located in the Valley of the Kings, in Egypt. Artifacts from the tomb attribute it to 18th Dynasty royal family members, though human remains from the later 22nd Dynasty were interred. Although the tomb was excavated by Victor Loret in 1899, no report was published.
Tomb KV54 is located in the Valley of the Kings, in Egypt. It was originally excavated by Edward R. Ayrton on behalf of the American lawyer Theodore M. Davis, who funded the work.
Otto John Schaden was an American Egyptologist. He was the field director of the Amenmesse Tomb Project of the University of Memphis (Tennessee). In addition to his work on the tomb of Amenmesse (KV10) in the main arm of the Valley of the Kings, he has also cleared and reinvestigated tombs WV23, WV24, and WV25 in the Western Valley.
The Valley of the Kings, also known as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings, is an area in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the Eighteenth Dynasty to the Twentieth Dynasty, rock-cut tombs were excavated for pharaohs and powerful nobles under the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt.
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.
Carl Nicholas Reeves, FSA, is a British Egyptologist, archaeologist and museum curator.
An embalming cache is a collection of material that was used by the ancient Egyptians in the mummification process and then buried either with or separately from the body. It is believed that because the materials had come in contact with the body, they had possibly absorbed part of it, and needed to be buried in order for the body to be complete in the afterlife.
KV65 is a tomb commencement in the Western Valley of the Kings, near Luxor, Egypt. It was discovered in 2018 by a team led by the Egyptologist Zahi Hawass and announced in 2019. The tomb consists of a sloping rectangular pit of similar proportions to the entrances of royal tombs from the Eighteenth Dynasty. It contained a variety of items consisting of construction tools, pieces of rope, animal bones, leather, pottery, and food remains. It may represent a cache where the remains of a funerary feast and embalming material was buried, similar to the embalming cache of Tutankhamun, KV54.
The archaeology of Ancient Egypt is the study of the archaeology of Egypt, stretching from prehistory through three millennia of documented history. Egyptian archaeology is one of the branches of Egyptology.
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