Tomb KV5 is a subterranean,
rock-cut tomb in the Valley of the Kings
.It belonged to the sons of
Ramesses II. Though KV5 was partially excavated
as early as 1825, its true extent was discovered by Dr
Kent R. Weeks and
his exploration team. The tomb is now known to be the largest in
the Valley of the Kings.
Dr Week's discovery in 1995 is widely
considered the most dramatic in the valley since the discovery of
the tomb of
Tutankhamun in
1922.
History
Standing near the entrance to the Valley, over the centuries it
suffered the fate of other low-lying tombs, which was to be filled
with rubble washed down in the
flash
floods that accompany
thunderstorms
over the Valley. In addition, it was robbed in antiquity.
The tomb was examined several times once exploration of the Valley
in relatively modern times started, first in 1825 (by
James Burton), and later in 1902
(by
Howard Carter,
discoverer of the tomb of Tutankhamun, who used KV5 only as a
dumping ground). However, they were not able to penetrate past the
first few rooms, and thus saw nothing unusual about the tomb.
It was not until the
Theban
Mapping Project, under
Kent R.
Weeks, decided to clear the tomb (in
part to see if it would be damaged by proposed building works
nearby, and in part so that it could be mapped) that the stage was
set for the discovery of its true nature. During the initial stages
of their work, from 1987 to 1994, the team was unaware of the true
scope of the tomb.
It was only in
1995, after doing substantial
clearing in the outer chambers of the tomb, that they were stunned
to discover the long corridors, lined with rooms (approximately
seventy in all: bear in mind that Ramesses sired at least that many
sons), running back into the hillside; a discovery which amazed the
world and reignited popular interest in
Egyptology. Finds so far have included thousands
of potsherds,
ushabiti,
faience beads,
hieratic
ostraca, glass vials, inlays and even a
large statue of
Osiris, the god of the
afterlife.
Further excavations have revealed that the tomb is even larger than
was first thought, as it contains more corridors, with more rooms,
running off from other parts of the tomb. At least 121 rooms or
chambers have been discovered as of
2006 (only
about 7% of which have been cleared), and work is still continuing
on clearing the rest of tomb.
In the proximity to the tomb of
Ramesses
II, this tomb contained most of his children, both male and
female, including those who died in his lifetime in particular. The
skull fragments of
Amun-her-khepeshef, among others, were
found inside and reconstituted.
In popular culture
Further reading
- Kent R. Weeks, The Lost Tomb. New York: William
Morrow, 1998. Includes a description of the discovery and
excavation of KV5. ISBN 0-688-17224-5
- Kent R. Weeks, KV 5: A Preliminary Report on the Excavation
of the Tomb of the Sons of Ramesses II in the Valley of the
Kings. Cairo: American University Press, 2000 ISBN
977-424-574-1
- Reeves, N & Wilkinson, R.H. The Complete Valley of
the Kings, 1996, Thames and Hudson, London
- Siliotti, A. Guide to the Valley of the Kings and to the
Theban Necropolises and Temples, 1996, A.A. Gaddis, Cairo,
Dr M.Swales,
References
External links
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
