Secrets Of The Valley Of The Kings

November 04, 2008

Dr. Zahi Hawass’ dream to excavate in the Valley of the Kings has finally come true.

In an interesting article in this week’s Al-Ahram, Dr. Hawass, secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, reports on the first Egyptian expedition ever to work there:

“We began our work in the spot where I had dreamed of excavating, between the tombs of Merenptah and Ramses II. I believe that the tomb of Ramses VIII could be located in this area.

The Valley of the Kings has only revealed one new discovery since the tomb of King Tut -- 84 years later, Otto Schaden found KV63 in front of the young Pharaoh's tomb. Our excavation, however, is proving to be not only the first Egyptian expedition ever to work in the valley, but also one of the most scientifically important. As soon as we started our excavation we could feel that the area was promising. We discovered a cut in the mountain, followed by stairs ending in a hole in the ground. It looks like the entrance to a tomb, and it is exactly similar to the entrance of KV63. We recorded many inscriptions nearby, some of which were already known and others that were found for the first time. One tells us that a man named Userhat built a tomb for his father, the vizier Amennakht.

Our work among the cliffs was very interesting. We found huge blocks, and it took us a long time to move them. After that we found a manmade wall, below which was a shaft with descending stairs. This seems to be the entrance to yet another tomb. We also found several workmen's huts -- we knew that the workmen used to live in the valley while they were cutting and decorating the tombs of the Pharaohs. In one area we found a round limestone base with a central hole where food and drink for the workmen would have been placed.

We had to stop our excavation at the end of May because of the heat. We will start again in October, and finally open tombs KV64 and KV65. The valley will again be crowded with people, and secrets will be revealed for the first time. Nothing like this has been seen since the exciting discovery of the tomb of King Tut in 1922."

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