Variations on an enigma

Al Ahram Weekly

Recent discoveries at the Valley of the Kings on Luxor's west bank have changed the understanding of one of the most intriguing archaeological sites in Egypt, says Nevine El-Aref

The Valley of the Kings is one of the richest and most fascinating archaeological sites in the world. It was here that in 1922 Howard Carter found the tomb and treasures of Tutankhamun, perhaps the most sensational discovery in the history of archaeology. In 2005, a team from the University of Memphis in the United States located the first new tomb found in the valley since Tutankhamun, bringing the number of known tombs to 63, of which 26 belonged to kings. Yet, although explorers and archaeologists had been combing the Valley of the Kings for centuries, not a single tomb had been found by an Egyptian. Not, that was, until early last year, when the first all-Egyptian archaeological mission ever to work at the Valley of the Kings opened a new chapter of discovery. The team has recently made several important and revolutionary discoveries that are helping to solve some of the enigmas surrounding the site.

Although several important discoveries were made there in the 19th and 20th centuries, there are still a number of Pharaohs and other royals who were probably buried in the Valley of the Kings but whose tombs have not yet been found. The resting places of Ramses VIII, Tuthmosis II, and the queens and princes of the 18th Dynasty are still unknown.

"There are still many treasures left to be discovered in the valley," says Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), who led the excavation team.

Excavation work by the team focussed on three different areas at the valley; The first is between the tombs of Merenptah and Ramses II on the northern side of the central valley; the second in the area to the south of the tomb of Tutankhamun; and the third in the western part of the valley, where the tombs of Amenhotep III and Ay are located.