Tomb of Thutmosis III (KV 34)

Some scholars named Tuthmosis III "Napoleon of the East", but we think that Napoleon is the one who have to be named by the name of Tuthmosis, (Tuthmosis means born by Thoth). In the first twenty-two years of Tuthmosis III's reign, he was co-regent with his stepmother, Hatshepsut. After her death, he ascended the throne and became the pharaoh of the kingdom. He created the largest Egyptian empire that had ever been seen. Officially, Tuthmosis III ruled Egypt for almost fifty-four years, including the 20 years of Queen Hatshepsut. King Tuthmosis III was one of the first pharaohs to be buried in the Valley of the Kings, and his tomb is the oldest decorated tomb in the valley. KV 34 was discovered in 1898 and cleared by Victor Loret, the director of the Antiquities Service. The tomb is in an unusual location as it lies in a narrow cut in the bedrock cliffs, high above the floor of the Valley of the Kings. The tomb is reached through a steel staircase rising over twenty meters above the Valley floor. The mummy of the pharaoh was found in the cachette at Deir Al-Bahari in 1881.- Architecture of the Tomb of Thutmosis III

Tomb KV 34 has the classic plan used in the tombs of the Eighteenth Dynasty, with a sharp turn at the vestibule preceding the burial chamber. There are two corridors leading to a vestibule with two columns preceded by a quadrangular shaft with an astronomical ceiling.

- The Vestibule of the Tomb of Thutmosis III

The Vestibule of Tomb KV 34 is decorated with very unique and distinctive scenes compared to any other scenes in any tomb in the Valley. The scenes show the 741 deities in the Book of Imydwat. On the two pillars in the middle of the chamber, there are texts from the Litanies of Re, a text that celebrates the sun-god as well as the pharaoh, who is identified with him and with other gods. The east pillar houses one of the very unique and impressive scenes in the tombs of the Valley of the Kings. The scene shows Tuthmosis III as a boy being suckled by the goddess Isis in the guise of a tree. Preceding him is the King as an adult with his wife.

- The Well Chamber of the Tomb of Thutmosis III

The roof of the Well Chamber of the Tomb of Thutmosis III is decorated with yellow stars on a blue background and a Khekher-frieze along the top of the walls. Ahead of the well shaft, there is Chamber F which is a squared room with two undecorated pillars. The walls of the chamber are finely painted with the names of the 741 deities of the Imydwat. In the left front corner of the room, there is a staircase that leads to the Burial Chamber.

- The Burial Chamber of the Tomb of Thutmosis III

The Burial Chamber of Tomb KV 34 has an oval shape and its ceiling is supported by two pillars. Most probably the shape was intended to represent a royal cartouche. The chamber is about 14.6 meters by 8.5 meters and its walls are decorated with scenes and texts from the Imydwat. This chamber houses the unique yellow quartzite sarcophagus of Tuthmosis III. Having a cartouche shape, it still sits in the middle of the Burial Chamber. It was painted red to imitate red granite and its sides are decorated with figures of the King and various deities. The mummy of King Tuthmosis III was taken from the tomb and reburied in TT 320, the cachette of royal mummies near Deir al Bahari.

- The Imydwat Book in the Tomb of Thutmosis III

The Book of Imydwat consists of twelve hours. The scenes of those hours are depicted upon the walls of the Burial Chamber of KV 34. The first, second, third, and fourth hours are found on the front wall; the fifth and sixth on the right wall, seventh and eighth on the left, and the ninth to twelfth on the rear wall. The first hour starts at the entrance to the Netherworld. It shows the Netherworld's inhabitants and continues the list of 741 deities given in Chamber F. In the second and third hours, the Netherworld's fertile farmlands are described and evil beings are overcome by knife wielding figures. The fourth hour takes us to the desert land of Ro-setau, the Land of god Sokar who is Upon His Sand, a place of snakes, barred doors and darkness. In the fifth hour, male and female figures tow the solar barque through blackness and thirst. In the sixth hour, the sun is in the form of a scarab beetle and reaches midnight in the depths of the Netherworld. Gods Ra and Osiris join together and the dead living king brings his ancestors back. The seventh hour: Apophis, the snake-god, blot out the sun, but he is defeated by Isis, Seth, and Osiris, and they triumph over him. In the eighth and ninth hours, the sun-god Ra opens the doors of five caverns for the worthy dead. In the tenth hour, there is a rectangular pool filled with the floating bodies of those who have drowned. They are considered especially blessed and, although a normal funeral is not possible, Horus carries them safely into the Netherworld. In the eleventh hour, there are twelve men and women pull the divine solar barque of the blessed dead into day light, and the sun, shown as a beetle, joins Shu, the god of air, at the start of another day.

The Tomb of Ay (WV 23)

Ay is Tutankhamen's successor, who took the throne following the death of the young king, he served at the royal court as a vizier then he ruled the country for a very few years (about 2 years). The T

The Tomb of Merneptah (KV 8)

King Mereneptah was the 11th son of King Ramses II and Queen Isis-Nofret. He was an old man and he ascended the throne after the long rule of his father. He ruled for only about ten years, but his tom

The Tomb of Ramses II (KV 7)

Unfortunately, the tomb of the great Pharaoh Ramses II is unsuitable for visiting by tourists. It was one of the first tombs to be dug near the entrance of the Valley of the Kings, but King Ramses II

The Tomb of Siptah (KV 47)

Pharaoh Siptah (Mer-en-ptah), who's name means "Son of Ptah, Beloved of Ptah", was the son of King Seti II. He ruled the country with his stepmother Tausret as a regent. The history of the Tomb of Sip

The Tomb of Tausret and Setnakht (KV 14)

It has been open since antiquity, it was used originally by Tausret and then reused and extended by Setnakht. It was excavated by Hartwig Altenmüller from 1983 to 1987. The tomb is a rare example of

The Tomb of the Sons of Ramses II (KV 5)

The Tomb of the sons of Ramses II is identified as Tomb KV5. Excavations in this tomb started first in 1825 (by James Burton), and later in 1902 by the discoverer of the Tomb of Tutankhamun (Howard Ca

The Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV 62)

Pharaoh Tutankhamun was probably the son of the heretic pharaoh Amenhotep IV (better known in the history as Akhenaton, founder of one of the first monotheistic religions in human history). Tutankhamu

Tomb of Amenhotep II (KV 35)

Amenhotep II, son of Tuthmosis III, is widely considered, from both military and administrative perspective, as one of the great Ancient Egyptian rulers. He led a number of successful military campaig

Tomb of Amen-Her-Kheb-Shef

Also buried in the Valley of the Queens was Amenherkhepshef, the son of Ramses III and brother of Khaemwaset. He was a prince, an heir to the throne of his father, royal scribe, and Chief of the Chari

Tomb of Amenmeses

Pharaoh Amenmeses was the 5th ruler of the Ninth Dynasty who succeeded Merneptah. His Egyptian name was Heqa-waset (which suggests the titles the "Fashioned by Amun, Ruler of Thebes"). His throne name

Tomb of Horemheb (KV 57)

Before coming to the throne himself, Horemheb had served in the court of King Amenhotep IV, then he had continued in his post under the reign of King Tutankhamun and finally under the command of King

Tomb of Hatchepsut and Thutmose I

The Tomb of Queen Hatshepsut and Thutmose I (Thutmes or Tuthmosis I) is located in the Valley of the Kings, in the Western Bank of Luxor. The tomb was built on the base of a sheer cliff. Archeologists

Tomb of Ramesses VII

The small Tomb of Ramesses VII (KV 1) is located in the Valley of the Kings, in the Western Bank of Luxor (ancient Thebes), a little way back from the road. A Greek inscription shows that this tomb wa

Tomb of Prince Mentuherkhepeshef (KV 19)

Prince Mentuherkhepshef was a son of Ramses IX. He was the only prince to be buried like kings in a decorated tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Tomb KV 19 was originally for a prince called Ramses Seth

Tomb of Ramses VI (KV 9)

King Ramses VI was the fifth king of the Twentieth Dynasty (1156-1145 BC). He came to the throne after the death of his predecessor, Ramses V, who had ruled Egypt for only one year. Ramses VI ruled fo

Tomb of Ramses IX (KV 6)

Pharaoh Ramses IX was the eighth ruler of the Twentieth Dynasty in the New Kingdom Period of Ancient Egypt. He re-established stability in the country after the chaotic period following the death of R

Tomb of Ramses IV (KV 2)

King Ramses IV is the third pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty of the New Kingdom. He was the 5th son of Ramses III and was appointed the crown as a prince by year 22 of his father's reign. After a shor

Tomb of Ramses III (KV 11)

King Ramses III was the second ruler of the Twentieth Dynasty, and the last of great pharaohs on the throne. Ramses III, son of Setnakht, ruled Egypt for 31 years. Shortly before his death, there was

Tomb of Ramses I (KV 16)

King Ramses I is the founder of the Ninth Dynasty and father of Seti I. His reign only extended over two years, since he came to the throne as an old man after a career in the army under the reign of

Tomb of Seti II (KV 15)

King Seti II (or Sethos II), Son of King Merneptah and Queen Isetnofret, was the fifth or the sixth ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty who reigned from 1203 - 1197 BC. The royal succession and the tempor

Tomb of Seti I (KV 17)

King Seti I is the second king of the Nineteenth Dynasty and the son of King Ramses I, father of the great King Ramses II. The name Seti means "of Set", which indicates that he was consecrated to th

Tomb of Thutmosis IV (KV 43)

ing Tuthmosis IV was the 8th pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. His father was Amenhotep II and his mother was Queen Mutemuya, the daughter of the Mitannian King who produced the heir to the throne Am

Tomb of Thutmosis II

Pharaoh Tuthmosis II (Thuthmusis II, Thotmusis II, or Thuthmes II) was the fourth king of the Eighteenth Dynasty (1492-1479 BC). In his fourteen years on the throne, he supported several military camp

We use cookies. Some are ours and others are of third parties cookies. Theses cookies facilitate the experience of the user in our website and helps finishing transactions requested by the user. If you continue browsing, we will consider that you accept the use of cookies. You can get more information here. x

Sign Up

Sign In