KV20
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KV20 is a tomb in the
Valley of the Kings 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 power ...
(
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
). It was probably the first royal tomb to be constructed in the valley. KV20 was the original burial place of
Thutmose I Thutmose I (sometimes read as Thutmosis or Tuthmosis I, Thothmes in older history works in Latinized Greek; meaning "Thoth is born") was the third pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 18th Dynasty of History of Ancient Egypt, Egypt. He re ...
(who was later re-interred in
KV38 KV38 is an ancient Egyptian tomb located in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. It was used for the reburial of Pharaoh Thutmose I of the Eighteenth Dynasty, and was where his body was removed to (from KV20) by Thutmose III before ultimately being ...
) and later was adapted by his daughter
Hatshepsut Hatshepsut ( ; BC) was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, Egypt, ruling first as regent, then as queen regnant from until (Low Chronology) and the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II. She was Egypt's second c ...
to accommodate her and her father. The tomb was known to Napoleon Bonaparte's expedition in 1799 and had been visited by several explorers between 1799 and 1903. A full clearance of the tomb was undertaken by
Howard Carter Howard Carter (9 May 18742 March 1939) was a British archaeologist and Egyptology, Egyptologist who Discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, discovered Tomb of Tutankhamun, the intact tomb of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 18th Dynasty Pharaoh ...
in 1903–1904. KV20 is distinguishable from other tombs in the valley, both in its general layout and because of the atypical clockwise curvature of its corridors.


Location and exploration

KV20 is located in the easternmost branch of the valley near the later tombs KV19, KV43, and
KV60 Tomb KV60 is an ancient Egyptian tomb in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt. It was discovered by Howard Carter in 1903, and re-excavated by Donald P. Ryan in 1989. It is one of the more perplexing tombs of the Theban Necropolis, due to the uncertai ...
. It was known to the French expedition of 1799 and to Belzoni, who worked in the area in 1817. A first attempt to excavate the tomb was undertaken by
James Burton James Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana, United States) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also ...
in 1824, who cleared it as far as the tomb's first chamber. Although Lepsius explored it in 1844 and 1845, no further attempts to excavate the tomb were undertaken until
Howard Carter Howard Carter (9 May 18742 March 1939) was a British archaeologist and Egyptology, Egyptologist who Discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, discovered Tomb of Tutankhamun, the intact tomb of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 18th Dynasty Pharaoh ...
started his clearance of the rock-hard fill in the corridor in the spring of 1903. This excavation was conducted by Carter as Inspector of the Antiquities Service, but the work was sponsored by Theodore M. Davis, who published a full report of the work in 1906. After Carter's work in the tomb ended, no further activities have been carried out. The ceiling of the burial chamber had suffered a further collapse when John Romer visited the tomb in the late 1960s. Since 1994 the burial chamber has been inaccessible due to debris deposited by flooding.


Layout

The tomb has an unusual layout, consisting of a series of five curving, descending corridors, interspersed with sections of steep stairs and passing through two chambers and an antechamber before ending in a pillared burial chamber with three small satellite storerooms. The corridors bend east-south-west in a clockwise fashion, which is a unique feature amongst the tombs in the valley. Beginning halfway down the first corridor are sockets, likely to take the timber supports used to lower the sarcophagus. Additionally, the corridors have steps cut along one side, with the remaining portion forming a ramp. Another unusual feature of the tomb is its extreme length of .


Excavation and contents

Carter found two items bearing Hatshepsut's cartouches during his excavation of the tomb of
Thutmose IV Thutmose IV (sometimes read as Thutmosis or Tuthmosis IV, Thothmes in older history works in Latinized Greek; Ancient Egyptian: ''ḏḥwti.msi(.w)'' "Thoth is born") was the 8th Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, who ruled in approximately t ...
(KV43), leading him to suspect her tomb must be nearby. A single
foundation deposit Foundation deposits are the archaeological remains of the ritual burial of materials under the foundations of buildings. Ancient Egypt In the case of Ancient Egypt, foundation deposits took the form of ritual mudbrick lined pits or holes dug at s ...
was found on 2 February 1903 immediately in front of KV20. The foundation deposit was carefully placed between layers of sand and covered over with limestone chips. It contained small alabaster vases, and model items and tools including brick moulds, adzes, axes, chisels, and a flail; other contents included linen samples, bread, and vase rests. Some elements of the foundation deposit had washed into the first corridor and were recovered there. Carter's excavation and clearance began in early Feb 1903 and proved to be difficult, only concluding in March the following year. He found the tomb to be filled with hard, cemented debris. The first passageway was cleared by the end of February; this corridor curves to the right (clockwise) and is long by wide and tall. The first rectangular chamber was full of cemented debris and was cleared by 15 April. A steep flight of steps cut into the centre of the floor leads to the second corridor. Midway down the second passage, the
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
layer ends and the unstable tafle (marl) stratum below it begins; Carter characterised the latter as a "...stratum of rock so bad that there was fear of it falling at any moment." The second corridor was identical to previous sections, ending in a chamber with another set of stairs cut into the floor leading to a further hallway. At this point work stopped "on account of the heat and the exhaustion of the air, owing to the great numbers of workmen required to carry out the excavation." The excavation restarted in mid October but the conditions inside the tomb necessitated the installation of an exhaust fan. This third corridor was cleared by 26 January 1904; the curve to the right becomes a sharp bend at its end. Carter again found the chamber totally filled with debris and his team used pickaxes as the fill was "so hard...one could hardly tell whether the men were cutting the rock or the rubbish." Additionally, the ceiling of this chamber had collapsed. The final flight of steps was cleared by February 11; it was short, at only long. In this corridor Carter began encountering the remains of funerary items, mostly stone vases bearing the
cartouche upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...
s of Ahmose-Nefertari, Thutmose I, and Hatshepsut. The final chamber, the burial chamber, was found to be full of debris and had suffered a ceiling collapse. The ceiling of the rectangular room was supported by three columns aligned along the length of the room. The burial chamber proved to contain two sarcophagi and the canopic chest of Hatshepsut. Her sarcophagus was found at the far end of the chamber with its lid lying on the floor at the head end; her canopic chest was located in the centre of the room. The sarcophagus of Thutmose I was in the middle of the room, tipped on its side against the second pillar, likely to support that column. Its lid was found leaning against the wall. Carter noted that none of the items were in their original locations. One of the sarcophagi likely sat in the depression cut immediately in front of the main doorway. Also found in the burial chamber were fifteen
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
slabs bearing chapters of the
Amduat The ''Amduat'' (, () is an important Ancient Egyptian funerary texts, ancient Egyptian funerary text of the New Kingdom of Egypt. Similar to previous funerary texts, such as the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom's Pyramid Texts, or the First In ...
in red and black ink and illustrated with 'stick figures' like those seen in the tomb of Thutmose III ( KV34). The soft rock in the burial chamber was unsuitable for decoration and the slabs were intended to line the walls. Similar blocks, probably from the same series, were found in KV38. Smaller finds included fragments of vases, bowls, and jars in stone and pottery, burnt pieces of coffins and boxes, the foot and face of a large wooden statue (probably a guardian statue), faience vases and
ushabti The ushabti (also called shabti or shawabti, with a number of variant spellings) was a funerary figurine used in ancient Egyptian funerary practices. The Egyptological term is derived from , which replaced earlier , perhaps the nisba of " ...
coffins, and small pieces of inlay. Carter's excavation was completed at the end of March 1904, and the sarcophagi and canopic box were removed to
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
, although the sarcophagus of Thutmose I was given to Davis for the Boston Museum. The sarcophagus of Thutmose was originally inscribed for Hatshepsut, but later altered for the former king. The interior was entirely recarved to enlarge it and new texts were added. Some of the interior decoration at the head and foot ends was later hastily cut away, presumably during the reburial of Thutmose I, when it was discovered that it was slightly too small for his coffins.


Other items associated with KV20

A box inscribed for Hatshepsut as pharaoh, containing the remains of a mummified liver or spleen was recovered from the
DB320 The Royal Cache, technically known as TT320 (previously referred to as DB320), is an Ancient Egyptian Hypogeum, tomb located next to Deir el-Bahari, in the Theban Necropolis, opposite the modern city of Luxor. It contains an extraordinary collect ...
royal cache. Other items associated with Hatshepsut, including the legs and footboard of a couch or bed and a fragmentary cartouche-shaped lid are of uncertain origin, but might come from either the Deir el Bahari cache or KV6 (tomb of
Ramesses IX Neferkare Setepenre Ramesses IX (also written Ramses) (originally named Amon-her-khepshef Khaemwaset) (ruled 1129–1111 BC) was the eighth pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt. He was the third longest serving king of this Dynasty after ...
). Fragments of at least one anthropoid coffin belonging to a mid-Eighteenth dynasty female ruler (presumably Hatshepsut), fragmentary wooden panels with decoration that links them to objects found in KV20, and a faience vessel, possibly belonging to Thutmose I, were recovered from the shaft in the burial chamber of KV4, together with remains of royal funerary equipment belonging to several other
New Kingdom New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...
rulers.


Intended ownership

Despite the foundation deposit of Hatshepsut and the existence of another tomb for Thutmose I, (KV38), it is now generally presumed that KV 20 originally was quarried for the latter king. Re-evaluation of the architecture of KV38 and some of its content has shown that it is unlikely that this tomb pre-dates the reign of
Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, (1479–1425 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. He is regarded as one of the greatest warriors, military commanders, and milita ...
. It also has been noted that the proportions of the KV20 burial chamber are different from those in the rest of the tomb and that they display a design relationship to the architecture of Hatshepsut's pharaonic mortuary temple. Therefore it has been suggested that KV20 originally extended only to its present penultimate chamber, in which Thutmose I first was interred, and that the tomb was re-cut and refurbished during the reign of Hatshepsut to accommodate the burial of both her and her father. Later, the burial of Thutmose I was moved again, to KV38, by his grandson Thutmose III while the burial of Hatshepsut probably remained in KV20, eventually suffering from robbery (and official dismantling). An unidentified mummy, recovered from DB320 and found within coffins prepared by Thutmose III for Thutmose I is usually identified as the later king. The body of Hatshepsut has not yet been identified with certainty and the mummified liver or spleen found in DB320 might be all that remains of her, although it also has been suggested that one of two female mummies found in
KV60 Tomb KV60 is an ancient Egyptian tomb in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt. It was discovered by Howard Carter in 1903, and re-excavated by Donald P. Ryan in 1989. It is one of the more perplexing tombs of the Theban Necropolis, due to the uncertai ...
is her. A molar found in the wooden box containing her liver, was matched to one of these mummies in 2007, making it likely that the mummy belongs to Hatshepsut.


References


External links


Theban Mapping Project: KV20
includes description, images, and plan of the tomb. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kv20 Buildings and structures completed in the 15th century BC Valley of the Kings Thutmose I Hatshepsut