Tomb KV34 () 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 ...

(near the modern-day

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 ...

ian city of

Luxor Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt. Luxor had a population of 263,109 in 2020, with an area of approximately and is the capital of the Luxor Governorate. It is among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited c ...

) was the tomb of

18th Dynasty The Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XVIII, alternatively 18th Dynasty or Dynasty 18) is classified as the first dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. The Eighteenth Dynasty ...

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

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 ...

. The tomb was plundered in antiquity and its location lost. It was rediscovered and first excavated in 1898 under

Victor Loret Victor Clement Georges Philippe Loret (1 September 1859 – 3 February 1946) was a French Egyptologist. Biography His father, Clément Loret, was a professional organist and composer, of Belgian origin, who had been living in Paris since ...

. One of the first tombs to be dug in the Valley, it was cut high in the cliff face of the furthermost ''

wadi Wadi ( ; ) is a river valley or a wet (ephemerality, ephemeral) Stream bed, riverbed that contains water only when heavy rain occurs. Wadis are located on gently sloping, nearly flat parts of deserts; commonly they begin on the distal portion ...

''. On the way up the staircase to the tomb, on the cliff wall, is graffiti done by workmen building the tomb. A steep corridor leads down, in a

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

-leg shape, from the entrance past a deep well to a

trapezoid In geometry, a trapezoid () in North American English, or trapezium () in British English, is a quadrilateral that has at least one pair of parallel sides. The parallel sides are called the ''bases'' of the trapezoid. The other two sides are ...

al antechamber. Beyond the antechamber lies 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 ...

-shaped burial chamber, off which stand four smaller side chambers. The stone

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

in which Thutmose's body was placed is still in place in the burial chamber, albeit damaged by tomb robbers. Many of the wall decorations are in an unusual style that, other than ''

KV35 Tomb KV35 is the burial place of Amenhotep II, a pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt. Later, it was used as a cache for other royal mummies. It was discovered by Victor Loret in March 1898. L ...

'' (the tomb of Thutmose III's son,

Amenhotep II Amenhotep II (sometimes called Amenophis II and meaning "Amun is Satisfied") was the seventh pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. He inherited a vast kingdom from his father Thutmose III, and held it by means of a few military campaigns i ...

), is not found elsewhere in the Valley of the Kings. On a yellow-tinged background (intended to resemble aged

papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can a ...

), one of the earliest known versions 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 ...

'' is traced, depicting the

ancient Egyptian deities Ancient Egyptian deities are the gods and goddesses worshipped in ancient Egypt. The beliefs and rituals surrounding these gods formed the core of ancient Egyptian religion, which emerged sometime in prehistory. Deities represented natural f ...

as simple (almost naive)

stick figure Stick Figure is an American reggae and dub band founded in 2005. The group has released eight full-length albums and one instrumental album (Prince Fatty Presents), all of which were written and produced by frontman and self-taught multi-instr ...

s, with text written in the cursive hieroglyphic book hand used more commonly for sacred texts on papyrus. The '' Litany of Ra'' also appears in the burial chamber, with a similar execution.

Gallery

File:Flickr - Gaspa - Valle dei Re, tomba di Thutmosi III (3).jpg, The steep entrance to KV34 File:Egypt.KV34.01.jpg File:Tuth-grab1.jpg File:Thutmose III and family.jpg File:Egypt.KV34.02.jpg File:Egypt.KV34.03.jpg File:Egypt.KV34.04.jpg File:Egypt.KV34.05.jpg File:Egypt.KV34.06.jpg File:Egypt.KV34.07.jpg File:Flickr - Gaspa - Valle dei Re, tomba di Thutmosi III (6).jpg, Interior view of Thutmose III's tomb File:Tal der Koenige-36-Grab 34.Thutmosis III. 18. Dyn-1982-gje.jpg File:Flickr - Gaspa - Valle dei Re, tomba di Thutmosi III (7).jpg File:Tal der Koenige-44-Grab 34-Barke mit einer Person-1982-gje.jpg File:Maler der Grabkammer des Thutmosis III. 001.jpg File:Painted tomb walls from Thutmose III’s tomb.jpg, Painted reliefs in KV34

External links

Theban Mapping Project: KV34
includes description, images, and plans of the tomb. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kv34 1898 archaeological discoveries Buildings and structures completed in the 15th century BC Valley of the Kings Thutmose III