The Valley of the Kings

Source one: photo of Valley of the Kings located on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor, Egypt

The ‘Valley Of The Kings’ is a valley located in Egypt where the tombs of Egyptian Pharaohs and powerful nobles were constructed. After around 1500 B.C the Pharaohs stopped constructing pyramids as their burial site, instead they carved stone tombs in the the walls of the valley. Tombs were constructed there for nearly 500 years through out the 18th to the 20th dynasty (1539-1075 B.C). It lay on the west side of the Nile away from the city and other Egyptian sites. There are over one hundred underground passages and sixty tombs built in the side of the valley.

There are many famous Pharaohs buried in the Valley of the Kings. Some of the Pharaohs include Tuthmosis being the first buried there, Hatshepsut,  Amenhotep, Rameses (1-10) and Tutankhamen being the most famous Pharaoh buried in the valley.

Nobody is sure why they chose this area for The Valley of the Kings but there are many theories. Some theories include that it was a small narrow area and was easy to guard the tombs of the Pharaohs and kings, it was on the west side of the Nile and was in a remote area hidden by hills making it not an obvious site for tomb robbers. One theory on why they chose this area is because it was below a natural pyramid shaped mountain that made the valley significant.

All of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings have been raided at some point by tomb robbers. Even Tutankhamen’s tomb had been robbed before it’s official discovery. The robbers were after the gold and jewels buried with the pharaohs for their afterlife.

Source four: illustration showing tomb robbers in a pharaoh’s tomb