KV62
Tomb of Tutankhamun
Small for a royal tomb, KV62 may originally have been prepared for someone else and adapted after the king's early death. Only the burial chamber is decorated, with scenes…
Interactive 3D model
Houses of eternity
Tombs
Walk through the royal tombs of western Thebes chamber by chamber. Showcase tombs have interactive 3D models, plans and depth profiles built from published surveys.
Valley of the Kings
A desert valley on the west bank at Thebes where the kings of the New Kingdom were buried for nearly five centuries, from Thutmose I to Ramesses XI. Sixty-four tombs and pits are numbered KV1 to KV64.
KV17
Tomb of Seti I
Seti I, father of Ramesses II, commissioned the most ambitious tomb in the valley. The Theban Mapping Project describes it as the longest and deepest tomb in the valley, and…
Interactive 3D model
KV43
Tomb of Thutmose IV
Thutmose IV, father of Amenhotep III, was buried in a tomb whose axis bends twice at right angles, a layout typical of the mid 18th Dynasty. Only two rooms were painted: the well…
Interactive 3D model
KV34
Tomb of Thutmose III
Cut high in a cleft of the cliffs and reached by a steep stair, KV34 was designed to be hidden. Its oval burial chamber is painted with the complete Amduat, the guide to the sun…
KV7
Tomb of Ramesses II
One of the largest tombs in the valley, KV7 was visible in antiquity but has been repeatedly flooded, leaving its decoration badly damaged. A French mission led by Christian…
Valley of the Queens
A valley to the south-west used for the tombs of royal wives, princes and princesses. Its tombs are numbered with the prefix QV; the best known is the painted tomb of Nefertari.
QV66
Tomb of Nefertari
Built for the favourite wife of Ramesses II, QV66 is often called the Sistine Chapel of ancient Egypt. Its walls show Nefertari guided by gods through the afterlife on a…
Interactive 3D model
Where the tombs are
Both valleys lie in the desert hills of the west bank, opposite Luxor. Zoom into Thebes and tap a tomb.
How to read our labels
- Every image says what it is
- Photo
- Documented evidence: a photograph of the site or object.
- Diagram
- A plan, section or map drawn from published measurements.
- Reconstruction
- A visual reconstruction of how something looked, based on evidence.
- Interpretive 3D model
- A simplified architectural model to explore; not a survey.
- Every space in a tomb has a status
- Documented
- Space and dimensions follow published surveys.
- Approximate
- The space is documented; its size or depth here is approximate.
- Uncertain
- Partly explored or disputed; shown to indicate, not to measure.