Because Thebes was the center of a great empire, it also became the place where its kings were buried. Although many Old Kingdom pharaohs had been buried in pyramids, it was becoming more usual by the 17th dynasty for pharaohs to be buried in tombs in the mountains on the western shore of the Nile.
The tomb chambers were hewn out of the rock and typically had an accompanying sacrificial chapel with a miniature pyramid called a pyramidion. The king was laid to rest in the rock chamber in a wooden mummy case shaped like a man. Amenhotep I departed from this custom and built his temple near the river bank.
The Valley of the Kings was the major burial site for Egyptian kings during the New Kingdom.
Amenhotep’s tomb has not been located with certainty; he was the first king to hide his burial place by placing it somewhere apart from his mortuary temple. This action started a new custom, but the kings who came after Amenhotep had their tombs built in the Valley of the Kings.
This valley is hidden by high cliffs and can be approached only through a narrow passageway. It may be that the move to locate tombs in the valley was an attempt to foil grave robberies, which were already prevalent. The first pharaoh to be buried in the valley was Amenhotep’s successor, Thutmose I. The entrance to his tomb, like that of the other tombs in the valley, was hidden after it was sealed.
More than 60 tombs have been found at this site, most of them having several rooms carved out of solid rock. The first tomb to be discovered was found empty in 1817 CE and belonged to Seti I. Seti’s body was discovered along with the reburied mummies of 39 other pharaohs in a single vault in 1881 CE. The bodies of their wives (apart from Hatshepsut, queen ofThutmose II and a ruler herself) were found buried a few miles outside the valley.
World History
