Archaeological Sites
The Valley of the Kings
~1500 to 1070 BC · royal tombs · West bank of the Nile, Luxor, Egypt
Protected (UNESCO)The prize. The pharaohs' burials, and Tutankhamun's untouched gold
Where. West bank of the Nile, Luxor, Egypt
Status. Protected (UNESCO)
Where. West bank of the Nile, Luxor, Egypt
Status. Protected (UNESCO)
The account
For five centuries Egypt hid its pharaohs in a desert valley, and robbers emptied nearly every tomb in antiquity. Nearly. In 1922 Howard Carter broke into the one they missed, Tutankhamun's, and saw 'wonderful things': a solid gold coffin, the golden mask, a king's whole afterlife intact. Sixty-odd tombs are known here. Some still argue a few remain unfound.
Leads, where the trail points now
- The valley holds more than 60 royal tombs; Tutankhamun's in 1922 was the last great intact find, and missing royals like Nefertiti and Ramesses VIII are still sought.
- It is a strictly protected antiquities zone where only licensed Egyptian-led missions dig; radar surveys, like the KV62 scans, are the modern method.
- The lead is the unlocated tombs and possible hidden chambers, chased now with muon imaging and ground radar rather than the spade.
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