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Tomb KV39 has been described as one of the most mystifying tombs in the Valley
of the Kings on the West
Bank at Luxor (ancient Thebes),
and may be the oldest in the Valley as well.. It sits literally on the
edge of the Valley of the Kings, and was discovered by Macarios and Andraos, two local Luxor
residents in 1900. Wigall visited the tomb in 1908, but described it as being
ruined. In 1966, Elizabeth Thomas drew up a ground plan of the tomb, but
apparently it was based largely on conjecture. Recently, but apparently before
the most recent excavations, Nicholas Reeves of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project
visited the tomb, stating:
"No-one know who was actually buried there, although some people think it was the final resting place of Amenhotep I. The whole place has an eerie,
claustrophobic, slightly sinister air to it, not helped by the deep cracks criss-crossing the walls and ceiling - you get the impression the whole
place could cave in on you at any moment."
 However, today, Dr. John Rose is the latest scholar to have investigate the
tomb, beginning in 1889 and thereafter for several seasons, and has apparently
been able to somehow piece together much of its history. His study is now
complete, and after careful analysis, he appears to believe that the tomb was
indeed built, at least originally, for Amenhotep
I.
The tomb, of little interest to most of today's tourists, lies at the head of
a small wadi above the tomb of Tuthmosis III. The most interesting aspect of
KV39 is its unusual plan. It appears that, what started out as a fairly ordinary
corridor tomb leading westward, was abandoned at the end of the first chamber.
Later, it was extended by a second long descending corridor leading off to the
east, with two sets of stairs that terminated in a chamber (the East Chamber).
Two the south of the original chamber, a set of stairs led to a second corridor
that terminated by first a stairway and then another chamber (South Chamber).
Within the southern chamber was found a pit to receive a coffin that was covered
by stone slabs.
 The most recent excavations of the tomb produced over 1,50 bags of potsherds,
calcite fragments, pieces of wooden coffins, textiles, fragments of metal, mud
jar sealings, cordage, botanical specimens and human skeletal remains of at
least nine individuals. In addition, one reason the tomb is believed to have
been Included in these finds were an unusual group of sandstone dockets
bearing the cartouches in blue of Tuthmosis
I, Tuthmosis
II(?) and Amenhotep II.
There was also a calcite fragment bearing a king's title (Amenhotep I?). We are
told by Rose that a gold signet ring with the name of a famous pharaoh of the
18th Dynasty (Tuthmosis
III) was also found, but he does not elaborate on this
information. Due all this material, and to the large number and types of mummy
bandages, as well as embalmers' material discovered at the tomb, Rose believes
the site may have been used as a staging area for bodies that were relocated to
the 1881 Deir el-Bahari
cache.
Regrettably, in 1994, Rose suffered a stroke and has only recently been able,
with the help of colleagues, to publish the results of his work. However, most of the 1,350 bags are in storage on the West Bank of Luxor. There are still about a dozen boxes in the tomb vestibule that contain
additional bags of debris. Why these were not also removed is uncertain. Some have been rifled and contribute to the liter that is now
strewn about the tomb opening and entrance corridor.
General Site Information
- Structure: KV 39
- Location: Valley of the Kings, East Valley, Thebes West Bank, Thebes
- Owner: Amenhetep I (?)
- Other designations: 235 [Carter]
- Site type: Tomb
Orientation
- Axis in degrees: 248.99
- Axis orientation: West
Site Location
- Latitude: 25.44 N
- Longitude: 32.36 E
- Elevation: 249.42 msl
- North: 99,122.451
- East: 94,127.795
- JOG map reference: NG 36-10
- Modern governorate: Qena (Qina)
- Ancient nome: 4th Upper Egypt
Measurements
- Maximum height: 4.94 m
- Mininum width: 0 m
- Maximum width: 3.92 m
- Total length: 101.09 m
- Total area: 193.69 m²
- Total volume: 445.1 m³
Additional Tomb Information
- Entrance location: Hillside
- Owner type: Unknown, possibly royal
- Entrance type: Staircase
- Interior layout: Corridors and chambers
- Axis type: Bent
Categories of Objects Recovered
- Architectural elements
- Clothing
- Food
- Human mummies
- Jewelry
- Mummy trappings
- Religious objects
- Tomb equipment
- Vessels
- Written documents
Dating:
History of Exploration
- Andraos, Boutros (1900): Excavation
- Macarios, C. (1900): Excavation
- Macarios, C. (1900): Discovery
- Andraos, Boutros (1900): Discovery
- Carter, Howard (1916): Visit
- Rose, John (1989, 1991-1994): Excavation
References:
Archives
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