Origin 1539 BCE to 1075 BCE
The Valley of the Kings is a royal necropolis on the west bank of the Nile opposite ancient Thebes, in modern Luxor, Egypt. From roughly the sixteenth to the eleventh century BCE, pharaohs of the New Kingdom and a number of favored nobles and family members were buried there in rock cut tombs, chosen in place of the earlier tradition of visible pyramids in the hope that a hidden burial would better resist robbery. More than sixty tombs and chambers have been identified, decorated with funerary texts and scenes meant to guide the king through the underworld toward rebirth, among them the Book of the Dead, the Amduat and the Book of Gates. The best known is KV62, the largely intact tomb of Tutankhamun, discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. The valley forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis, inscribed in 1979, and remains one of the most intensively studied and visited archaeological sites connected to ancient Egyptian religion.
Facts
Origins
Origin Period RegionWest bank of the Nile opposite Thebes, near modern Luxor 1 Status
Status TodayStanding, but maintained as a museum or heritage monument 1 UNESCO World HeritageInscribed on the World Heritage List 1 Geography
Latitude25.7 degrees north 2Tradition: Encyclopaedia Britannica Longitude32.6 degrees east 2Tradition: Encyclopaedia Britannica Site
Type of SiteNecropolis, cemetery or burial ground 1 Type of Site DetailRock cut royal necropolis where New Kingdom pharaohs and nobles were entombed. 2 Attributions
TraditionAncient Egyptian 2Tradition: Encyclopaedia Britannica Location
Connections
Associated With
This source names Valley of the Kings directly: "and Luxor temple complexes, and the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens necropolises across its west bank."
Source Thebes, Egypt (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Belongs to Tradition
Source UNESCO World Heritage ListUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Contained In
Lies on the Nile's west bank opposite Luxor, Egypt.
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica (online academic reference)Encyclopaedia Britannica editors
Originated In
Egypt, Regions Source UNESCO World Heritage ListUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
In the Other Atlases
Located In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is located.
Sources
1. UNESCO World Heritage List
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO World Heritage Centre- Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis, World Heritage List entry, Valley of the Kings component
- Originated In: Egypt, Stored country property on this entity, cited to this source: Egypt
View the Source 2. Encyclopaedia Britannica (online academic reference)
Encyclopaedia Britannica editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 2024- Gazetteer coordinates for the Valley of the Kings, west bank of the Nile, Luxor
- On the valley as the New Kingdom royal necropolis of ancient Egyptian religion
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