Tomb KV45 is an ancient Egyptian tomb located in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. It was initially used for the burial of the noble Userhet of the Eighteenth Dynasty and was reused by Merenkhons and an unknown woman in the Twenty-second Dynasty. The tomb was discovered and excavated by Howard Carter in 1902, in his role as Chief Inspector of Antiquities, on behalf of Theodore M. Davis. The burial was later re-investigated by Donald P. Ryan of the Pacific Lutheran University Valley of the Kings Project in 1991 and 2005.
Location and discovery
KV45 is located in a small wadi that runs east from the central valley and is adjacent to KV44. The tomb was discovered in February 1902 during excavations sponsored by the American millionaire Theodore Davis. In January, Gaston Maspero and Carter identified good locations for exploration in the Central Valley. Having encountered nothing in the spans between KV2 and KV7 and the mouth of the small valley and KV5, excavation shifted to clearing the small valley itself. Running a trench, the entire width of the valley excavation advanced up the valley and into the vicinity of KV28. An intact tomb was discovered next to KV44, which was investigated the previous year. The burial was opened on 25 February 1902 when Davis returned from Aswan.
Layout and contents of Tomb KV45
Tomb KV45 consists of a vertical shaft 3 metres (9.8 ft) deep and ends in a small chamber, which, when found, was a third full of debris. It contained an intact burial dating to the Twenty-second Dynasty. Water had penetrated the tomb in the past, as Carter noted it had “been destroyed by rainwater.” The tomb contained the burials of a man and a woman, each interred in two nested coffins and accompanied by two boxes of clay ushabti; the remains of floral wreaths were scattered around. The coffins and mummies were in deplorable condition, with only the face of one of the man’s coffins being salvaged.
The man was identified from the titles on a small black limestone heart scarab as Merenkhons, Doorkeeper of the House of Amun; nothing identifiable was found on the woman’s mummy. As these burials sat atop the fill, they were not the original occupants. Of the presumed original owner, Userhet, Overseer of the Fields of Amun, only fragments of alabaster canopic jars bearing his name were found.
Re-investigation
In 1991, the Pacific Lutheran University Valley of the Kings Project, headed by Donald P. Ryan, re-investigated the tomb. It became apparent that apart from removing the heart scarab and male coffin face, Carter had left everything as it was found. The careful excavation recovered all remaining pieces of the double wooden coffin sets, including the front of the woman’s coffin. Eighty-eight ushabti fragments were also recovered. Additionally, the remains of two further individuals were found; these were presumably the original occupants of the tomb.
The project resumed in 2005 and found water had penetrated the tomb during the 1994 floods. Diversion walls constructed by the project had likely spared the tomb from far worse flood inundation. All artefacts from KV45 and KV44, barring pottery and human remains, were moved to KV21 for protection from further flooding.
