Tomb KV5 is an underground, rock-cut tomb in the Valley of the Kings. It belonged to the sons of Ramesses II. Though KV5 was partially excavated as early as 1825, its true extent was discovered in 1995 by Kent R. Weeks and his exploration team. Weeks’ discovery is widely considered the most dramatic in the Valley since the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922.
History
Near the Valley of the Kings‘ entrance, KV5 was robbed in antiquity. In addition, over the centuries, it suffered the fate of other low-lying tombs, which were to be filled with rubble washed down in the flash floods that accompanied thunderstorms over the Valley.
The tomb was examined several times once an exploration of the Valley in relatively modern times started, first in 1825 (by James Burton) and later in 1902 (by Howard Carter, discoverer of the tomb of Tutankhamun, who used KV5 only as a dumping ground). However, they could not penetrate past the first few rooms and thus saw nothing unusual about the tomb.
It was not until the Theban Mapping Project, under Kent R. Weeks, decided to clear the tomb (in part to see if it would be damaged by proposed building works nearby and in detail so that it could be mapped) that the stage was set for the discovery of its true extent and nature. Although the works had begun in 1987, the first substantial finding came in 1995, after extensive clearing in the outer chambers of the tomb: approximately 70 rooms lined along long corridors running back into the hillside. The number of rooms corresponds roughly to the number of sons the pharaoh sired. This discovery caused a worldwide sensation and reignited widespread interest in Egyptology. Findings include thousands of potshards, ushabti, faience beads, hieratic ostraca, glass vials, inlays and a giant statue of Osiris, the god of the afterlife.
Further excavations have revealed that the tomb is even more significant than was first thought, as it contains more corridors, with more rooms, branching off from previously discovered parts of the tomb. At least 130 rooms or chambers have been found since 2006 (only about 7% have been cleared), and work continues to empty the rest of the tomb.
Located near the tomb of Ramesses II, KV7, this tomb contained most of his male and female children, particularly those who died in his lifetime. The skull fragments of Amun-her-khepeshef, among others, were found inside and reconstructed. The tomb is now known to be the largest in the Valley of the Kings.
