Tomb KV61 is an unused tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. It was discovered by Harold Jones, excavating on behalf of Theodore M. Davis, in January 1910. The tomb consists of an irregularly cut room at the bottom of a shaft. It was unused and undecorated. Thus, its intended owner is unknown.
Discovery and clearance
Upon discovery, Jones’ hopes were high, as the shaft fill appeared undisturbed, and the doorway was securely sealed. Removing the blocking, the chamber was half filled with “water-sodden” debris. The excavation ultimately yielded nothing:
Hopeful of finding some evidence of the owner of the tomb… work carefully proceeded until every corner of the tomb was bare, and bare were the results – for never even a potsherd was found.
Jones’ foreman Ahmed suggested the tomb was not robbed but cleared in antiquity, although Jones doubted that the tomb was used or even finished. Nicholas Reeves concurs with Jones, finding it likely that the tomb was never used, as a dismantled burial would be unlikely to have been cleared thoroughly, nor would it have a carefully closed entrance. The quarrymen likely blocked the tomb entrance to await a burial that never eventuated; the muddy fill probably entered the tomb through the blocking during flood events.
Re-clearance of Tomb KV61
The University of Basel Kings’ Valley Project re-cleared the tomb during their 2017–2018 season. The tomb was cleared of the modern rubbish that had accumulated inside since the Theban Mapping Project last visited it in the 1980s. The unfinished and unused nature of the tomb was confirmed; the ceiling was noted to be low and in bad condition. The entrance is well below ground level, leaving the open tomb vulnerable to future flood events. An iron cover was prepared and placed on short modern walls due to the irregular shape of the tomb’s entrance. Clearance in the immediate area around the shaft to prepare for the walls uncovered several ostraca, most affected by humidity and the remains of the Nineteenth Dynasty workers’ huts that once covered the area.
