Things to see and do Valley Of Kings

This tomb is 188 m long. It was built for Pharaoh Ramses III of the ^20th dynasty. He reigned for thirty-one years. The mystery of his death has long puzzled researchers, as he always fought against corruption and invaders from the peoples of the sea... But it was recently discovered, in 2012, that he was assassinated by a conspiracy fomented by several members of his harem, including his third wife Tiyi. The pharaoh's successor should have been his first wife's child, not Tiyi's, Pentaour. The coup d'état was therefore aimed at eliminating Ramesses III to prevent the future Ramesses IV, then aged 45, from ascending the throne...

Nevertheless, it was he who built the splendid temple known as Medinat Abu. Four successive corridors lead to the burial chamber. At the end of the second corridor, the architects came up against an earlier tomb, that of Amenmés, and had to modify their trajectory in parallel for the third corridor. This tomb struck a chord with the Scottish archaeologist who discovered it at the end of the ^18th century, not least for its depictions of harpists, which earned it its current nickname, "Tomb of the Harpists". The granite sarcophagus of King Ramses III is preserved in the Louvre. His mummy was also found in 1881 in the hiding place at Deir al Bahari, where the priests had hidden it for fear of the increasing looting by local peasants. It is now on display in Cairo.

At 105 m deep, the tomb was built for the remains of Pharaoh Ramses IX, penultimate ruler of the ^20th Dynasty. Three corridors lead to the vestibule, which precedes the burial chamber. This tomb is renowned for its decorations borrowed from various ritual books. The astrological ceiling in the first corridor is remarkable. The goddess Nut runs along the three successive corridors, recognizable by her five-pointed star. The sarcophagus has disappeared. The mummy, hidden in Deir al Bahari, was found in 1881. It is now on display in Cairo.

Located in the southwest corner of the Valley of the Kings, the tomb of Sety II was dug a few meters from that of his wife Taousert. It is 75 m deep. It was partially unfinished at the time of his death. It takes up the same architectural canons of the other rectilinear tombs in which three corridors precede a vestibule, a funerary chamber. It was probably not Seti II who was buried there, for his name was largely erased from the cartouches in the tomb; the jealous work of Amenmes who succeeded him.

This superb but small tomb measures just 30 m in length and comprises just 3 chambers. It contained 3,000 pieces of the deceased's funerary furniture. Tutankhamun was hastily placed here in the surprise of his death. Only the burial chamber is represented. The 12 baboons depicted come from the Book of Amdouat and represent each of the 12 hours of the journey to the afterlife. Most of the treasure will be on display at the GEM in Cairo, but the red quartzite sarcophagus and the mummy are still on site.

The grave is 91 m long. It was dug for the son of Thutmes III. One descends into the tomb by stepping over ritual holes, intended to ward off demons. The burial chamber is illustrated with the Book of Amduat and its ceiling is studded with the Star of Nut. Its sarcophagus is still in place, magnificently decorated. His mummy was still inside at the time of his discovery. It was in one of the annexes of the burial chamber that nine other royal mummies had been stored, hidden from the thieves' desires.

It's a small grave, 49 meters long, very deep. It received the body of Ramses I, founder of the 20th dynasty, and grandfather of Ramses II. It is thought that this tomb must have been larger, but the death of the king forced the architects to make do with what they had had time to dig; the present burial chamber was to be a first vestibule according to their original plan. The colours of this tomb are particularly well preserved. The reign of Ramses I was very short, less than two years.

The grave is 116 m long. It was begun by the brother of Ramses VI, Ramses V, who died early, and who preceded his brother by six years in this mausoleum. It recalls the walls of the tomb of Ramses III. The ceiling of the burial chamber, by its complexity inspired by the Book of the Earth, earned it the name "tomb of metempsychosis" by the scholars of Bonaparte. This book specific to the Ramses dynasty tells the story of the solar god's journey into the afterlife and the complexity of his hidden world. The two sarcophagi exist only in pieces.

The tomb of the second king of the ^20th dynasty, Seti ^I, to whom we owe some of the finest high-reliefs in Egyptian art, is a respectable size: 137 m deep. His tomb mirrors the other monuments erected during his reign. After a succession of three corridors, a 6-pillared hall adorns a tomb whose walls are richly decorated. The burial chamber boasts a sumptuous astrological ceiling inspired by the book of the afterlife, the Amdouat. The alabaster sarcophagus is now in the Sir John Soane Museum in London.

This grave is 76 m deep. Like that of his son Amenophis II, it is dug into the cliff escarpment. Designed on the same model, the father's tomb is less decorated than the son's. The burial chamber contains a series of graffiti representing the complete deities of the Book of Amdouat (740!) which must have preceded the work of the painter. It is the oldest tomb in the valley. Its funerary chamber is characterized by its cartouche shape. Its red quartzite sarcophagus is still in place, beautifully decorated.