Work in the Valley of the Kings

On Saturday I spent my last day working in the Valley of the Kings before returning home to Swansea. As mentioned in my previous post, I am part of the Pacific Lutheran University Valley of the Kings Project (PLUVK) directed by Dr. Donald ("Don") Ryan. The project has been working in the Valley since 1989, specifically on undecorated tombs. In total, Don is responsible for re-excavating 11 of the 64 tombs in the Valley. This season, work focused on KV 49, which was discovered in January 1906 by Edward R. Ayrton (1882–1914) working for Theodore M. Davis (1837–1915). We commenced work on the 2nd February, with a team consisting of Don (Project Director), Denis Whitfill (Assistant Field Director), Dr. David Aston (Ceramicist), myself, and 8 Egyptian workmen (fig. 1).

Fig. 1: Team photo (Photo: Denis Whitfill/PLUVK)

KV 49 is a small undecorated tomb, which can be dated by its architecture to the Eighteenth Dynasty. The tomb appears to have been reused at the turn of the Twentieth and Twenty-first dynasties, as is evident from two hieratic graffiti written above the entrance. Both texts mention a number of officials, including the well-known royal scribe Butehamun. The texts describe the bringing of large quantities of linin over a period of several months. This led Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves to propose that the tomb had been employed as a storeroom for linens used in the restoration of the royal mummies (fig. 2)

Fig. 2: Outside KV 49 (Photo: Denis Whitfill/PLUVK)

The tomb's entrance had remained open for over 100 years and its interior encumbered with all manner of natural and human debris. Most of this debris had been removed during the 2018 campaign. As a result, it only took us a little over a week to finish up the clearing and cleaning. During the brushing of the floor on my final day, several nice seal impressions were recovered by the sifters. (fig. 3). Since some are only the size of a fingernail, they would probably have been overlooked if it wasn't for all the debris from the tomb being carefully screened by the keen-eyed workmen.

Fig. 3: Registering the seal impressions (Photo: PLUVK)

My time with the project was split between working in the Valley and with the objects housed in the magazine, located a short distance from the house of Howard Carter. Denis and I focused on photographing and studying coffin fragments from KV 45 and fragments of painted plaster on linen originating from KV 60. KV 45, the tomb of an official of the Eighteenth Dynasty named Userhat, was discovered by Howard Carter in 1902. Carter noted two mummies of the Twenty-second Dynasty, which were contained within double coffins. However, due to the tomb being badly decayed by water, he was unable to remove the coffins at the time. It wasn't until the PLUVK project re-excavated the tomb in between 1991 that the fragments of these coffins could be recovered. KV 60, which also dates to the Eighteenth Dynasty, was discovered by Howard Carter in 1903. The tomb contained two bodies of females, including Sitre, the wet nurse of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut. The identity of the second mummy has been the subject of much discussion, with some scholars believing that it's none other than that of Hatshepsut herself! During the re-excavation of the tomb by the project in 1989, many fragments of painted plaster on linen, which were originally attached to wooden coffins, were identified. These fragments originally belonged to a coffin of the temple signer Ty, a large fragment of which was recovered from the tomb (fig. 4). For more on this enigmatic and controversial tomb, please read the following blog post: http://pluvk.blogspot.com/2016/02/kv-60-enigmatic-and-controversial-tomb.html

Fig. 4: Coffin fragment of the temple singer Ty (Photo: Denis Whitfill/PLUVK)

Aside from the work, it was great to meet so many colleagues and friends. This incudes one of the Egypt Centre volunteers, Dulcie Engel, who was travelling with her husband (Gabby) to Egypt for the first time. On Thursday evening we had an excellent meal in Pub 2000. (fig. 5), where we also discussed the various sites they had visited!

Fig. 5: A relaxing evening at Pub 2000

Bibliography:
Carter, H. (1903) ‘Report of Work Done in Upper Egypt (1902–1903)’. Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte 4: 171–180.
Reeves, C. N. (1990) Valley of the Kings: The Decline of a Royal Necropolis. Studies in Egyptology. London: Kegan Paul International.

Reeves, C. N. and R. H. Wilkinson (1996) The Complete Valley of the Kings: Tombs and Treasures of Egypt’s Greatest Pharaohs. London: Thames and Hudson.

Ryan, D. P. (1990) ‘Field Report: Who is Buried in KV60?’. KMT 1, 1: 34–39, 58–59, 64.
Ryan, D. P. (1992) ‘Some Observations Concerning Uninscribed Tombs in the Valley of the Kings’. In After Tut’ankhamūn: Research and Excavation in the Royal Necropolis at Thebes, ed. C. N. Reeves. Studies in Egyptology. London: Kegan Paul International. 21–27.
Ryan, D. P. (2010) ‘Pacific Lutheran University Valley of the Kings Project: Work Conducted during the 2007 Field Season’. Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte 84: 383–388.