News from the Valley of the Kings

Susanne Bickel and Elina Paulin-Grothe have published a provisional 2012 report for the University of Basel Kings' Valley Project.  The 18th Dynasty debris has now been removed from KV64 (Nehmes Bastet) and the most revealing statement in the report so far as the New Kingdom is concerned is:

It remains uncertain whether a small wooden tag naming a royal daughter along with wooden splinters belonging to a piece of furniture with the name of king Amenhotep III stem originally from this tomb or whether these elements entered accidentely with the debris filling. Similar inscribed fragments were found near the tomb of Siptah by Howard Carter and by the Basel team of Mission Siptah – Ramses X, as well as by our team during this season outside tomb KV 29. This dispersion of material seems to result from looting in antiquity.

There are remains of a very badly damaged mummy (probably) from the original burial.

The team has continued their work on the undecorated tombs of the Valley of the Kings.  Likewise they report that KV40 shows signs of burials in both the 18th Dynasty and the Third Intermediate Period.   The tomb has been looted and fired.  Further work was only carried out in Tomb KV33.

Salima Ikram (Department of Egyptology, American University Cairo) and Frank Rühli (Centre for Evolutionary Medicine/Swiss Mummy Project, University of Zurich) have also been investigating the human remains in Tomb KV31. These are now revealed as the remains of five, not four, people.