News from the Valley of the Kings

I have a photo but in the current climate I am not sure I dare post it.  I've agonised over it for 10 days now.  I think it was legal to take it - just not to publish it.  So thanks to Stewart.

But like court reporting, there's nothing stopping me from describing it.  The photo was taken in the Western Valley of the Kings in early January. 

There is a a square excavation about 12' x 12' dug up against the cliffs at the side of the path just beside the pile of rubble from last year's excavation.  There was a short wooden ladder down, but the pit was only about 3' deep.  It had all the look of an excavation that was focused on a specific target rather than clearing large areas of ground as we saw last year.  I speculate it is digging a radar anomaly.

The first interesting thing is that stretching alongside the put down the side of the cliff is one of those concrete finds "trays" we have seen before and which are usally only put in when finds are expected from an excavation.  Unfortunately that obscures the face of the excavation in shot which is really frustrating.  What makes it really interesting is that sat in the finds tray are what look for all the world to be about 20 mud bricks. It's possible they are say there to shore up the excavation but at only 3' deep it shouldn't need it.

Stewart said that there was another excavation in the Western Valley they they were very unhappy about him going anywhere near.

I am now informed that there are at least 4 excavations in the Valley of the Kings and Theban Hills.  As well as the resported excavation in the Western Valley of the Kings they are also digging again in the Eastern Valley.  Some of the excavations seems to be quite small as though they are digging on radar anomolies. This year, so far, there don't seem to be large scale clearances like last winter.  There is also a team working within KV26.

Some of the guards are reportedly now toting AK47s (or something similar).  Has anybody else noticed that and is it new?

AR has just left this comment (many thanks) on the latest photo of excavations in the Valley of the Kings which I posted last week:

I was visiting [the Valley of the Kings] on Friday the 22th and saw them [the excavations] as described by RP and Dennis. This picture was on the other side to KV40, but the archaologists were digging close to KV40 and KV59 as well. There were also people emerging from KV31. An english speaking guide told us, that they found a good preserved sacrophagus in KV31. As we were leaving Kings Valley, Hawass appeared. I suppose they were opening the sacrophagus.

 Note: the Theban Mapping Project records tomb KV31 as 18th Dynasty and completely full of debris.  They wonder whether a sarcophagus in the British Museum came from this tomb, but it is also possible it was never properly explored.

If anybody can corroborate this, or add further details, that would be appreciated.

(There are a few links to other articles I'll round up in the next few days including an annoucement that Dr Hawass has called a press conference for 17th February to report on the DNA tests of Tutankhamun's mummy, but the above report from AR is probably the biggest reported news at present.)

Robert Pick took this photo on 19th January, 2010 while walking in the Theban Hills near the Valley of the Kings.  It clearly shows an excvation underway.  I'm not certain where exactly it was taken.  Robert's full set of photos is here.  If somebody thinks they can piece together where the excavations are based on the photo and the ones taken before and afterwards, then I'm sure that would interest readers.    Since cameras aren't allowed in the Valley of the Kings and guards are stopping people from taking photos, I am assuming this wasn't taken from withinthe Valley, although it could be a view looking back into the Valley of the Kings from the Theban Hills which I understand is still allowed.

I have emailed Robert as well to ask but leaving him comments on the photo in Flickr might encourage him as well, please!   There is a photo taken in the hills which is definitely looking down into the Valley of the Kings and I can't spot anything on that and there has been no other report or photo of excavations in the Valley of the Kings this year - although we all expected them.   I have just trogged through a Google search and nobody has mentioned anything so far as I can tell.

I promised further photos from the Western Valley of the Kings - here's one showing the depth of the excavation down to bedrock.  There's at least one more but I've had a run in with bureacucratic offcialdom today so I'm just going to watch some Yes Prime Minsister and maybe some Buffy to cheer myself up! 

(Again, to save bandwidth I've not shown a hi-res.  If there's something you'd like to magnify shout and I'll put up the orginal.)

People have been asking "What's happening in the Valley of the Kings" so I thought people would appreciate a chance to see for themselves.  It only covers the main valley, not the Western Valley of the Kings, and a few bits are obscured but you can see most of the Valley in the his photo by glenanpeanut taken on November 7, 2009.

In order to see what is going on, you need to take a look at the hi-res image. Click on the photo and it will take you through to Flickr.

There are a few things going on. Down in the lower right (or upper left arm of the Valley of the Kings if you think in terms of the Vallet itself) there is work going on but it looks like flood defences for a tomb. There are some other planks in the same area, but nothing that looks like excavations. There is also someting down at the head of the Valley opposite KV5. There's a blue water tanker and something that I can't identify. Again, nothing that looks like excavations.

The biggest area of interest is the Rest House and there we can see that there is ... nothing at all going on!

"KV62 is going to the discovered. KV64 is going to be discovered by an Egyptian team."

That's how Dr Hawass closes the video. If anybody is having trouble watching it, then try this. It ran through fine for me.



The transcipt I offered in the previous post is inaccurate but seems instead to summarise what Dr Hawass is now saying on his blog. Having watched, it's not that positive. The video's credits date it to June 2009. It's a shame it's taken 3 months to be released. It describes itself as Part 1 - wonder when we will get Part 2? It's still worth watching though for what it reveals about the recent excavations in the Valley of the Kings.

Jane Akshar reports of her visit to the Valley of the Kings to enter tomb KV57 (Horemheb). She shows a nice photo of the watercourse alongside KV8 (Merenptah). She also mentions that the Inspector's Office by KV55 has been demolished and theorises that excavations there are about to start.

This video has only recently been posteded on YouTube but is several months out of date; however, given the ban on video cameras in the Valley of the Kings it's a rare video of the excavations earlier in the year.

I can't get this photo on the blog, so you will have to jump over to Flickr to see it. It's from 25th May and shows excavations are continuing up on the shoulders of the Valley of the Kings. There's no tomb in shot so it's hard to be sure to the exact location. My guess is that it's in the region where Dr Hawass first announced he had found KV64? - which will no doubt fuel speculation that he may have done as some have suggested and waited until after high season.

Kate

Sometimes people capture important photos without realising it - and sometimes photos are important for what they don't show. BaMRTW took this one in the Valley of the Kings. It's worth taking a look at the high-res one on Flickr. It shows most of the Valley and how much excavation is ongoing ... which is very little in the visible areas. The Central Area has also been completely re-filled.

This photo by kaltal30 was taken on 4th May 2009 and shows that excavations are continuing in new areas - and frankly at the moment I have lost track of quite which areas other than by the Rest House and near tomb KV1.

Kairionfo4you has posted several photos on Flickr. Follow the link to see the others.

They were spotted while I was travelling by Rick Menges - my thanks. Rick thinks they show that the infamous white tent has been removed and the area filled in, but I'm struggling to be certain whether this was the case because I find it hard to locate some of the photos. They also seem to show partial demolition of the Rest House. If so, then for that to have been done, then the radar survey and initial exploration must have identified a very promising target.

It is the only railway within an Egptian Tomb and the video is wll worth watching for news on the restoration of the tunnel in KV17 (the tomb of Seti I). There is no news on what may be found at the end but Dr Hawass is still speculating that there may be a secret burial of Seti I. I suspect that he has, by now, actually reached the end of the tunnel and knows what is there ... but I suspect we will have to wait a while before we find out.

Just in case you thought from the previous set of photos that all the excavations are over, there are various photos from 9th April showing that they are continuing. There seem to be two areas:

1) A shoulder near KV7 (I think). I'm not yet certain whether this is a fresh excavation of whether the spoil heap from the earlier excavations is being removed. I think it's a fresh exacavation but I'll wait until there is a better photo before I exhibit one here.

2) There is a very clear new trench started. Unfortunatley there's no way to tell where the photo was taken (other than in the Valley of the Kings). I've asked the photographer if he can recall and more details and for permission to post it here if he does.

By Heidi Kontkanen

By Arja Kontkanen

By Hans Kontkanen

By Hans Kontkanen

By Heidi Kontkanen

This series of photos from 5th April 2009 is a family affair - I hope I've got the attribution of each photo right! They show the start of the process to backfill the central excavation in the Valley of the Kings. The first by Heidi is just before they commenced backfill so this is the definitive shot of the fullest extent of the excavations - well done Heidi (and you didn't think you had anything unique :) ).

PS It will be interesting to see which excavations are not backfilled.