News from the Valley of the Kings

Heritage Key report that the end of the tunnel in tomb KV35 KV17 in the Valley of the Kings has been reached and drop hints that a chamber may be discovered.  It's confusing but it sounds as though they have found an opening and a stairway.  The report is very sketchy but I can't find anything better.

(Those interested in the Great Pyramid will be interested that Hawass is now also a convert to what many people have been saying for 20 years - that there is a chamber undiscovered in the Great Pyramid.)

[Thanks to Len Solt and Chris for spotting my error.  I had KV17 correctly in the tags but have KV35 in the text.  That's now corrected.]

Dr Hawass has published a photo showing some of the finds from the Tomb of Seti I in the Valley of the Kings, tomb KV17.  The size of one of the statues is surprising (even if it doesn't look to be a premier piece).  If these articles were carried into the tunnel by water then the force of water must have been considerable, although the tomb doesn't seem to show flood damage consistent with a large torrent of moving water.  It does make it seem as though the tunnel had a purpose as Dr Hawass himself has said he believes.

There are some nice photos by Sandro Vannini whose work is always of exceptional quality.

El-Ahram Weekly has an article about the recent excavations in the Valley of the Kings. Mostly it is talking about the tunnel in Tomb KV17 (Seti I). It says the length is confirmed at 136m as Sheikh Ali Abdel-Rasoul had determined in 1961, suggesting the Dr Hawass's team hasn't in fact pushed the tunnel any futher than Rasoul.

The article also mentions the search for undiscovered tombs in the Valley of the Kings, saying:

The mission also worked in the area north and east of the tomb of Seti I, where they found traces of cutting in the bedrock underneath the modern rest house which may lead to a previously unknown tomb. Unfortunately, as Hawass pointed out, it would be necessary to remove the entire building in order to explore this area, so it will not be done in the immediate future.

A radar survey of the central valley was recently conducted that identified a number of areas of interest, and further analysis of the data may reveal features that warrant archaeological investigation.

The article ends by mentioning the installation of the replica tombs in the cliffside near the Valley of the Kings in what it says will be called "Replica Valley".

In short, there's nothing particularly new in the article but then it shows that even the local news media are like us and marking time while waiting for the trumpeted major announcments.

This is first time I have seen major media mention tomb KV64 - there's an article in Le Figaro.  Most of the article is familiar territory - the tombs in the Valley of the kings are at risk, and Dr Hawass has cleared 155m in the tunnel of Seti I (KV17).

The paragrpah about KV64 doesn't say very much at all:

Zahi Hawass, who should leave his post next year, caught by the age limit, had far different priorities. Nearly a century after Howard Carter, he dreams  todiscover tKV64, the sixty-fourth tomb which he hopes is intact, like that of Tutankhamun. "It doesn't matter what will be inside. But we never found the tomb of Thutmose II, nor that of Ramesses VIII, "he said with a smile full of promise. Tons of rubble have been cleared. There's been no success yet. "But we have uncovered houses of artisans and thousands of objects," says he, proudly turning the pages of his mission report.

It's hardly either revealing or promsing, but the indication is there again that Dr Hawass fully intends to locate and reveal KV64 before he is forced to step down.  (Personally I still think at least on tomb has been found and opened and that there is at least one other location that those excavating believe to be a royal tomb.)

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.