KV1
| KV1 | |
|---|---|
| Burial site ofRamesses VII | |
 KV1 sarcophagus and tomb reliefs | |
  KV1 | |
| Coordinates | 25°44′32.4″N32°36′06.7″E/ 25.742333°N 32.601861°E |
| Location | East Valley of the Kings |
| Discovered | Open in antiquity |
| Excavated by | Edwin Brock(1984–1985) |
| Decoration | |
| Layout | Straight |
Next→ KV2 | |
Tomb KV1,located in theValley of the KingsinEgypt,was used for the burial ofPharaohRamesses VIIof theTwentieth Dynasty.Although it has been open since antiquity, it was only properly investigated and cleared byEdwin Brockin 1984 and 1985. The single corridor tomb is located inLuxor's West Bank, and is small in comparison to other tombs of the Twentieth Dynasty.
Tomb layout[edit]
Typical of tombs from this period, KV1 is laid out along a straight axis. The successors ofRamesses IIIconstructed tombs that had followed this pattern and were all decorated in much the same manner as each other. It consists of four major parts: the entrance, a passageway, the burial chamber containing the sarcophagus, and a smaller room at the end.
Ramesses VII was in the seventh year of his reign when he died. There is evidence that the burial chamber was expanded from its original design as a corridor, and work on a subsequent room at the end of the tomb was halted.[1]
The decoration within the passageway of the tomb contains illustrations from theBook of Gates,theBook of Cavernsas well as theBook of the Earth.[2]The walls of the burial chamber are decorated with extracts from theBook of the Earth.In terms of style and themes it closely follows that of its immediate predecessor,Ramesses VI'sKV9,though the ceiling within the burial chamber contains a double image of the sky goddessNut,reflecting a style used in tomb paintings used by pharaohs of the previous dynasty.[2]
Within the burial chamber a depression has been cut into the rock, with an inverted box of stone shaped roughly like acartoucheplaced over it. This is the last known example of a sarcophagus placed in a royal tomb in the Valley of the Kings, all subsequent burials consisting of deeper pits which were covered by a lid.[3]The tomb was robbed in antiquity, and the mummy presumably lost, though four cups inscribed with the pharaoh's name were found in the "royal cache" inDB320along with the remains of other pharaohs.[4]
Visits in antiquity[edit]
The tomb was one of at least eleven tombs that were open to early travelers. As evidence of this, 132 individual graffitis left by Ancient Greek and Roman visitors have been counted throughout KV1.[5]Later, the tomb was used as a dwelling byCopticmonks.[1]
Early European visitors to the area includedRichard Pococke,who visited KV1 and designated it "Tomb A" in hisObservations of Egypt,published in 1743.[6]
The savants accompanyingNapoleon'scampaign in Egyptsurveyed the Valley of the Kings and designated KV1 as "1er Tombeau" ( "1st Tomb" ) in their list.[6]
Recent archeological work[edit]
Though not documented, the tomb was cleared in the 1950s. Starting in 1983, funded by theRoyal Ontario Museum,Edwin Brock thoroughly excavated the burial chamber floor, followed a decade later by an excavation of the tomb's entrance.[2]In 1994, theSupreme Council of Antiquitiescleaned the walls and repaired cracks with plaster. In doing so, they covered overgraffitithat had been left there in ancient times.[1]
Some of Brock's findings included fragments of wood, calcite andfaienceshabtis,ostracadecorated with sketches presumably by the tomb's artists, a floral garland and numerous contemporaneous pottery shards.[7]
References[edit]
- ^abc"KV 1 (Rameses VII) – Theban Mapping Project".www.thebanmappingproject.com.Archived fromthe originalon 2015-10-15.Retrieved2018-02-26.
- ^abcReeves, Nicholas. Wilkinson, Richard H.The Complete Valley of the Kings.p. 166. Thames & Hudson. 1997. (Reprint)ISBN0-500-05080-5
- ^Romer, John.Valley of the Kings.p. 144. Castle Books. 2003. (Reprint)ISBN0-7858-1588-0
- ^Reeves, Nicholas. Wilkinson, Richard H.The Complete Valley of the Kings.p. 167. Thames & Hudson. 1997. (Reprint)ISBN0-500-05080-5
- ^Reeves, Nicholas. Wilkinson, Richard H.The Complete Valley of the Kings.p. 51. Thames & Hudson. 1997. (Reprint)ISBN0-500-05080-5
- ^abReeves, Nicholas. Wilkinson, Richard H.The Complete Valley of the Kings.pp. 52–53. Thames & Hudson. 1997. (Reprint)ISBN0-500-05080-5
- ^Reeves, Nicholas. Wilkinson, Richard H.The Complete Valley of the Kings.p. 167. Thames & Hudson. 1997. (Reprint)ISBN0-500-05080-5
Literature[edit]
- Hornung, E., et al.Zwei Ramessidische Königsgräber: Ramses IV. und Ramses VII,1990, Mainz am Rhein, P. von Zabern.
- Reeves, N & Wilkinson, R.H.The Complete Valley of the Kings,1996, Thames and Hudson, London
- Siliotti, A.Guide to the Valley of the Kings and to the Theban Necropolises and Temples,1996, A.A. Gaddis, Cairo
External links[edit]
- Theban Mapping Project: KV1Includes description, images and plans of the tomb.
- KV1 (Tomb of Ramesses VII)Includes detailed descriptions along with relevant photographs, images and plan of the tomb KV1.
