Exploration of the Valley of the Kings and non-royal tombs (including KV43, KV46 and KV57). In 1907 they discovered the possible Amarna Period cache in KV55. After finding what they thought was all that remained of the burial of Tutankhamun (items recovered from KV54 and KV58), it was announced that the valley was completely explored and no further burials were to be found, in Davis's 1912 publication, 'The Tombs of Harmhabi" and "Touatânkhamanou'; the book closes with the comment, "I fear that the Valley of Kings is now exhausted." After Davis's death early in 1915 Lord Carnarvon acquired the concession to excavate the valley and he employed
Minor tombs in the Valley of the Kings are larger, multiple chambered tombs. These minor tombs served various purposes, some were intended for burials of lesser royalty or for private burials, some contained animal burials and others apparently never received a primary burial. In many cases these tombs also served secondary functions and later intrusive material has been found related to these secondary activities. While some of these tombs have been open since antiquity, the majority were discovered in the 19th and early 20th centuries during the height of exploration in the valley. Tombs in the Valley of the Kings are assigned a numerical "KV" (for Kings' Valley)