Exploration of the Valley of the Kings Carter to explore it. After a systematic search they discovered the actual tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62) in November 1922. At the end of the century, the Theban Mapping Project re-discovered and explored tomb KV5, which has since been discovered to be probably the largest in the valley (having at least 120 rooms) and was either a cenotaph or real burial for the sons of Ramesses II. Elsewhere in the eastern and western branches of the valley, several other expeditions cleared and studied other tombs. Until 2002 the "Amarna Royal Tombs Project" explored the area around KV55 and KV62, the Amarna
Exploration of the Valley of the Kings 16 tombs to the list, and explored several tombs that had already been discovered. During this time Georges Daressy explored KV9. When Gaston Maspero was reappointed to head the Egyptian Antiquities Service, the nature of the exploration of the valley changed again. Maspero appointed Howard Carter as the Chief Inspector of Upper Egypt, and the young man discovered several new tombs, and explored several others, clearing KV42 and KV20. Around the turn of the 20th century, the American Theodore M. Davis had the excavation permit in the valley, and his team (led mostly by Edward R. Ayrton) discovered several royal