Exploration of the Valley of the Kings Period tombs in the main valley. Various expeditions have continued to explore the valley, adding greatly to the knowledge of the area. In 2001 the Theban Mapping Project designed new signs for the tombs, providing information and plans of the open tombs. On February 8, 2006, the Supreme Council of Antiquities announced that an American team led by the University of Memphis had uncovered a pharaonic-era tomb (KV63), the first uncovered there since King Tutankhamun's in 1922. The 18th Dynasty tomb included five intact sarcophagi with coloured funerary masks along with 28 large storage jars, sealed with pharaonic seals. It
Minor tombs in the Valley of the Kings several ceramic and alabaster vessels in the side room. The recent re-clearance revealed that the tomb has suffered both from flood damage and vandalism after Belzoni's time. KV21 and its contents are dated to the Eighteenth dynasty and it has been suggested that the female occupants found in it were queens. The tomb suffered from severe despoilment in antiquity, with most of its funerary goods being carried off. KV26 is located in the wadi that leads towards KV34 (tomb of Thutmose III), it was first noticed by James Burton in 1825. It is a small tomb, consisting of a short,