Valley of the Kings the centre of the East Valley, with a possible mummy cache (KV55) that may contain the burials of several Amarna Period royals—Tiy and Smenkhkare or Akhenaten. In close proximity is the burial of Tutankhamun. This is perhaps the most famous discovery of modern Western archaeology. It was discovered here by Howard Carter on November 4, 1922, with clearance and conservation work continuing until 1932. This was the first royal tomb to be discovered that was still largely intact, although tomb robbers had entered. And until the excavation of KV63 on 10 March 2005, it was considered the last major discovery
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)