Valley of the Kings 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 that no further burials were to be found. Davis's 1912 publication, "The Tombs of Harmhabi and Touatânkhamanou" 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 Howard Carter to explore it. After a systematic search, they discovered
Minor tombs in the Valley of the Kings had been intended to contain a human burial or not: KV50 contained fragmentary remains of a wooden coffin and KV52 an empty canopic chest. KV51 contained material which was dated to the Eighteenth dynasty, a dating which is ascribed to all three of these closely related tombs. It has also been suggested (although there is no real evidence to support this theory) that the animals interred here were a king's pets and that, given the proximity of his tomb (KV35), this king might have been Amenhotep II. KV53 is located north of KV29. It was discovered by Ayrton in 1905