Exploration of the Valley of the Kings Exploration of the Valley of the Kings The area of the Valley of the Kings, in Luxor, Egypt, has been a major area of modern Egyptological exploration for the last two centuries. Before this, the area was a site for tourism in antiquity (especially during Roman times). This area illustrates the changes in the study of ancient Egypt. Starting as antiquity hunting, and ending as scientific excavation of the whole Theban Necropolis. Despite the exploration and investigation noted below, only eleven of the tombs have actually been completely recorded. The Greek writers Strabo (1st century BC) and Diodorus Siculus (1st
Valley of the Kings perform magic rituals, such as Shabtis and divine figurines. Some equipment was what the king may have used during his lifetime (Tutankhamun's sandals for example), and some was specially constructed for the burial. The modern abbreviation "KV" stands for "Kings' Valley", and the tombs are numbered according to their order of 'discovery', from KV1 (Rameses VII) to KV64 (discovered in 2012). Since the early 19th century AD, antiquarians and archaeologists have cleared and recorded tombs, with a total of 61 sepulchers being known by the start of the 20th century. KV5 was only rediscovered in the 1990s after being dismissed