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
Minor tombs in the Valley of the Kings or "WV" (for West Valley) designation in the order of their discovery. Besides these numbered tombs there is also a series of pits and possible tomb commencements, ordered in an alphabetical sequence from WVA (actually a small tomb) to KVT although the exact number of these pits, and in many cases their location, is not known. The assignment of this alphabetical sequence has been done by more recent researchers, often on the basis of cursory references in older reports or field notes. KV3 is located in a side wadi of the main valley, adjacent to KV46 and KV4. Although it