KV5: Tomb of the Sons of Ramesses II in the Valley of the Kings

KV5 is the tomb of the sons of Ramesses II in the Valley of the Kings, cut around 1270 BC on the west bank of the Nile opposite Thebes. Long dismissed as a small, ruined tomb, it was revealed in 1995 to be the largest tomb in the valley, with well over 100 chambers. Its exploration by the American Egyptologist Kent Weeks made world headlines and changed what historians know about royal burial in New Kingdom Egypt.

A tomb for a king’s many children

Ramesses II, who reigned from about 1279 to 1213 BC, had an unusually large family. Lists carved on temple walls name around 50 sons and a similar number of daughters, born to several wives. Because he lived to about 90, many of his children died before him, including a series of crown princes.

The succession shows the problem. Amunherkhepeshef, Ramesses’ first-born son by Nefertari, was crown prince early in the reign but died before his father. Other heirs followed him, among them Prince Ramesses and Khaemwaset, the scholarly high priest of Ptah at Memphis. In the end the throne passed to Merneptah, the thirteenth son, who was already about 60 when he became king around 1213 BC. A family tomb near the king’s own was a practical answer to so many royal deaths.

Royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings were normally made for one king. KV5 is different: it was designed as a collective tomb for princes. Its entrance lies near the valley’s main path, close to the tomb of Ramesses II himself (KV7), which suggests the king wanted his sons buried near him.

Layout of the tomb

Some scholars think the tomb may have been begun under an earlier king and greatly enlarged by Ramesses II. Behind the entrance chambers lies a large hall with 16 pillars. From it, long corridors run deep into the hillside, lined on both sides with small chambers, each probably intended for a burial.

At the end of one corridor stands a statue of Osiris, god of the dead, carved from the rock. Further corridors run downward towards the valley floor, and work has shown that the tomb has at least two levels. More than 120 corridors and rooms are now known, and the excavators have suggested the final count could reach 150 or more.

Wall decoration survives in places, showing Ramesses II presenting his sons to the gods. The inscriptions name several princes, among them Amunherkhepeshef, the eldest son and the son of Queen Nefertari.

Rediscovery

The entrance was never completely lost. The British traveller James Burton explored the first rooms in 1825, but they were choked with flood debris. Later, the entrance was buried under spoil from other excavations, and in the twentieth century it lay partly beneath a road and parking area for tourists.

In 1987 Kent Weeks, director of the Theban Mapping Project, set out to relocate the tomb before planned construction at the entrance of the valley could damage it. Clearing the first chambers produced pottery, fragments of objects and inscriptions naming the sons of Ramesses II.

In 1995 Weeks’s team cleared a passage at the back of the pillared hall and found the long corridors and side chambers. The announcement in May 1995 caused worldwide interest, as it was the most significant discovery in the valley since the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922.

What has been found

KV5 was robbed in antiquity and repeatedly flooded, so it contained no intact burials or treasure. Finds include thousands of pottery sherds, beads, fragments of canopic jars, shabti figures and pieces of coffins.

Remains of several individuals have been recovered, including skulls and bones, some of which may belong to the princes. Their identification is not certain, and studies of the bones have so far been limited by their poor condition.

Challenges of excavation

Work in KV5 is slow and difficult. The chambers are filled with hard, cement-like debris left by flash floods, the limestone is badly cracked, and ceilings have had to be shored up. Excavation, mapping and conservation have continued for decades, and large parts of the tomb remain uncleared.

Timeline

• c. 1279 BC: Ramesses II becomes king of Egypt.
• c. 1270 BC: Work on KV5 as a tomb for the king’s sons is under way.
• c. 1213 BC: Ramesses II dies; many of his sons have predeceased him.
• 1825: James Burton explores the first chambers.
• 1987: Kent Weeks and the Theban Mapping Project relocate the entrance.
• 1995, May: The discovery of the long corridors and dozens of further chambers is announced.
• 1998: Weeks publishes his account of the work, The Lost Tomb.

Why it matters

KV5 shows that New Kingdom royal tombs were not always made for a single king, and that Ramesses II planned a monumental family burial for his heirs. Its scale has made it a symbol of how much remains to be found even in one of the most explored places on Earth.