KV27
KV27 | |
---|---|
Burial site of Unknown | |
Coordinates | 25°44′23.1″N 32°36′11.2″E / 25.739750°N 32.603111°E |
Location | East Valley of the Kings |
Discovered | before 1832 |
Excavated by | Donald P. Ryan (1993, 2006) |
← Previous KV26 Next → KV28 |
Tomb KV27 is located in the
Location, discovery and layout
KV27 is located between tombs KV21 and KV28 in a side wadi that branches off the main valley. The tomb has a simple layout, consisting of a shaft and four rooms.[1] It is most similar to KV30 and appears to be an expanded version of a shaft tomb with a single room, or it may represent an architectural halfway between a single-roomed shaft tomb and those which have multiple rooms opening from one or more corridors.[2] An unusual feature of the tomb is the plastered ramp (initially thought to be a sealed burial shaft) leading from the main chamber (B) to a side chamber (C). Pottery excavated from the tomb dates to the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty.[1]
The original excavator for this tomb is unknown, and no records exist of its discovery.[3] Richard Pococke perhaps observed its location during his tour of Egypt.[4] It was certainly known to Wilkinson, and described briefly by Eugène Lefébure as containing pieces of a mummy.[5][6] The tomb was probably investigated by Auguste Mariette in 1859.[1]
Re-investigation and contents
Excavation of the tomb was undertaken by the Pacific Lutheran University's Valley of the Kings Project in 1993 and 2006. The tomb entrance was known to be used by local antique sellers to escape the heat. However, humans weren't the only ones who used the tomb as a family of dogs were found living there in 1990.[3] During the 1993 season the shaft was partially excavated, yielding small amounts of pottery and fragmented remnants of the burial including wood, gold leaf, and wrappings.[1]
The Project returned in 2006 to undertake a fuller excavation. The shaft was fully cleared and contained modern items such as rubbish, and modern souvenirs. Remains of the original mudbrick blocking were encountered at the base of the shaft. The tomb was found to be almost entirely full of flood debris. The first chamber (Chamber B) was almost entirely excavated, leaving only a small column of debris as a stratigraphic record. This chamber contained very few artefacts; only fragmentary stone vessels, pottery, and faience were found, along with some human metacarpals.[1]
Side Chamber C was almost entirely full of pottery sherds, mostly from white-washed storage jars. The presence of large stones mixed with the ceramics suggests that the tomb suffered a "catastrophic flooding event with a powerful torrent of water pouring into the tomb... which violently smashed and mixed the tomb contents."
As of 2007, the tomb stores the pottery found in it; other finds are stored in KV21 for flood protection.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ryan, Donald P. (2007). "Pacific Lutheran University Valley of the Kings Project: Work Conducted during the 2006 Field Season". Annales du Service des Antiquités de l'Égypte. 81: 357–361.
- ISBN 978-0-500-28403-2.
- ^ a b Ryan, Donald P. (1992). "Some Observations Concerning Uninscribed Tombs in the Valley of the Kings". In Reeves, Carl Nicholas (ed.). After Tut'ankhamun: Research and Excavation in the Royal Necropolis at Thebes. London: KPI. pp. 21–27.
- ISBN 978-0-500-28403-2.
- ^ Lefébure, Eugène (1889). Les hypogées royaux de Thèbes (Tome Troisième): Notices des hypogées (in French). Paris. p. 187.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ISBN 0-7103-0368-8.
- ^ Carter, Howard (1903). "Report on General Work Done in the Southern Inspectorate". Annales du Service des Antiquités de l'Égypte. IV. Le Service: 43–50. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
External links
- Theban Mapping Project: KV27 includes detailed maps of most of the tombs.