A project of the American Research Center in Egypt
A project of the American Research Center in Egypt
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KV 41
Unknown

A
Entryway A
See Entire Tomb

Entryway A

See entire tomb

The tomb entrance is roughly square. The shaft drops almost vertically 11.24 m (36.88 m), then stops abruptly. A few notches for the descent were cut into the walls.

Condition

Cutting unfinished
Excavated
Undecorated

Dimensions

  • Height:

    11.24 m

  • Width:

    1.82 m

  • Length:

    1.62 m

  • Area:

    2.96 m2

  • Volume:

    33.14 m3

  • Orientation:

    90°

About

The tomb is located behind Dayr al Bahri in the so-called "Valley of the Pits." It consists of a shaft about 11.24 m (36.88 feet) deep. The tomb has no side chambers and was never finished.

Elizabeth Thomas suggested that KV 41 belonged to Queen Tetisheri, wife of King Seqenenra Ta'a II, one of the last kings of Dynasty 17. If this is the case, then this tomb was one of the first tombs built for a queen in the Valley. There is no evidence to confirm this theory. The tomb was never used and no objects were recovered.

Dating

This site was used during the following period(s):

New Kingdom
Dynasty 18
1900: Visit
Bénédite, Georges Aaron
1991: Excavation
Institut français d'archéologie orientale
1899: Discovery
Loret, Victor
1899: Excavation
Loret, Victor
1902: Visit
Steindorff, Georg

Site Condition

The tomb was recently excavated.

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Articles

Bibliography

Gabolde, Luc, Hassan Ibrahim Amer and Pascale Ballet.  Une exploration de la Vallée du Puits: la tombe inachevée no. 41.  Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale du Caire 91 (1991): 173-189.

Helck, Wolfgang.  Königsgräbertal.  Wolfgang Helck, Eberhart Otto and Wolfhart Westendorf (eds.).  Lexikon der Ägyptologie.  7 vols. Wiesbaden, 1972-1992.  3: 521.

Reeves, Carl Nicholas.  Valley of the Kings: The Decline of a Royal Necropolis (= Studies in Egyptology).  London:  KPI, 1990. Pp. 168.

Weeks, Kent R. (ed.).  Atlas of the Valley of the Kings (=Publications of the Theban Mapping Project, 1).  Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2000.  Map sheet 55. 

Wilkinson, Richard H. and Carl Nicholas Reeves.  The Complete Valley of the Kings.  London:  Thames and Hudson, 1996.  P. 183.

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