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A project of the American Research Center in Egypt
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Entrances of QV10, QV11, QV12, and QV13 and old electricity building in background.
More Details

Entryway A

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Shaft entrance has a modern built surround with cement plaster and no metal grill or mesh.

Architectural Features

Compound jambs
Lintel beam slot

Condition

Cutting finished
Excavated
Undecorated

Burial chamber B

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Undecorated burial chamber.

  • Chamber plan:

    Rectangular
  • Relationship to main tomb axis:

    Parallel
  • Chamber layout:

    Flat floor, no pillars
  • Floor:

    One level
  • Ceiling:

    Flat

Condition

Cutting finished
Excavated
Undecorated

About

About

QV 10 is located on the south side of the main Wadi, between the paved path and the higher footpath to the south. The tomb has one chamber (B) and the shaft entrance (A) has a modern built surround with cement plaster and no metal grill or mesh.

Elizabeth Thomas recorded that QV 7 to QV 10 are all similar in layout. The last clearing of the tomb was conducted by the Franco-Egyptian team in 1985. It has been dated to the 18th Dynasty and the finds included a mirror handle, part of a staff covered in pink leather, and glazed blue Faience hair beads. The tomb was also reused substantially in the Third Intermediate and Roman Periods. Avian mummies placed in Roman period vases were discovered in the tomb.

Noteworthy features:

QV 10 has been dated to the 18th Dynasty and the finds included a mirror handle, part of a staff covered in pink leather, and glazed blue Faience hair beads. The tomb was also substantially reused in the Third Intermediate and Roman Periods.

Site History

The tomb was constructed in the 18th Dynasty and reused substantially in the Third Intermediate and Roman Periods.

Dating

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

New Kingdom
Dynasty 18
Third Intermediate Period
Graeco-Roman Era
Roman Period

Exploration

1959-1960: Survey and Documentation
Thomas, Elizabeth
1981: Mapping/planning
Theban Mapping Project
1985: Publication, Conservation, Excavation
Franco Egyptian Mission
2006-2008: Survey and Documentation
Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) and the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA)
2008: Tomb clearance
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA)

Conservation

Site Condition

According to the GCI-SCA, the tomb generally appears stable. QV10 is cut into mixed marl types, with its shaft cut largely into marl but reaching shale layers near the bottom. The main chamber of the tomb is cut into interbedded layers of marl and fractured shale. Trash littered the bottom of shaft. Bat urine and droppings were observed in areas of the ceiling of QV 10 by the GCI-SCA. The tomb opening is susceptible to flooding, and the shale of the main chamber is particularly susceptible to damage resulting from flood. 

Articles

Geography and Geology of the Valley of the Queens and Western Wadis

The Valley of the Queens and the Western Wadis are made up of numerous valleys spread out over a vast space of desert, each containing tombs for the New Kingdom queens and other royal family members. The poor quality rock has led to damage in several tombs after suffering from earthquakes and floods.

Bibliography

Demas, Martha and Neville Agnew (eds). Valley of the Queens. Assessment Report. Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute, 2012, 2016. Two vols.

Lecuyot, Guy. Les tombes VdR 9 à 13 de la Vallée des Reines. Memnonia, 3 (1992): 89-129.

Macke, André, Christiane Macke-Ribet, Christian Leblanc, and Jacques Connan. Ta set neferou: une necropole de Thebes-Ouest et son histoire: momification, chimie des baumes, anthropologie, paléopathologie. Vol. 5. Cairo: Nubar Printing House, 2002.