QV 56
Unfinished
Entryway A
See entire tombA steep stepped Ramp provides access to this unfinished tomb. The first five Steps are made of stone blocks, below which are traces of rock-hewn steps. The TMP plan includes the presence of a modern retaining wall in front of the ramp that has since been removed. The entryway was damaged during the flood in 1994 and the retaining wall and steps have deteriorated. The rock on the east side of the tomb's entrance has collapsed and this slope remains unstable. The rock at the bottom of the ramp, however, remains in a stable condition.
Gate B
See entire tombThis gate provides access to the unfinished tomb and is undecorated. There is no door preventing access to the tomb.
Chamber B
See entire tombThis chamber lies on axis with the tomb's entrance and is unfinished. The relative instability of the rock into which the tomb was cut is probably the main reason for its abandonment.
About
About
QV 56 is located on the north side of the main Wadi. The tomb is entered via a steep stepped Ramp (A). The first five Steps are made of stone blocks, below which are traces of rock-hewn steps leading down into an unfinished chamber (B).
QV 56 was noted by Heinrich Brugch in 1854. The TMP (1981) section drawing includes the presence of a modern retaining wall in front of the ramp, which has since been removed. The tomb were last cleared out by the Franco-Egyptian Mission in 1987 and was dated to the reign of Rameses I.
Site History
Dating
This site was used during the following period(s):
Exploration
Conservation
Site Condition
QV 56 was damaged during the flood in 1994. According to the GCI-SCA, the retaining wall and the Steps deteriorated during this time. The conglomerate on the east side of the tomb entrance has collapsed and this slope remains unstable. The marl rock at the bottom of the Ramp, however, remains in stable condition. The relative instability of the fan conglomerate, presumably the reason that the tomb was not finished, remains the primary source for eroded material filling the tomb. This, as well as the tomb’s close proximity to the main drainage channel and its exposure to flood water, are the principal causes of the poor condition of QV 56.
Articles
Tomb Numbering Systems in the Valley of the Queens and the Western Wadis
Geography and Geology of the Valley of the Queens and Western Wadis
Bibliography
Brugsch, Heinrich Karl. Recueil de monuments égyptiens dessinés sur lieux et publiés sous les auspices de Son Altesse le vice-roi d'Égypte Mohammed-Saïd-Pasha par le docteur Henri Brugsch. Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs'sche Buchhandlung, 1862-1885.
Demas, Martha and Neville Agnew (eds). Valley of the Queens. Assessment Report. Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute, 2012, 2016. Two vols.
Leblanc, Christian. Ta set nefrou: une nécropole de Thèbes-ouest et son histoire, 1: géographie- toponymie: historique de l'exploration scientifique du site. Cairo: Nubar Printing House, 1989.
