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A project of the American Research Center in Egypt
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Worker's huts with entrances to QV58 and QV59.
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Entryway A

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A steep Ramp with traces of Steps along the ramp walls leads into an unfinished chamber. The TMP plan includes the presence of a modern curb at the beginning of the ramp that has since been removed. The tomb was damaged during the flood in 1994 and the rock surrounding its entrance continues to erode. There is no shaft cover or door preventing access to the tomb.

Architectural Features

Ramp
Steps

Condition

Cutting finished
Damaged structurally
Excavated
Flood Damage

Chamber B

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This unfinished chamber lies on axis with the tomb's entrance. Debris caked to the ceiling of this chamber suggests that this unfinished tomb is periodically filled with flood waters and runoff. The relative instability of the rock into which the tomb is cut is presumably the reason for its abandonment.

Condition

Cutting unfinished
Flood Damage
Partly excavated

About

About

QV 57 is located on the north side of the main Wadi, northeast of QV 56. The tomb has a steep Ramp (A) with traces of Steps along the ramp walls leading into an unfinished chamber (B).  

QV 57 was noted by Heinrich Brugch in 1854. The TMP (1981) section drawing includes a modern curb at the beginning of the ramp (A), which has since been removed. The tomb was last cleared out by the Franco-Egyptian Mission in 1987 and was dated to the reign of Rameses I.

Site History

The excavation of the tomb began in the 19th Dynasty, during the reign of Rameses I, but was abandoned shortly after. The relative instability of the fan conglomerate is presumably the reason that the tomb was not finished.

Dating

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

New Kingdom
Dynasty 19
Rameses I

Exploration

1854: Documentation
Brugsch, Heinrich Karl
1981: Mapping/planning
Theban Mapping Project
1987: Excavation
Franco Egyptian Mission
2006-2008: Survey and Documentation
Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) and the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA)

Conservation

Site Condition

QV 57 was damaged during the flood in 1994. According to the GCI-SCA, the tomb is in a stable condition, though the fan conglomerate surrounding its entrance continues to erode. Nevertheless, debris caked to the ceiling of chamber (B) suggests that this unfinished tomb is periodically filled with flood waters and runoff. 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 this unfinished tomb. 

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

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.