QV I
Anonymous
Entryway A
See entire tombA poorly-cut vertical shaft that provides access to the tomb. The shaft narrows towards the bottom and contains a ledge on the northwestern side. The rock into which the shaft is cut is of poor quality.
Burial chamber B
See entire tombA roughly cut undecorated burial chamber that lies on axis with the tomb's entrance. The rock into which the tomb is cut is of poor quality and is very friable.
Chamber plan:
RectangularRelationship to main tomb axis:
ParallelChamber layout:
Flat floor, no pillarsFloor:
One levelCeiling:
Flat
About
About
QV I is located at the mouth of the Valley of the Three Pits, in close proximity to tombs QV A through QV K. It consists of a poorly-cut shaft (A) leading to a rough, undecorated burial chamber (B). The owner of the tomb is unknown.
The tomb was explored by Georges Daressy (1895), who found that it had already been looted. Elizabeth Thomas surveyed the tomb in 1959-1960, followed by the Theban Mapping Project (TMP) in 1981.
QV I was last excavated and cleared by the Franco-Egyptian Mission in 1989-90. An amphora of a Third Intermediate Period date was recovered during the excavation, suggesting that the tomb had been reused.
Noteworthy features:
QV I belongs to a group of 18th Dynasty tombs in the Valley of the Three Pits that were all constructed under the reign of Thutmes III and belonged to elite officials and members of the royal court.
Site History
The tomb was constructed in the 18th Dynasty and reused during the Third Intermediate Period.
Dating
This site was used during the following period(s):
Exploration
Conservation
Site Condition
Concerns about structural stability prevented the GCI-SCA from assessing the interior of the tomb. The area immediately adjacent to the entrance is severely eroded and the shaft has been partially filled with debris. Erosion of the surrounding slope is the primary mechanism of decay. Water infiltration has also contributed to deterioration since the tombs were carved into a friable shale.
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
CNRS mission report: Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France). Rapport des activités scientifiques et administratives 1992-1994. URA no. 1064. Recherches sur les nécropoles thébaines et le Ramésseum; Publication des temples de la Nubie, 1992-1994.
CNRS mission report: Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France). Rapport des activités scientifiques et administratives: perspectives 1991-1992 URA no. 1064, 1991-1992.
Daressy, Georges. Trois points inexplorés de la nécropole thébaine, Annales du Service des antiquités de l’Egypte 2 (1901): 133-136.
Demas, Martha and Neville Agnew (eds). Valley of the Queens. Assessment Report. Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute, 2012, 2016. Two vols.
Leblanc, Christian and Magdi Mohamed Fekri. L’exploration archéologique des vallées laterales de tA st nfrw. Atti del Sesto Congresso Internazionale di Egittologia. Vol. 1. Turin: International Association of Egyptologists, 1993: 259-268.
Loyrette, Anne-Marie. À propos de boules en fritte glaçurée trouvées dans la Vallée des trois puits. In: Jacke Phillips, and Lanny Bell (eds.) Ancient Egypt, the Aegean, and the Near East: Studies in Honour of Martha Rhoads Bell, Vol. 2. San Antonio: Van Sicklen Books, 1997: 359-68.
Loyrette, Anne-Marie. Les tombes de la Vallée des trois puits à Thèbes-Quest. Memnonia, 8 (1997): 177-195.
Schiaparelli, Ernesto. Realazione sui lavon della Missione archeologica italiana in Egitto, anni 1903-1920. Explorazione della “Valle delle Regina” nella necropolis di Tebe. Vol. 1. Turin: Casa editrice Giovanni Chiantore, 1923.
Thomas, Elizabeth. The Royal Necropoleis of Thebes. Princeton: privately printed, 1966.
