KV 20
Thutmes I and Hatshepsut
Entryway A
See entire tombThe entrance to KV 20 is cut into the hillside high above the valley floor. There are vague traces of steps here, but they are too damaged to plan.
Gate B
See entire tombThis simple gate leads from the entryway to corridor B.
Corridor B
See entire tombCorridor B is roughly cut into the limestone bedrock. The first half of the corridor lies on the same axis as the entrance, aligned toward Dayr al Bahri, while the latter half curves right (south). The floor and ceiling descend steeply into the mountain. Beam holes were cut into the walls. A stairway, too badly damaged to plan, but about seventy centimeters wide, extended along the left side of the corridor.
Chamber C1
See entire tombThis chamber is trapezoidal in plan and has a stepped center descent.
Gate C1
See entire tombThis simple gate leads from corridor B to corridor C1.
Corridor C1
See entire tombThe upper portion of the corridor is nearly straight, similar to corridor B, with a row of steps cut into the left side of the floor. The axis bends right just before the corridor expands into a chamber. There are beam slots cut into the walls of the upper portion of the corridor.
Descent C1
See entire tombThere is a pair of beam holes at the bottom of the stairway.
Chamber C2
See entire tombThis roughly cut chamber is rectangular in plan and has a stepped center descent.
Corridor C2
See entire tombCorridor C2 begins as a long, narrow corridor which turns southward to end in a narrow, roughly rectangular chamber with a center descent. Traces of steps can be seen but cannot be planned. There is a change in the rock from limestone to shale, about two meters into this corridor.
Descent C2
See entire tombTwo beam holes have been cut in the sides of the descent. Traces of steps can be seen but cannot be planned.
Gate C2
See entire tombIt is uncertain if this is actually a gate or only the constricted beginning of corridor C2. Although there is a noticeable drop in the ceiling level, resembling a lintel, such changes occur frequently in these corridors, and possibly are due to ceiling collapse.
Gate D1
See entire tombThis simple gate leads from descent C1 to corridor D1.
Corridor D1
See entire tombThe axial orientation of this corridor is approximately southward. There is a row of steps cut into the left side of the floor. There are four sets of beam holes in the walls.
Corridor D2
See entire tombThe initial axis of corridor D2 is oriented to the south, but midway through, the corridor bends to the west. The ceiling has collapsed in much of the corridor before the bend. There are six sets of beam holes in the walls.
Corridor G
See entire tombThis sloping corridor is not preceded by a gate.
Descent J1
See entire tombThis roughly cut descent connects chamber J1 to corridor G.
Gate J1
See entire tombThis simple gate leads from corridor D2 to chamber J1.
Chamber J1
See entire tombThis roughly cut chamber has a descent cut into the floor in the rear (northwest) part of the chamber.
Burial chamber J2
See entire tombThe burial chamber lies on a south-north axis, at a right angle to the axis of corridor G. The chamber contains three pillars, only one of which is intact. Two sarcophagi were found in the chamber, one on each side of the pillars in the north end of the chamber. The walls were not decorated, but Carter found fifteen limestone slabs with painted decoration of the Imydwat, probably meant to line the chamber. These are now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
Chamber plan:
RectangularRelationship to main tomb axis:
PerpendicularChamber layout:
Flat floor, pillarsFloor:
One levelCeiling:
Flat
Gate J2a
See entire tombThis gate connects burial chamber J2 with side chamber J2a.
Side chamber J2a
See entire tombThis roughly cut side chamber lies to the rear (west) of the burial chamber.
Gate J2b
See entire tombThis gate leads from burial chamber J2 to side chamber J2b.
Side chamber J2b
See entire tombThis roughly cut side chamber lies to the right (north) of the burial chamber.
Gate J2c
See entire tombThis simple gate leads from burial chamber J2 to side chamber J2c.
Side chamber J2c
See entire tombThis side chamber lies to the right (north) of the burial chamber.
About
About
Perhaps the oldest royal tomb in the Valley of the Kings, KV 20 lies high in the easternmost arm of the Valley, cut into the cliff face near KV 19. The tomb is of very unusual plan: its axis bends from the east toward the south and then toward the west, curving away from the Bay of Dayr al Bahri, undermining the theory that the tomb was originally intended to connect with Hatshepsut's Memorial Temple. The tomb descends through a series of five corridors (B, C1, D1, C2, D2), two ending in chambers with central descents (C1, C2), until it reaches chamber J1. From there, a corridor (G) leads to the burial chamber J2. Three low-ceilinged side chambers (Ja-c) are cut into the north end of the latter. Because the soft shale walls of the burial chamber J2 are unsuitable for decoration, mortuary texts were written in red and black ink on limestone blocks which probably lined the walls.
Noteworthy features:
This may be the first royal tomb cut in the Valley of the Kings. Its corridors, which bend clockwise, distinguish this tomb from others in the valley.
Site History
After digging here in 1903-1904, Carter concluded that KV 20 was shared by Hatshepsut and her father Thutmes I, whose burial had been transferred from KV 38. Seventy years later, however, Romer's study showed that KV 38 was actually later than KV 20 and had been quarried during the reign of Thutmes III as a secondary tomb for Thutmes I. KV 20 had been designed and prepared by the architect Ineni for Thutmes I, but at the time of his burial, the completed tomb stopped at chamber J1. The remaining descent in J1, corridor G and chambers (J2, J2a, J2b, J2c) were prepared during the reign of Hatshepsut to accommodate a double burial. The body of Thutmes I was later moved to KV 38, during the reign of Thutmes III. Hatshepsut's burial was left in KV 20 and was eventually sacked by tomb robbers. The mummy of Hatshepsut may have been identified: A tooth found in TT 320 in an ancient sealed box that bears her name has been shown to come from the mandible of a female mummy found in KV 60.
Dating
This site was used during the following period(s):
Exploration
Conservation
Conservation History
No conservation activities have been carried out since Carter's clearance of the tomb.
Site Condition
The upper corridors are cut in good quality limestone, but the lower ones are carved in softer Isna shale and have collapsed. For many years, the tomb was a haven for bats. In 1994, flooding completely filled the burial chamber with debris, making it inaccessible.
Hieroglyphs
Thutmes I
King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Great Becomes the Ka of Ra, Son of Ra, Born of Thoth
niswt-bity aA-xpr-kA-Raw sA-Raw 9Hwty-ms
Hatshepsut
King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Just is the Ka of Ra, Daughter of Ra, Foremost of the Noble Ladies
niswt-bity mAat-kA-Raw sA<t>-Raw HAt-Spswt
Articles
Geography and Geology of the Valley of the Kings
Historical Development of the Valley of the Kings
Development of Tombs in the Valley of the Kings
Bibliography
Abd el-Ghany, Khaled 2016. Untersuchung einiger Merkmale der Gräber KV 38 und KV 20. Göttinger Miszellen 248, 11-25.
Carter, Howard. Report of Work Done in Upper Egypt, 1903-1904. Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte 5 (1905): 112-119.
Cavillier, Giacomo. Progetto Kay. Richerche Italiane e Scavi in Egitto 6 (2013): 29-31
Davis, Theodore, Edouard Naville and Howard Carter. The Tomb of Hatshopsitu (= Theodore M. Davis' Excavations, Biban el Moluk, 2). London, 1906.
Der Manuelian, Peter and Christian E. Loeben. From Daughter to Father: The Recarved Egyptian Sarcophagus of Queen Hatshspsut and King Thutmose I. Journal of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 5 (1993): 24-61.
Der Manuelian, Peter and Christian E. Loeben. New Light on the Recarved Egyptian Sarcophagus of Hatshspsut and Thutmose I in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 79 (1993): 121-155.
Hayes, William C. Royal Sarcophagi of the XVIIIth Dynasty (= Princeton Monographs in Art and Archaeology, Quarto Series, 19). Princeton, 1935. Pp. 17-21, 42-47, 77-104, 157-163, 183-204.
Helck, Wolfgang. Königsgräbertal. Wolfgang Helck, Eberhart Otto and Wolfhart Westendorf (eds.). Lexikon der Ägyptologie. 7 vols. Wiesbaden, 1972-1992. 3: 519.
Johnson, George B. No One Seeing, No One Hearing: KV Proto-tombs 38 and 20. KMT 3/4 (1992-93): 64-81.