KV39

KV39 Tomb of Amenhotep I (?)

KV39 is the name of an ancient Egyptian tomb, which is located at the entrance to Wadi el- Biban Mulak on the edge of the Valley of the Kings. The exact assignment of the tomb is uncertain, perhaps it belonged to Pharaoh Amenhotep I of the 18th Dynasty.

Assignment

The report contained in the Papyrus Abbott on an inspection of the royal tombs at the time of Ramses IX. gives an important clue to the location of Amenhotep grave. This is therefore exactly 120 cubits below a distinctive geographical point, called a ahay. The British Egyptologist Arthur Weigall identifies the ahay with a group of workers cottages, situated on a rocky ridge above KV39. A mentioned in the Papyrus Abbott " Temple of Amenhotep's garden " has yet to be identified. Other possible tomb of Amenhotep I. applies the grave AN B in Dra Abu el- Naga.

Architecture

KV39 was discovered by Victor Loret in 1899 and is distinguished by its unusual plant. It was initially started as a simple corridor grave and should extend from the grave entrance to the west. The building was abandoned early and the first chamber remained unfinished. A little later the grave was significantly expanded. Running parallel to the first gear in the opposite direction was a about forty meters long corridor with two flights of stairs and at right angles to a slightly shorter Southern Corridor. Both passages each terminating in a chamber. The southern chamber contains a supplied covered with stone slabs depression in the ground, which was intended for the reception of a sarcophagus. For a grave from the 18th Dynasty, this feature is quite unusual and is more reminiscent of graves before the time of the New Kingdom.

Finds

The excavation of KV39 in the late 1980s encouraged about 1350 bags of archaeological material to light. These contained potsherds, Calcitfragmente, parts of wooden coffins, textiles, metal chips, Tonkrugversiegelungen, cordage, plant traces and remains of several human skeletons. Among them were unusual sandstone labels with blue royal cartouches of Thutmose I, Amenhotep II and Thutmose II may have been a Calcitfragment Found also were the title of the grave owner and a gold signet ring with " the name of a famous pharaoh of the 18th dynasty ."