Explore / Articles Valley of the Kings (Egypt) The royal
necropolis (burial site) of the Valley of the Kings is located
on the west bank of the Nile at Thebes. It was used as the
burial place for the kings of the New Kingdom (about 1550-1070
BC) from as early as the reign of Thutmose I (about 1504-1492
BC). The last tomb to be constructed was that of Ramesses XI
(about 1126-1108 BC), but it is likely that the tomb was not
used and that he was buried near Piramesse, the Ramesside
capital. The tombs consisted of a series of rock cut corridors
and chambers and were decorated with images of the king being
accepted into the company of the gods, as well as with scenes
from various funerary books. The Valley of the Kings is actually
two valleys. The East Valley is the main cemetery of the
Eighteenth to the Twentieth Dynasty (that is, about 1550-1070
BC). The tomb of Tutankhamun is the most famous and was
discovered almost intact by Howard Carter in 1922. The larger
West Valley was used for only two royal tombs, thos