when a pharaoh died, their personal treasure was buried with them; not the treasure of the entire kingdom. the pharaohs were buried in large tombs, the largest and most famous were the pyramids. many later pharaohs were buried in the valley of the kings. paintings and writings discovered in these tombs have provided much of our knowledge of the pharaohs. new discoveries, such as that in 2014 of a new dynasty ruled by a previously unknown pharaoh, senebkay, are changing what we know about ancient egypt. they were mostly men, but there were women such as cleopatra and nefertiti. pharaohs were considered to be half-man and half-god.