KV35

KV35
Name	KV35
Location	Valley of the Kings, Thebes, Egypt
Discovered	1898
Discoverer	Victor Loret
Period	Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt
Owner	Amenhotep II (primary burial)

KV35 KV35 is an ancient tomb in the Valley of the Kings on the west bank of the Nile opposite Luxor, Egypt, associated with the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt and originally used for the burial of Amenhotep II. The tomb gained prominence through the work of Victor Loret and later investigations by teams linked to the Egyptian Antiquities Service and international missions. Its complex assemblage of royal burials, mummies, funerary goods, and inscriptional material has made it central to studies of New Kingdom of Egypt funerary practice, royal succession, and modern Egyptology.

Discovery and Excavation

KV35 was located and first recorded by Victor Loret in 1898 during systematic surveys commissioned by the Egyptian Antiquities Service. Subsequent work by the Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale and excavations under Edward Ayrton and later by Howard Carter and teams from the Metropolitan Museum of Art refined the stratigraphy and recovered displaced burials. 20th- and 21st-century campaigns by missions associated with Theban Mapping Project and the Supreme Council of Antiquities (now Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (Egypt)) employed modern conservation, photogrammetry, and stratigraphic recording to re-evaluate Loret's and Carter's finds.

Architecture and Layout

The plan of KV35 follows a variant of the classical Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt corridor-tomb schema with a descending entrance, multiple corridors, a pillared burial chamber, and an adjoining side chamber. Architectural features include a decorated inner sanctuary connected to a large rectangular chamber that once contained a sarcophagus for Amenhotep II; rubble and secondary interments altered the original layout. Structural elements show parallels with tombs such as KV20, KV34, and KV55, while doorways and blocking stones indicate reuse during the Amarna Period and later dynastic episodes. The orientation toward the west and alignment within the Valley of the Kings reflects royal necropolis planning associated with pharaonic processional axes like those used at Deir el-Bahari.

Contents and Finds

KV35 yielded a rich assemblage including fragmentary royal coffins, canopic equipment, funerary amulets, and a cache of disturbed mummies identified as members of the royal entourage. Among the recovered human remains were mummies later attributed to individuals connected with the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt royal family, including candidates proposed by scholars for associations with Thutmose IV, Amenhotep III, and lesser-known royals. Funerary objects bore iconography of Amun-Re, Osiris, and ritual scenes found in contemporaneous tombs like those of Seti I and Tutankhamun. Ceramic sherds, faience beads, and inscribed wooden labels provided chronological markers aligning with artefacts from sites at Deir el-Medina and administrative contexts preserved in archives such as the Amarna Letters.

Inscriptions and Texts

Inscriptions in KV35 comprise fragmentary tomb-utterances, titulary inscriptions, and graffiti left by ancient workmen and later visitors. Textual elements reference royal names in hieroglyphs consistent with Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt titulary conventions, and ritual formulae parallel those found in the Book of the Dead and tomb inscriptions at Thebes, Egypt. Later graffiti by travelers and officials links KV35 to the history of early Egyptology and the antiquities trade; these hand-inscriptions have been studied alongside administrative ostraca from Deir el-Medina to reconstruct post-burial activities, tomb-robbing events, and official clearing operations under pharaohs such as Seti II.

Historical Significance and Ownership

KV35's primary association with Amenhotep II situates the tomb within debates about succession and court politics during the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. The presence of additional royal mummies and secondary interments has fed hypotheses about mortuary reorganization under rulers like Horemheb and the priest-kingly restorations of 21st Dynasty of Egypt officials such as the High Priests of Amun. Analyses of funerary assemblages and osteological studies have informed genealogical reconstructions involving figures from the courts of Thutmose III, Thutmose IV, and Amenhotep III. KV35 therefore functions as a nexus for discussions of royal reburial practices, antiquities administration during the Third Intermediate Period and the evolution of restoration policies in the early modern period under collectors such as Victor Loret.

Conservation and Display

Conservation efforts in KV35 have balanced in situ preservation with museum display of selected artefacts at institutions like the Egyptian Museum, Cairo and international loans to museums including the British Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Modern interventions by the Theban Mapping Project and the Getty Conservation Institute emphasized environmental control, visitor management, and digital documentation to mitigate deterioration from humidity and tourism traffic. Ongoing curatorial collaborations among the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (Egypt), international museums, and academic researchers continue to guide conservation priorities, publication of inventories, and virtual access initiatives to facilitate scholarly study and public education.

Category:Valley of the Kings