KV35, Royal tomb in Valley of the Kings, Egypt
KV35 is a royal burial site in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor that stretches 91 meters into the limestone cliffs. The chambers are decorated with ancient Egyptian burial texts and painted reliefs visible on the walls and ceilings.
Victor Loret opened the burial site in March 1898 and found the mummy of Amenhotep II in its original sarcophagus. Priests of the 21st Dynasty later used the chambers as a hiding place for additional royal mummies, including Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III.
The inscriptions and wall paintings show scenes from the Amduat, a religious text describing the nightly journey of the sun god Ra through the underworld. Visitors can observe the carefully executed hieroglyphs and figures that convey the belief in life after death.
The entrance leads down steep steps, so visitors should wear sturdy shoes and walk carefully. Lighting inside is limited, and the temperature remains consistently cool due to conservation measures.
The two female mummies from a side chamber were identified through DNA analysis: one as Queen Tiye, mother of Akhenaten, and the other as the grandmother of Tutankhamun. This scientific discovery helped clarify the family relationships of the 18th Dynasty royal family.
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