Valley of the Kings

Other than the great pyramids at Giza, the Valley of the Kings is probably the most famous among the many archeological sites of Egypt.  King Tutankhamen of the golden death mask fame, for one, was buried here.  The earlier pharaohs, from ~2,600 BC, were buried in the pyramids at Giza.  But they were soon broken into by grave robbers, with the pyramids making tempting targets.  Later, from ~1,600 to ~1,000 BC, the pharaohs were buried here, in a valley under a mountain that looks somewhat like a natural pyramid.  

There were no pyramids to mark the tombs, which were dug deep into the mountains at secret sites.  

more than 100 meters slanting down into the ground.  

We were not allowed to take photographs without buying expensive photograph permits, which, in any case, give permission to only some of the tombs.  

62 tombs had been discovered here so far.  It appeared that the efforts to hide them were not successful in protecting them.  All but one had been broken into.  Much of the mummies, coffins, and other treasures buried with the pharaohs had been stolen.  What remained were removed to Egyptian Museum in Cairo or other museums.  Many ended up in the British Museum in London, the Louvre in Paris, and others.  King Tut’s golden death mask is not the only one.  There are many others.  Some of which are probably in private hands, whose owners would probably not prefer to be known.

What is left in the tombs is lots and lots of hieroglyphs, similar to those found in the many Egyptian temples.  Many were very intricate, colourful and fun to watch.  For example, there appeared to be many different kinds of birds and relatively fewer mammals and fishes in the hieroglyphs. Unfortunately, I do not have photographs to illustrate.  

King Tut’s tomb was fortunate, or unfortunate - depending on your perspective, to have been dug underneath another tomb, which was broken into.  It laid undiscovered for more than 3,000 years until the last century.  He reigned for only a short time, didn’t do much in comparison to some of his more illustrations fellow pharaohs, and died young.  Now he is the most famous of the many pharaohs.  Who would have bought so at the time?

Some speculate that more tombs are there, yet to be discovered.  Who knows?

These tombs remind me of the tombs of the emperors in ancient China, such as the Chin Dynasty and Han Dynasty.  Many were similarly dug deep in the ground, with elaborate efforts to hide their locations.  Much also turned out to be futile.