Facts about Valley of the Queens

Name: Cairo Top Tours
Address: Egypt - Giza - Al-Ahram St.5th Hassan Said St. from Ahram St Giza P.O. Box 6, Egypt, EG
Telephone: +201022772955
Price range: 40$

Latest Articles

The Egyptian Opera House

The Egyptian Opera House, often called the National Cultural Center, is one of Egypt's most important cultural landmarks. It has offered art and a variety of artistic practices at symbolic pricing since its founding in 1988.
The Ruins of Tanis in Egypt

The Tanis ruins rise at the northeastern extremity of the Nile Delta. It is rather overrun by tourists due to its greater than 70-kilometer distance from Zagazig, which is already quite far away. Tanis has emerged as one of Egyptology's most astonishing finds, serving as a significant tomb during the final centuries of Pharaonic civilization. There's more to explore on Cairo Top Tours!
Valley of the Nobles

A neighborhood in the Valley of the Nobles inhabited by nobility. After the Kings Valley and Queens Valley, where the nobility follows the kings and priests, this cemetery is the best.
Ancient Egyptian Language

Text messages were not sent with pyramids. However, a block of the pyramid presented by King Pepi I in 1880 alarmed the new Gaston Maspero, who convinces Mariette to uncover the remains of another pyramid, the Kings of Mererer, at the end of December. Then there came a fantastic discovery: the walls were covered in Egyptian hieroglyphic columns.
Writing in Ancient Egypt

Published around 3100 BC, hieroglyphic script was used. They are graven, sacred symbols that bear the gods' utterances and convey the sounds, meanings, and symbols of the drawings they speak.
Astronomy in Ancient Egypt

Astronomy was significant to the Egyptian way of life. The ancient Egyptians were able to anticipate the Nile River's floods and plan agricultural activities by using the celestial vault to create the earliest calendars and sundials.

Facts about Valley of the Queens

05 16, 2023

Facts about Valley of the Queens

The Valley of the Queens is the burial area for the kings’ wives in the Egyptian Kingdom. Formerly Ta-Set-Nephiro, meaning ‘the place of the sons of the Pharaoh’, or ‘the place of beauty’, a number of 18th, 19th and 20th dynasty royal women (1550 - 1070 B. C) and several of their princes, princesses and even many from the rank of nobility were also interred in this valley. Their tombs was looked after by the priests in charge of the daily mortuary cult, burying the nobles and praying for their souls as to death.

This valley can also be found in close proximity to the renowned Valley of the Kings located on the West Bank of the River Nile in the Luxor governorate. It is not clear why this site was selected as a burial ground, but one explanation for the site’s location is the presence of the village of workers of Deir el-Medina and the valley of the kings, and besides this, one more reason is the presence of a sacred cave worship of Hathor situated at the entrance of the valley, and such caverns may be connected with the revival of the deceased or their reincarnation into another sphere.

Although during the 18th and 19th Dynasties the valley was a major burial site for queens, princes, and some nobles, it ceased to be a royal burial site after the conclusion of the 20th Dynasty. Many of the tombs were extensively reused, and many were modified to accommodate multiple burials. This sometimes required excavating burial pits inside already-existing tombs. Regarding the Valley of the Queens' use during the Ptolemaic era, hardly much is known. During the Roman period we see extensive use of the valley as a burial site again. During the Coptic period, sanctuaries were built in some of these tombs to house hermits and monks.

Tombs such as QV60 (Nabtawi) and QV73 (Hanout Tawi) show signs of a Coptic Christian presence. Wall scenes representing the deceased and Egyptian deities were covered with layers of plaster and Christian symbols were sometimes inscribed or painted in red ink, and the Christian presence in these tombs continued until the seventh century AD.

One of the first tombs constructed in the Valley of the Queens is the tomb of Princess Ahmose, the daughter of Saqnanri Tau and Queen Setjihoti. This tomb likely dates back to the reign of Thutmose I. The tombs of this period also house several members of the nobility, including the head of the stables and the vizier.

During the beginning of the Twentieth Dynasty the valley was still widely used. Tombs were prepared for the wives of Ramses III and, in a departure from previous dynastic conventions, several tombs were prepared for royal sons as well. The construction of tombs continued at least until the reign of Ramses VI. The Turin Papyrus mentions the construction of six tombs during the reign of Ramses VI. The tombs referred to in the papyrus are not known.

Share On Social Media:

Egypt Tours FAQ

Read top Egypt tours FAQs

The tombs in the Valley of the Queens were constructed to house the remains of the New Kingdom's queens, princesses, and princes.

The Valley of the Queens is an ancient burial site located near Luxor, Egypt. It served as the final resting place for the wives and children of pharaohs during the New Kingdom period.

The Valley of the Queens is a ravine located in Upper Egypt's highlands along the Nile River's western bank. The queens and some royal offspring of the 19th and 20th dynasties were buried there; it was a part of ancient Thebes (1292–1075 bc).

Thutmose I (1540-1501 BC), the third pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty, wanted to choose his tomb in a secluded valley behind the rocks of Thebes to preserve his body and protect it from the hands of thieves, so he entrusted the engineer Anini to choose this place for him

;