The Valley of the Kings served as the principal royal burial ground of Egypt’s New Kingdom, roughly 1550 to 1069 BCE. It lies in an isolated desert valley west of the Nile opposite Thebes, beneath a pyramid-shaped peak associated with the goddess Meretseger. New Kingdom rulers abandoned the conspicuous pyramid tombs of earlier dynasties and cut their burial chambers into limestone cliffs. Seclusion offered some protection, while the dead kings’ memorial temples stood separately on the cultivated plain where priests could maintain their cults.

Thutmose I is the earliest ruler securely identified with a tomb in the valley, although the order and ownership of several early burials remain debated. Royal workmen living at nearby Deir el-Medina excavated passages, shaped chambers, plastered walls, and painted texts and images intended to guide the king through the night world. Plans evolved from sharply turning corridors to straighter axes. The Amduat, Book of Gates, Litany of Re, and other compositions mapped the sun god’s journey and the deceased ruler’s hoped-for regeneration.

The eastern valley contains most known royal tombs, including those of Thutmose III, Hatshepsut, Seti I, Ramesses III, Ramesses VI, and Tutankhamun. The western valley holds fewer burials, including the tomb associated with Amenhotep III. More than sixty numbered tombs and additional unfinished cuttings range from small shafts to immense decorated complexes. Despite efforts at concealment, robbers entered most of them in antiquity. Officials later moved many royal mummies to caches, both to protect them and to reuse valuable burial goods during periods of political and economic strain.

European travelers and antiquarians entered the valley for centuries, often leaving graffiti or removing objects. Systematic recording increased in the nineteenth century, though excavation methods still damaged contexts. Giovanni Belzoni opened the richly decorated tomb of Seti I in 1817. The best-known discovery came in 1922, when Howard Carter’s team, financed by Lord Carnarvon and supported by many Egyptian workers, found Tutankhamun’s compact tomb with most of its burial equipment intact. Its global fame transformed public interest in Egyptology and often overshadowed the valley’s broader history.

Egyptian and international teams continue to map tombs, study fragments, monitor rock movement, and protect painted plaster from dust, humidity, flash floods, and visitor-generated carbon dioxide. Tombs open to the public rotate, and some require additional tickets to reduce pressure on fragile interiors. The valley forms part of the UNESCO property Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis, inscribed in 1979. It preserves not only royal beliefs about death, but also evidence of specialized labor, ancient robbery, priestly reburial, early tourism, archaeology, and the difficult balance between access and conservation.