KV56
|
KV56 |
|
|---|---|
| place | Valley of the Kings |
| Discovery date | January 5, 1908 |
| excavation |
Edward R. Ayrton for Theodore M. Davis |
| Previous KV55 |
The following KV57 |
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KV56 ( Kings' Valley no. 56 ) is the ancient Egyptian tomb with number 56 in the Valley of the Kings . The owner of the grave is unknown. Exact dating is not possible, but it was used during the New Kingdom (19th Dynasty). KV56 is also known as the " Gold Tomb " because the tomb contained the most important jewelry collection from the 19th Dynasty ever found in Egypt.
Discovery and excavation
The discovery and excavation took place in 1908 by Edward R. Ayrton for Theodore M. Davis . The results were published by Davis in 1908 in The Tomb of Siptah, the Monkey Tomb, and the Gold Tomb . As part of The Amarna Royal Tombs Project (ARTP), new excavation work was carried out from 1998 to 2002 under Nicholas Reeves .
Architecture and finds
The unfinished grave has a deep entrance shaft and a single, undecorated chamber, which has a size of 34.6 m². An assignment to a certain type of grave is difficult due to the construction and finds: On the one hand it is questionable whether it is a grave at all, on the other hand it is assumed that KV56 could perhaps be a royal grave.
The jewelry finds that Ayrton made in KV56 are among the finest found in the Valley of the Kings. These included several rings, bracelets, some necklace ornaments and amulets, a diadem, a pair of silver gloves, a silver sandal and earrings. It is therefore also known as the "gold grave". However, it also contained vessels and funeral utensils, portions of gold foil, and pieces of stucco that may have come from a coffin.
Interpretations
The tomb contained objects with the names of Queen Tausret and King ( Pharaoh ) Sethos II. Gaston Maspero concluded that KV56 was a hiding place, into which the objects from the tomb of Tausret ( KV14 ) were brought before this had been usurped by Sethnacht . According to Nicholas Reeves , however , Cyril Aldred presented a much more “imaginative” interpretation: “KV56 is an ultimately intact grave” in which the “half an inch thick and four square foot layer of broken stucco and gold leaf” is the “very last remnant of one completely They represent rotten coffins. ”According to Aldred, the silver gloves were covers for the mummy's hands. He took the gold leaf and broken stucco finds to be parts of a coffin and therefore speculated that the grave was that of a child of Tausret and Seti II, who was buried during the reign of Setus II. Peter A. Clayton describes the gold jewelry as of "second class quality". He also interprets two pairs of poorly crafted earrings as grave goods for a princess of Seti I and Tausret who died in childhood.
Reeves advocates that KV56 should be classified in the late 18th Dynasty due to the location, type and design.
See also
literature
- Theodore M. Davis: The Tomb of Siphtah; The Monkey Tomb and The Gold Tomb . Reprint of the London 1908 edition, Duckworth Publishing, London 2001, ISBN 0-7156-3073-3 , pp. 30-32.
- Nicholas Reeves, Richard H. Wilkinson : The Valley of the Kings. Mysterious realm of the dead of the pharaohs. Bechtermünz, Augsburg 2000, ISBN 3-8289-0739-3 , p. 153.
- Nicholas Reeves: Fascination Egypt. The great archaeological discoveries from the beginning until today. Frederking & Thaler, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-89405-430-1 , p. 116.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Nicholas Reeves: Fascination Egypt. The great archaeological discoveries from the beginning until today. Munich 2001, p. 116.
- ↑ Theban Mapping Project: KV56, Chamber B, Dimensions ( Memento of the original from September 26, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Theban Mapping Project: KV56, Additional Tomb Information ( memento of the original from September 26, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Theban Mapping Project: KV56, Site History ( Memento of the original from September 26, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Peter A. Clayton: The Pharaohs. Bechtermünz, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-8289-0661-3 , p. 159.
