Mysteries Surrounding The Egyptian Tomb KV55 In The Valley Of The Kings

Edward R. Ayrton first found Egyptian Tomb KV55 in the Valley of the Kings in 1907. Three years later, Ayrton’s sponsor, Theodore M. Davis, released a summary of the dig.
Dating back to the 18^th dynasty, KV55 has been a complicated archaeological location, appearing to have been utilized for numerous interments.

Source: Wikimedia Uploads

First, it was used as a final resting location for Queen Tiye, due to the broken wooden shrine devoted to her (Tiye was brought here after the abandonment of Amarna, and finally brought to KV35).
The mummy discovered within the tomb might have been of Queen Tiye’s son, pharaoh Akhenaten, though that of his successor, Smenkhkare (if this was a man) was also regarded.
In 1923, the tomb was used as a darkroom for processing photographs by Harry Burton, during the excavation of Tutankhamun’s tomb by Howard Carter.

Egyptian Tomb KV55: Description

Being a relatively small regal sepulcher,
Egyptian Tomb KV55 is only 27.61 m in total length, located next to KV6, Ramses IX’s crypt, above KV7 (Ramses II’s) and near KV62, Tutankhamun’s tomb.
Its entrance is open in the rock, heading east, leading to a system of stairs that connect to a slightly sloping corridor and the burial chamber.

Source: Wikimedia Uploads

There is a passage to a tiny antechamber on the south side of this chamber, and the planning of another room is depicted by red masonry markings on the east wall. Had the room been built, the crypt might have matched the size of Tutankhamun’s.
The tomb’s walls are not decorated, despite the fact that the tomb’s walls are laid out in plaster, kind of strange for a regal crypt.
A drawing on an ostracon discovered in 1993 suggested that it was the tomb’s plan, indicating that the original entrance had been enlarged and corroborated by the marks on the tomb’s walls.
The tomb’s antiquity was altered, making it hard to determine, and much more complicated with the proof inside related to the attribution.

Source: Wikimedia Uploads

Tutankhamun’s name appeared on the door seals, which is evident from the time its tenant was buried the 2^nd time, while the canopic jars discovered inside bear resemblance to those of Akhenaten’s secondary wife, Kiya.
Meanwhile, the name and representations of Akhenaten’s mother, Queen Tiye, exist on the broken shrine, whose panels are scattered across the chamber.
A series of “magical bricks” discovered within the tomb bear the name of Akhenaten himself, together with that of his father, Amenhotep III, and his daughter and wife.
The tomb is often referred to as the “Amarna cache”, given that all those data are reminiscent of the main figures of the Amarna period.

Source: Wikimedia Uploads

Scientists believe that it was first planned to entomb some noblemen or officials, using it later for a regal burial, as consequently occurred with the crypt of Tutankhamun.

Identification of the mummy

The only mummy discovered when the tomb was unlocked in 1907 was from a man, initially assumed to be of Akhenaten, because of some burial objects discovered inside, primarily magical bricks, together with the destruction of the sarcophagus, as Akhenaten was consequently denigrated as a heretic.The cartouches with the mummy’s name are erased and the uraeus removed. Additionally, the mummy bears great resemblance to that of Tutankhamun.
Nevertheless, people did not completely approve this identification, a number of which insisted on associating the mummy with Smenkhkare, despite the fact that KV55 contains nothing related to him. Furthermore, it was verified to be the remnants of Akhenaten after a 2010 DNA examination.

Source: Wikimedia Uploads

A hypothesis was proposed, in which Akhenaten and his mother, Queen Tiye, were initially buried in the new capital, Amarna, but their skeletons were moved to KV55 during the reign of Akhenaten’s son Tutankhamun and his secondary wife Kiya, according to Nicholas Reeves.
The name of Tutankhamun was sealed with the door, forgotten for nearly 2 centuries with the mummies inside, until some workers excavating the nearby crypt of Ramses IX came across the tomb.
Because Akhenaten was despised as a heretic at that time, the sarcophagus of Queen Tiye was quickly discarded from his desecrating presence, apart from the gilded wooden shrine covering it, which had to be taken apart to detach the sarcophagus.
The portraits of Akhenaten were erased with a chisel, in his sarcophagus the golden mask was torn and the cartouche with his name removed, to condemn him to eternal oblivion. As a final insult, a large rock was thrown at the coffin, smashing the supports of the lion-shaped sarcophagus.