KV64

KV64
Burial site of Unknown, Nehmes Bastet
Coffin and stela of priestess Nehmes Bastet in situ within KV64
KV64
Coordinates	25°44′24.6″N 32°36′04.7″E
Location	East Valley of the Kings
Discovered	25 January 2011
Excavated by	University of Basel (2012–13)
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KV64 is the tomb of an unknown Eighteenth Dynasty individual in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor, Egypt that was re-used in the Twenty-second Dynasty for the burial of the priestess Nehmes Bastet, who held the office of "chantress" at the temple of Karnak. The tomb is located on the pathway to KV34 (tomb of Thutmose III) in the main Valley of the Kings. KV64 was discovered in 2011 and excavated in 2012 by Susanne Bickel and Elina Paulin-Grothe of the University of Basel.^[1][2]

Stela depicting Nehemes-Bastet before composite funerary god from KV64 (Luxor Museum)

Discovery and layout

On 25 January 2011, during the University of Basel Kings' Valley Project's 2011 excavation season, work to install a protective iron cover over the shaft of KV40 uncovered the edges of a shaft cut into the rock 1.8 metres (5.9 ft) north of KV40.^[3][4] Given the small size of the cutting, approximately 1 by 2 metres (3.3 ft × 6.6 ft), and its proximity to the neighbouring tomb, it was initially suggested to be a possible embalming cache or an unfinished shaft. The feature was given the initial designation of 'KV40b.' Due to its discovery coinciding with the beginning of the 2011 Egyptian revolution, it was fitted with a metal cover to await clearance the following season.^[3] Excavation resumed in early January 2012 and it soon became apparent that the feature was a tomb; the find was officially announced on 15 January 2012 and given the designation KV64.^[4]

The tomb consists of a short, rather narrow shaft 3.5 metres (11 ft) deep which opens onto a single room measuring 4.1 by 2.35 metres (13.5 by 7.7 ft) long and wide; the chamber has a height of approximately 2 metres (6.6 ft). The doorway was blocked with stacked stone but was not sealed. This blocking was evidently not original, as it sat on top of an earlier plastered blocking; a bowl of Eighteenth Dynasty-date containing Nile mud used for plastering the original blocking was encountered at the base of the door.^[4]

Contents

The chamber was filled with debris approximately 1 metre (3.3 ft) deep. The room contained the intact burial of the Twenty-second Dynasty chantress Nehmes Bastet, sitting on top of the fill at the far end of the chamber; her painted wooden funerary stele sat propped against the wall at the foot of the coffin. Within the debris was the remnants of the robbed Eighteenth Dynasty interment, represented by fragmentary canopic jars and two stoppers, fragments of coffins and cartonnage, glass, faience, leather, furniture parts, and the broken, unwrapped mummy who was likely the original owner.^[4][5] Also found was a partial wooden label bearing the name of Princess Satiah. It is not known whether the label belongs to the original woman for whom the tomb was created.^[6] Of dubious relevance to the tomb are finds of a Ramesside ostracon and fragments of furniture naming Amenhotep III as similar contents have been found elsewhere and are suggested to be the product of ancient robbery. The tomb had evidently stood open for some time prior to the burial of Nehmes-Bastet as indicated by the presence of several wasp nests and water-washed debris that partially filled the tomb.^[4][5][1]

Occupants

Eighteenth Dynasty mummy

Little is known of the dismembered Eighteenth Dynasty mummy found in the tomb, although x-ray analysis revealed the body belonged to a middle aged woman.^[7] If the fragmentary furniture naming Amenhotep III and the tag naming a princess are original to this burial and not washed in during later flood action, then the original owner can be identified as a princess of the reign of Amenhotep III. The style of the two canopic jar heads also conform to this dating.^[1]

Nehmes Bastet

Upon entering the tomb in 2011, the excavators discovered a wooden coffin and a stela placed near the wall that was facing the head of the coffin. The mummy in the coffin belongs to a priestess, the "Chantress of Amun", Nehmes-Bastet. She was the daughter of Nakhtef-Mut, a priest of Amun who held the office of the "Opener of the Doors of Heaven" at Karnak, an important Ancient Egyptian temple during that dynasty. The wooden stela shows Nehmes Bastet worshiping before a composite deity with attributes of both a sun-god and the god Osiris.^[6]

Previous use of KV64 designation

"KV64" (with quotation marks) had been employed as a tentative designation in reference to an anomaly detected by the use of ground-penetrating radar by the Amarna Royal Tombs Project (ARTP), led by Nicholas Reeves, during the autumn of 2000.^[8] This anomaly was detected 50 feet (15 m) north of KV63, near the tomb of Tutankhamun, KV62.^[9][10]

The designation was used again in 2008 for a possible tomb entrance located near the center of the main valley between the tombs of Merenptah (KV8) and Ramesses II (KV7).^[11][12]

References

1. Bickel, Susanne; Paulin-Grothe, Elina (2012). "The Valley of the Kings: two burials in KV 64". Egyptian Archaeology. 41: 36–40. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
2. "New archaeological discovery at the Valley of the Kings – Ancient Egypt – Heritage – Ahram Online". english.ahram.org.eg. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
3. Bickel, Suzanne; Paulin-Grothe, Elina; Alsheimer, Tanja (2011). "Preliminary Report on the Work Carried out During the Season 2011" (PDF). University of Basel Kings' Valley Project: 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 November 2021.
4. Bickel, Suzanne; Paulin-Grothe, Elina (2012). "Preliminary Report on the Work Carried out During the Season 2012" (PDF). University of Basel Kings' Valley Project: 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 November 2021.
5. Bickel, Suzanne; Paulin-Grothe, Elina (2013). "Preliminary Report on the Work carried out during the season 2013" (PDF). University of Basel Kings' Valley Project: 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 November 2021.
6. Susanne Bickel, Princesses, Robbers, and Priests – The unknown side of the Kings' Valley, Presentation at a conference at the Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy, October 14 2017, Online; KV 64 is discussed at 27:30 onward
7. Bickel, Suzanne; Paulin-Grothe, Elina (2015). "Preliminary report on work carried out during the field season 2014–2015" (PDF). University of Basel Kings' Valley Project: 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 November 2021.
8. Reeves, Nicholas (31 July 2006). "Another New Tomb in the Valley of the Kings – "KV64": II". nicholasreeves.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2008.
9. "Tomb KV-64: Possible new tomb in the Valley of the Kings?". Archived from the original on 21 June 2010.
10. "Another New Tomb in the Valley of the Kings? – Archaeology Magazine Archive". archive.archaeology.org. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
11. Zahi Hawass. "Spotlight Interview: 2008". The Plateau: Official Website for Dr. Zahi Hawass. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
12. Paul Rymer (22 August 2008). "Zahi Hawass lecture – notes by Paul Rymer". Egyptology News. Retrieved 2008-08-22.

External links

• "Rare tomb of woman found in Egypt Valley of Kings". The Guardian. London. 2008-01-23. Archived from the original on January 18, 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-15.