Valley of the Kings

Valley of the Kings

Treasure In November 1922, a British man named Howard Carter discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamen (toot-an-KAH-muhn). This was an exciting find. Other explorers thought they had already found everything in the Valley of the Kings. The tomb held more than five thousand objects. Many of them were solid gold!

A King's Valley The Valley of the Kings is probably the most amazing burial ground in the world. Steep valleys hold the tombs of almost every king from the New Kingdom time in Egypt. This time lasted about five hundred years, from 1550 to 1080 Bc.

The valley's steep cliffs and single entrance made it easy to guard. It also took several hours to walk there from the ancient city of Thebes. That helped keep tomb robbers away,

The Next Life People in ancient Egypt believed a tomb was as important as the palace where the king lived. The tomb protected the dead king's body, which they believed returned to life after burial. When a king died, people placed his body inside a decorated coffin. Then, they put the coffin inside a bigger, heavier coffin made of solid stone. The larger coffin weighed as much as five elephants!

To reach the next life, the people of Egypt believed spirits had to follow the travels of Ra (RAH), the Sun god, through the night. They covered tomb walls with pictures and writing to help the soul on its journey.