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 Tomb KV38 in the Valley of
the Kings on the West
Bank at Luxor (ancient Thebes)
was a Victor
Loret find of March 1899, though the original circumstances of its discovery are lost to
us. This is an 18th Dynasty
tomb originally thought to be the initial burial of Tuthmosis
I, from which he was later moved to another tomb, KV20.
Georges Daressy, in his Fouilles de la Vallee des Rios, published a list of the
artifacts discovered by Loret in KV38. The yellow quartzite sarcophagus
inscribed for Tuthmosis I was the most significant discovery, and is the reason
this tomb is ascribed to Tuthmosis I. Howard
Carter later investigated the tomb, unearthing the foundation deposits near
the tomb entrance, but these items were not inscribed so they neither
contradicted or supported anyone as the builder, though Loret was probably right
about the ownership.
However, later analysis by John Romer in 1974 seems to have demonstrated that
it was actually a newer tomb than KV20 because the architecture was probably
influenced by KV34 which belongs to the first Tuthmosis' grandson, Tuthmosis
III. Also fragmentary furniture, the sarcophagus and several bits of glass
vessels seem to be of a style more from the later Tuthmosis' time. Therefore, it
is now believed that his grandfather was first buried in KV20, along with his
daughter, Queen Hatshepsut,
and later, because of Tuthmosis III's hatred for his stepmother, was moved by
Tuthmosis III to the newer tomb.
From the entrance of this tomb, crudely cut steps lead first to a small
doorway, which in turn lead to a descending corridor that immediately begins to
curve to the left. This corridor then communicates with an irregularly cut room,
but it continues to descend thought the room finally  leading to a large (about
11 meters, or 36 feet in length) burial chamber. This chamber is in the shape of
a cartouch, with a small, crudely cut storage annex opening from the left, or
roughly northern side of the chamber near the sarcophagus and canopic
niche. The ceiling of the room was once supported by a single, square pillar,
though that element is now gone. The burial chamber's walls were covered with
mud plaster over which remnants of decorative khekler-frieze are still visible
near the ceiling. Some inscribed fragments, bearing text from the Amduat,
were removed in 1899 to the Egyptian
Antiquity Museum in Cairo where
they are now in storage.
Graffiti within the tomb records that it was opened, probably at the end of
the 20th Dynasty or the
beginning of the 21st Dynasty.
It reads, "1st month of akhet-season, day 13. Coming by Meniunufer (to)
open (the tomb of) Aakheperkare. At that time, presumably the two wooden coffins
of Tuthmosis I were removed and appropriated for Pinudjem I's use, due to the
belief that they held divine power. Pinudjem I was a High Priest of Amun who
later acquired royal status. The coffins were discovered, redecorated and
inscribed for Pinudjem I as king in the Royal
Cache of mummies found at Deir el-Bahri. It is believed, because of the
coffins' size, that there was originally a third, inner coffin made of precious
metal that was subsequently melted down for bullion.
As for Tuthmosis I's body, the mummy found within his
coffins at the Deir el-Bahri cache has been associated with
him, but it is equally likely that it could belong to Pinudjem,
so we are really unsure of the final disposition of his
remains.
General Site Information
- Structure: KV 38
- Location: Valley of the Kings, East Valley, Thebes West Bank, Thebes
- Owner: Tuthmosis I
- Other designations:
- Site type: Tomb
Orientation
- Axis in degrees: 284.07
- Axis orientation: West
Site Location
- Latitude: 25.44 N
- Longitude: 32.36 E
- Elevation: 190.36 msl
- North: 99,375.461
- East: 93,989.441
- JOG map reference: NG 36-10
- Modern governorate: Qena (Qina)
- Ancient nome: 4th Upper Egypt
- Surveyed by TMP: Yes
Measurements
- Maximum height: 2.64 m
- Minimum width: 1.22 m
- Maximum width: 5.78 m
- Total length: 37.31 m
- Total area: 125.65 m²
- Total volume: 207.77 m³
Additional Tomb Information
- Entrance location: Base of sheer cliff
- Owner type: King
- Entrance type: Staircase
- Interior layout: Corridor and chambers
- Axis type: Bent
Decoration
Categories of Objects Recovered
- Architectural elements
- Tomb equipment
Dating:
History of Exploration
- Loret, Victor (1899): Excavation (conducted for the Service des Antiquités)
- Loret, Victor (1899): Discovery (made for the Service des Antiquités)
- Carter, Howard (1919): Excavation (discovery of foundation deposit outside entrance)
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