Мысыр патшаларының сарқыншағы: KV20 қабірлер кешені

Ancient Egyptian tomb in the Valley of the Kings

KV20 is a tomb in the Valley of the Kings (Egypt). It was probably the first royal tomb to be constructed in the valley. KV20 was the original burial place of Thutmose I (who was later re interred in KV38) and later was adapted by his daughter Hatshepsut to accommodate her and her father. The tomb was known to Napoleon Bonaparte's expedition in 1799 and had been visited by several explorers between 1799 and 1903. A full clearance of the tomb was undertaken by Howard Carter in 1903–1904. KV20 is distinguishable from other tombs in the valley, both in its general layout and because of the atypical clockwise curvature of its corridors.

KV20 is located in the easternmost branch of the valley near the later tombs KV19, KV43, and KV60. It was known to the French expedition of 1799 and to Belzoni, who worked in the area in 1817. A first attempt to excavate the tomb was undertaken by James Burton in 1824, who cleared it as far as the tomb's first chamber. Although Lepsius explored it in 1844 and 1845, This excavation was conducted by Carter as Inspector of the Antiquities Service, but the work was sponsored by Theodore M. Davis, who published a full report of the work in 1906. After Carter's work in the tomb ended, no further activities have been carried out. Since 1994 the burial chamber has been inaccessible due to debris deposited by flooding. The corridors bend east south west in a clockwise fashion, which is a unique feature amongst the tombs in the valley. Carter's excavation and clearance began in early Feb 1903 and proved to be difficult, only concluding in March the following year. He found the tomb to be filled with hard, cemented debris. The first passageway was cleared by the end of February; this corridor curves to the right (clockwise) and is long by wide and tall. The first rectangular chamber was full of cemented debris and was cleared by 15 April. A steep flight of steps cut into the centre of the floor leads to the second corridor. Midway down the second passage, the limestone layer ends and the unstable tafle (marl) stratum below it begins; Carter characterised the latter as a " stratum of rock so bad that there was fear of it falling at any moment." Smaller finds included fragments of vases, bowls, and jars in stone and pottery, burnt pieces of coffins and boxes, the foot and face of a large wooden statue (probably a guardian statue), faience vases and ushabti coffins, and small pieces of inlay. The sarcophagus of Thutmose was originally inscribed for Hatshepsut, but later altered for the former king. The interior was entirely recarved to enlarge it and new texts were added. Some of the interior decoration at the head and foot ends was later hastily cut away, presumably during the reburial of Thutmose I, when it was discovered that it was slightly too small for his coffins.

A box inscribed for Hatshepsut as pharaoh, containing the remains of a mummified liver or spleen was recovered from the DB320 royal cache.

Despite the foundation deposit of Hatshepsut and the existence of another tomb for Thutmose I, (KV38), it is now generally presumed that KV 20 originally was quarried for the latter king. The body of Hatshepsut has not yet been identified with certainty and the mummified liver or spleen found in DB320 might be all that remains of her, although it also has been suggested that one of two female mummies found in KV60 is her. A molar found in the wooden box containing her liver, was matched to one of these mummies in 2007, making it likely that the mummy belongs to Hatshepsut.