But in the eight chambers into which he was able to slither, he saw no decoration or objects, and decided that KV 5 was uninteresting, simply a debris-packed-hole in the ground. A century later, Howard Carter also decided the tomb was of no value and dumped debris from his nearby excavations atop its entrance.

But shortly after it relocated KV 5 and began to clean the debris from its first chamber, the Theban Mapping Project discovered that the tomb was decorated with important scenes and texts that revealed it had been the burial place of several sons of Rameses II. During the next several years, excavations found decoration on every wall and pillar they cleared. In February 1995, while digging along the back wall of chamber 3, a huge sixteen-pillared hall, the Theban Mapping Project uncovered a doorway that led into a series of long corridors. Extending deep into the hillside, more than fifty side chambers extended to their left and right. KV 5 suddenly had become the largest tomb ever found in the Valley of the Kings and one of the largest in all Egypt. It was a tomb unique in plan and in its function as a mausoleum for several members of the royal family.

Clearing has continued, and by 2004 the Theban Mapping Project had found over 130 corridors and chambers in KV 5, and many more are certain to be exposed in the future. The hugely complicated  plan of the tomb reveals features that were dug on several different levels, in many different directions, providing multiple burial suites for at least six sons of Rameses II. Hundreds of thousands of potsherds, thousands of broken objects, animal bones, and human remains have been found in the debris. Some were washed into the tomb, some were found in situ. On the walls are the names and titles of Rameses II and his sons; scenes of the king presenting sons to deities in the netherworld; and copies of religious texts such as the Book of the Dead’s Negative Confession (chapter 125). The debris choking KV 5 is so densely packed and the process of ensuring structural stability so time consuming, that by 2003 only two dozen of the tomb’s many chambers had been cleared. It will take many more years of work before KV 5 can be opened to the public. In the meantime, regular updates on these ongoing excavations are made available on the Internet at http://www.thebanmappingproject.com

From" The Illustrated Guide to Luxor" by kent R.Weeks ,published by the American University in Cairo Press. Copyright © 2005 White Star S.p.a