Kv35

The tomb of Amenhotep II was built in the traditional style of tombs of the early XVIII dynasty, but differs in some features. The burial chamber is rectangular in shape and is divided into two parts, in one of which in 1889 the untouched mummy of the pharaoh was discovered (as evidenced by the tsar’s bow and preserved garlands of mimosa flowers) in a stone sarcophagus. The walls and columns of the tomb are painted with scenes of the Book of Amduat by hieratics ; the shelves are colored with yellow stars on a dark blue background ^[1] . The structure of the tomb is similar to the tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose III ( KV34 ) - the father of Amenhotep II. Other rooms are plastered, but not painted.

The tomb was looted in antiquity, but many items near the mummies were preserved. The main finds are considered to be the sarcophagus of Amenhotep II made of red quartzite , faience , stone and wooden uberchis , wooden statues of the pharaoh, vessels of glass, stone and faience, a model of a wooden boat, a canopy box made of calcite , a papyrus with a book of caves . Furniture is probably broken by robbers ^[1] .

In the turbulent Third Transitional Period and during the 21st dynasty, the tomb was used as a cache for the storage of royal mummies, which were identified by inscriptions on the shroud ^{[2] [3]} . A similar fate occurred at the tomb of DB-320 (TT-320) in Deir al-Bahri .

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  Sarcophagus of Pharaoh Amenhotep II

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  Sarcophagus Hall with Amduat Scenes

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  Mural tombs KV35

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  Image of the Duat in the tomb of KV35

Discovered on March 9, 1898 by Victor Lore in the Valley of the Kings . Together with the mummy of Pharaoh Amenhotep II lying in the sarcophagus, many other royal mummies were found in the inner chambers of the tomb. At the direction of Laura, the sarcophagus with the mummy Amenhotep II was left in the same place, while others were transported to Cairo . The entrance was closed with a heavy iron grate with padlocks, and two guards were assigned to guard. However, three years later, on November 24, 1901, the tomb was robbed. The mummy did not suffer, but the shroud was cut in the places of amulets and jewelry ^[1] . It is not known whether something was stolen by the robbers. After this incident, the body of Amenhotep II was transferred to the Cairo Museum .

KV35 became one of six tombs lit by electricity in 1903, when Howard Carter was appointed chief curator of the antiquities of Upper Egypt ^[1] .

Identified by the inscriptions on the shroud ^{[3] [2]} and genetic-genealogical examinations, the mummies were located in one of the utility rooms (h2) in the following sequence:

1. Thutmose IV (XVIII Dynasty)
2. Amenhotep III (XVIII dynasty) lay in a sarcophagus named after Ramses III with a lid named after Seti II ^[1] .
3. Seti II ( XIX Dynasty )
4. Merneptah (XIX dynasty)
5. Saptah (XIX Dynasty)
6. Ramses V ( XX dynasty )
7. Tausert (?) (XIX Dynasty). The mummy of a woman, in the lid of the sarcophagus signed by the name of the pharaoh Setnahta .
8. Ramses VI (XIX dynasty)
9. Ramses IV (XXth Dynasty)

In other rooms also found:

1. (e1) a female mummy, possibly Meritra Hatshepsut - the mother of Amenhotep II (XVIII dynasty);
2. (f) a male mummy in a boat, possibly Pharaoh Setnaht . The body is stolen or destroyed at the beginning of the 20th century.
3. (h1) Tia , wife of Amenhotep III and mother of Akhenaten , until recently called the “ Elder lady ”. (see below)
4. (h1) KV35YL (“Younger Lady” - “Younger Lady”) is an unidentified woman. According to genetic and genealogical examination - mother of Tutankhamun , daughter of Amenhotep III and Tii , sister of Akhenaten . (see below) ^[4] ;
5. (h1) Webensen - son of Amenhotep II . He died at the age of about 10 years ^[5] . Discovered between the mummies of Tii and KV35YL ^[6] ;
6. (h3) Another boy's mummy, allegedly Prince Thutmose, is the son of Amenhotep III ;
7. (h3) badly damaged mummy of a man.

Unidentified 2 skulls and a hand lying over the mummy of the “Younger Lady” ( Eng. Younger Lady ).

Mummy Tii

The mummy of Queen Tii , mother of Akhenaten ^[5] lies in a royal pose - the right hand is extended along the body, the left is bent at the chest (a compressible scepter was not found). At the time of her death, she was about 50 years old. It was identified by genetic-genealogical examination in February 2010 ^{[4] [7]} . Prior to this, she was called the "Elder Lady" ( Eng. Elder lady ).

The Mummy of the Younger Lady

In February 2010, a genetic and genealogical examination revealed that this woman was the mother of Tutankhamun , the daughter of Amenhotep III and Tii , the sister of Akhenaten . Her name remains unknown, but it is assumed that she is Nebet or Baketaton ^[4] .

At the time of death, she was not older than 25 years ^{[5] [4]} . For a long time, it was believed that large wounds in the left cheek of the mummy were made by grave robbers, but a recent re-examination showed that the wounds were inflicted during life and led to death. ^[four]

Before, the identification of the mummy was controversial. So in June 2003, Egyptologist Joan Fletcher claimed that it was Nefertiti . At the same time, the Egyptologist Zaha Hawass suggested that this was Kiya , the other wife of Akhenaten , who was considered the mother of Tutankhamun .

• Peter Elebracht. The tragedy of the pyramids! 5000 years of the looting of Egyptian tombs / translation from German by O. I. Pavlova. - M .: Progress, 1984.