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My fascination with Egypt began in childhood and since then, I have had the great pleasure of participating in archaeological projects in the regions of the Fayyum (on prehistoric sites) and in the Nile Delta. With the kind permission of the Supreme Council for Antiquities, I have had the privilege of directing many seasons of archaeological work and conservation studies in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor in the south of Egypt.
VALLEY OF THE KINGS!
The main focus of my work in this royal cemetery of Egypt's New Kingdom (c. 1550 - 1070 B.C.) has been in the examination of several undecorated tombs: KV (Kings' Valley) 20, 21, 27, 28, 44, 45, 48, 49. 50-52 and 60. Lying amongst the large and often elaborately decorated tombs of the pharaohs, many of these typically smaller tombs remained virtually unstudied by their 19th and early 20th century discoverers who generally found them uninteresting. The work of the www.plu.edu/"Pacific Lutheran University Valley of the Kings Project, however, proved that these long ignored monuments were very worthy of investigation. KV 60, for example, is particularly provocative. Robbed in antiquity, it was discovered by Howard Carter in 1903, considered to be of limited interest, reburied, and its exact location thereafter unknown. We managed to rediscover this long-lost tomb on our very first day of work in 1989! The damaged contents of this crudely carved tomb were splendidly preserved and included funerary food provisions, broken bits of burial equipment, the remains of a shattered gilded coffin and a female mummy. An Egyptian study determined that this mummy was that of Hatshepsut, the remarkable pharaoh who ruled Egypt as a woman.
Another tomb, KV21, was originally discovered by Giovanni Belzoni in 1817. This large and undecorated tomb was found to contain the remains of two female mummies along with assorted fragments of funerary equipment. The tomb remained open for perhaps a decade until it was buried deeply by flood-borne debris. We quickly rediscovered its general whereabouts inalthough it took us many days to excavate down to its entrance. Inside, we found evidence that the tomb and its contents had been damaged by flooding. Belzoni's mummies were found vandalized and broken into pieces, and they are most likely royal women!
OTHER TOMBS INVESTIGATED:
KV 28, 44 and 45 each consist of a single room entered from a shaft. Although these simple tombs had all been previously examined, many artifacts (ushabtis, coffin fragments, etc.) were found within. Between the three of them, we also found the remains of over a dozen individuals. </strong</p</li
KV 27: When we first investigated this tomb, we found that most of its four chambers were nearly encumbered to the ceiling with flood debris. This tomb serves as an excellent example of one of the Valley's most serious conservation issues: although situated in an environment that normally appears arid in the extreme, perhaps the worst enemy of the royal necropolis is water. Rain-induced flash floods drain violently through the natural channel of the Valley, threatening tombs with water, mud and stony debris. Our expedition dedicated a special study season to address these questions and we have been involved in constructing walls, doors and other structures in order to contribute to the tombs' long-term survival from destructive natural (and sometimes human) factors.
KV 48: The simple tomb of Amenemopet, the right-hand man of the pharaoh, Amenhotep II. Although heavily robbed, its surviving contents were amazingly well-preserved.
KV 49: Although we can't identify the owner of this unfinished tomb, it's possible that it might have been used to rewrap and store ravaged royal mummies before they were transported to secret caches for their protection.
KV 50-52 are remarkable in that they contained the mummies of animals, most notably monkeys. There locations, too, were lost until rediscoverd by our team.
KV 20: We've also conducted a limited amount of work in KV 20, the royal tomb of the pharaohsThutmose I and Hatshepsut. It's one of the deepest, steepest and most dangerous tombs in Egypt, and certainly a challenge in many ways.
For additional information on our work in the Valley of the Kings, see the Bibliography below.
VALLEY OF THE KINGS: Publications by Donald P. Ryan
2019 "KV 60: A retrospective." KMT: A Modern Journal of Egyptology 30(4):61-66.
2019 "The Valley of the Kings revisited" Current World Archaeology 94:16-21.
2018 "Monkey Business in the Valley of the Kings: Three Unusual Tombs Revisited." KMT: A Modern Journal of Egyptology 29(2):42-49
2015 "KV 60: Ein ratselhaftes Grab im Tal der
In, Michael Höveler-Müller. ed., Das Hatshepsut-Puzzle. (Nünnerich-Asmus) pp.87-96.
2012 "Valley of the Kings." In: The Encyclopedia of Ancient History. (Wiley-Blackwell)
2011 Im Band der Pharaonen. (Theiss.)
2010 "The Pacific Lutheran University Valley of the Kings Project: Work conducted during the 2007 Field Season."
Annales du Service des Antiquites de l'Egypte 84:383-388.
2010 Beneath the Sands of Egypt. (Harper/Collins).
2010 "Five Field Seasons in the Royal Necropolis: The Second Phase of the Pacific Lutheran University Valley of the Kings Project."
KMT: A Modern Journal of Egyptology 21(4)
2007 "The Pacific Lutheran University Valley of the Kings Project: Work conducted during the 2006 Field Season."
Annales du Service des Antiquites de l'Egypte 81:357-361.
2007 "The Pacific Lutheran University Valley of the Kings Project: Work conducted during the 2005 Field Season."
Annales du Service des Antiquites de l'Egypte 81:345-356-361.
2004 "Exploring the Valley of the Kings." In, Secrets of Ancient Egypt. (Hatherleigh Press). pp.117-125.
2000 "Pottery from the Valley of the Kings: Tombs KV 21, 27, 28, 44, 45, and 60." (with Barbara and David Aston)
Cahiers de la Ceramique Egyptienne 6:11-26.
1995 "Further observations concerning the Valley of the Kings."
In, Valley of the Sun Kings, ed. by R. Wilkinson, (University of Arizona).
1995 "Tentative tomb protection priorities, Valley of the Kings." (with John Rutherford),
In, Valley of the Sun Kings</u, ed. by R. Wilkinson (University of Airzona).
1995 "Dental remains from the Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt." (with D. Swindler and B. Rothschild)
In, Aspects of Dental Biology:Paleontology, Anthropology and Evolution,
ed. by J. Moggo-Cecchi, (International Institute for the Study of Man).
1994 "Exploring the Valley of the Kings." Archaeology 47(1):52-59.
1994 "Exploring the Valley of the Kings." Calliope Sept. pp.36-40.
1992 "Some observations concerning uninscribed tombs in the Valley of the Kings."
In, After Tutankhamun, ed. by C N Reeves, (Kegan Paul).
1992 "The Valley Again." KMT 3(1):44-47, 69.
1991 "Return to Wadi Biban el Moluk: The Second Field Season of the Valley of the Kings Project." KMT 2(1):26-31
1990 "Who is buried in KV?" KMT 60 1(1):34-39, 58-59, 63.
1989 "The Pacific Lutheran University Valley of the Kings Project: A Synopsis of the First (1989) Season."
Newsletter of the American Research Center in Egypt 146:8-10.
In Preparation:
Preliminary Report of the Pacific Lutheran University Valley of the Kings Project.
GENERAL EGYPTOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS by Donald P. Ryan
2022 Book: A Year in the Life in the Life of Ancient Egypt. London: Michael O'Mara.
2018 Book: 24 Hours in Ancient Egypt. .London: Michael O'Mara
(Also published in Dutch, Chinese, Serbian, Spanish, Greek, Turkish, Estonian, Simplified Chinese, Slovak, Japanese and French, and as audio book in English and French.)
2018 “Preparing to Die (in Ancient Egypt). Dig (a children's archaeology magazine) Sept. issue.
2018 “Visita el Antiguo Egipto: Entrevista a Donald P. Ryan.” (with Gustavo Puerta). La Leche! Primavera 2018: 17-18.
2016 Book: Ancient Egypt: The Basics. London: Routledge.
2013 “Beginner's Guide to Ancient Egypt.” KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt
2010 Book: Beneath the Sands of Egypt. New York: HarperCollins.
Also published in German under the title, Im Band der Pharaonen. Stuttgart: Theiss.
2010 Book: Ancient Egypt on Five Deben a Day.. New York /London: Thames & Hudson.
(Also published under the name: Egypt 1250 B.C.: A Traveler's Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press.
2002 Book: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Ancient Egypt. New York: Alpha Books.
2001 “A Beginner's Guide to Egyptology: 2001.” KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt” 12(2):52-59.
990 “A Beginner's Guide to Egyptology.” KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt 1(4):30-34.
See also pages addressing History of Archaeology and Ancient Technology for additional Egyptological publications.
EGYPTOLOGY LINKS:
Institutions and Organizations:
American Research Center in Egypt
Institut Francais Archeologie Orientale du Caire
International Association of Egyptologists
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Egypt
Oriental Institute, University of Chicago
Oriental Institute Epigraphic Survey
Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London
Vatican Museums (Vatican City)
Research Links:
ASTENE (Association for the Study of Travel in Egypt and the Near East)
Digital Egypt for Universities
Egyptological Literature Digitized, Heidelberg
Egyptologist's Electronic Forum
ETANA (Ancient Near East electronic texts)
Gardiner's Sign List of Hieroglyphs
Macadam Funerary Cone Data, Sudan Library
Meketre: Middle Kingdom Scenes
Online Egyptological Bibliography
Sackler Library (Oxford) Internet Egyptology Resources
Theban Tombs (Nicky van de Beek)
Theban Tombs Satellite Mapping Project
Tutankhamun Data Base, Griffith Institute
UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology
University of Chicago Library Egyptian and Near Eastern Texts
University of Memphis Egyptology .pdf's.
Other Interesting Links:
Archive.org Egyptian Antiquities
Tomb of the Chihuahua Pharaohs!
Books & Book Sellers:
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