KV8

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KV8
Burial site of Merenptah
Merenptah's stone sarcophagus in KV8
KV8 is located in Egypt
KV8
KV8
Coordinates25°44′26″N 32°36′3″E / 25.74056°N 32.60083°E / 25.74056; 32.60083
LocationEast Valley of the Kings
DiscoveredOpen in antiquity
Excavated byHoward Carter
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KV9

Tomb KV8, located in the Valley of the Kings, was used for the burial of Pharaoh Merenptah of Ancient Egypt's Nineteenth Dynasty.

KV8 schematic

The burial chamber, located at the end of 160 metres of corridor, originally held a set of four nested sarcophagi. The outer one of these was so voluminous that parts of the corridor had to have their doorjambs demolished and rebuilt to allow it to be brought in. These jambs were then rebuilt with the help of inscribed sandstone blocks which were then fixed into place with dovetail cramps.

Merenptah's reconstructed stone sarcophagus in 2023

The pillars in Chamber F were removed to allow passage of the sarcophagus, only two were replaced. The other two pillars may have been stolen by Paneb, a worker in the craftsman's village (Deir el-Medina), for use in his own tomb.

During the Third Intermediate Period, Merenptah's mummy was relocated to the mummy cache in DB320. His outer sarcophagus was smashed to retrieve the middle sarcophagus for reuse by Psusennes I in his own tomb in Tanis. The inner sarcophagus was left intact.[1] Since "silver was considerably rarer in Egypt than gold," Psusennes I's silver "coffin represents a sumptuous burial of great wealth during Egypt's declining years."[2]

References

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  1. ^ Christine Hobson, Exploring the World of the Pharaohs: A complete Guide to Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson (1987). p. 123.
  2. ^ Hobson, p. 123.
  • Reeves, N & Wilkinson, R.H. The Complete Valley of the Kings, 1996, Thames and Hudson, London
  • Siliotti, A. Guide to the Valley of the Kings and to the Theban Necropolises and Temples, 1996, A.A. Gaddis, Cairo
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to KV8.
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  • KV8 Tomb corridor
    KV8 Tomb corridor
  • KV8 tomb burial chamber
    KV8 tomb burial chamber
  • Egyptian Divinities in tomb KV8
    Egyptian Divinities in tomb KV8
  • Delicate Bas-hieroglyph reliefs in a long tomb corridor of KV8
    Delicate Bas-hieroglyph reliefs in a long tomb corridor of KV8
  • Merneptah greets the god Horus in tomb KV8
    Merneptah greets the god Horus in tomb KV8