MIT Libraries homeDome

The terminating space in the Tomb of Ramesses III; Although the site of the tombs of the earliest New Kingdom rulers of the 18th Dynasty has not been identified conclusively, beginning with Tuthmosis I, they adopted the wadi now known as the Valley of the Kings (Arabic; Biban al-Muluk) as the new royal cemetery. The burials of female members of the royal family were situated in the western cliffs during the 18th Dynasty, or in the Valley of the Queens (Arabic; Biban al-Harim) in the 18th-20th dynasties. Princes were interred in both royal valleys. The separation of the royal tomb proper, located in a distant desert wadi, from the funerary temple, erected on the edge of the cultivation, appears to have been a New Kingdom innovation. The excavation and decoration of these tombs was reserved for a distinct group of workmen ('the crew of the tomb'), whose social and professional activities are exceptionally well documented; they resided at Deir el-Medina, at a convenient distance from both royal cemeteries. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 1/16/2008)