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Valley Festival It was a unique celebration held annu-
ally on the western shore of THEBES, and also called “the
Beautiful Feast of the Valley.” The celebration had its ori-
gin in the Middle Kingdom Period (2040–1640 B.C.E.) rit-
uals, probably beginning as a festival honoring the
goddess HATHOR. It was normally held in the second
month of shomu,the time of harvest on the Nile, corre-
sponding to the modern month of May or June.
The sacred barks of AMUN, MUT, and KHONS(1), the
Theban triad, were taken across the Nile to the necropolis
area during the celebration, docking at DEIR EL-BAHRI.
The living Egyptians visited the tombs of their dead, and
priests blessed the gravesites. Processions, music, flowers,
and incense marked the spirit of the festival. Families
spent the night beside the tombs of their ancestors, sere-
naded while they held picnics and entertained by wan-
dering bands of temple musicians and chanters.
Valley of the Gilded Mummies This is a Greco-
Roman (304 B.C.E.–336 C.E.) necropolis at BAHARIA OASIS,
containing 100 identified burial sites. Several thousand
mummies appear to have been buried on the site. The
remains being recovered in the graves of the valley have
elaborately gilded CARTONNAGE masks and most were
buried in groups. Some were covered in gold entirely,
while other mummies had painted scenes and designs on
their plain cartonnage. Still others were buried in ceramic
anthropoid coffins.
Tombs containing the remains have entrance cham-
bers and separate burial compartments. The entrance
chambers were also used as sites for mortuary rituals.
Some burial rooms have niches and shafts. These tombs
are located near the Temple of ALEXANDER III THE GREAT
(r. 332–323 B.C.E.) at Baharia. The necropolis was in use
until the fourth century C.E.Valley of the Kings It is called Biban el-Muluk in
Arabic, the most intriguing burial site in the world, dat-
ing to the New Kingdom Period (1550–1070 B.C.E.) of
Egypt. The Valley of the Kings is located on the western
shore of THEBES. The area is a dried river valley that is
dominated by a high peak, naturally shaped as a pyra-
mid, and contains the tombs of the most celebrated
pharaohs of Egypt.
The Eighteenth Dynasty (1550–1307 B.C.E.), founded
after ’AHMOSE(r. 1550–1525 B.C.E.) ousted the HYKSOS, or
Asiatics, from the Delta, began to fashion elaborate mor-
tuary complexes on the western shore of Thebes.
’Ahmose’s heir, AMENHOTEP I(r. 1525–1504 B.C.E.), seeing
the extent of robberies and vandalism of royal resting
places, separated his burial site from his MORTUARY TEM-
PLEin order to protect his remains. His successor, TUTH-
MOSIS I(r. 1504–1492 B.C.E.), following Amenhotep I’s
example, was the first ruler to have his royal tomb carved
out of the expanse of the Valley of the Kings.
This sacred necropolis was remote and easily
guarded as a ravine. It is located at the base of a peak
called SHEIKH ABD’ EL-QURNA, sacred to the goddess
MERESGER(1) and in earlier historical periods associated
with the cult of the goddess HATHOR. The site is com-
posed of two main branches, to the east and to the west.
The majority of the tombs are in the eastern valley, called
Ta-set-a’at, “the Great Place,” or Wadi Biban el-Muluk.
The eastern valley also contains ravines and minor
branches that served as natural sites for the royal tombs.
The western valley leads to a natural amphitheater sur-