KV25 is one of the most mysterious unfinished monuments in the Valley of the Kings. Located in the remote West Valley, it consists of the beginning of a large royal tomb that was abandoned before its corridors, chambers, and decorative program could be completed.

No surviving inscription identifies its intended owner. However, the tomb’s size, position, and architectural character indicate that it was probably commissioned for a pharaoh or another exceptionally important member of the royal family during the late Eighteenth Dynasty.

One of the most intriguing theories proposes that KV25 was begun for Amenhotep IV, the ruler who later changed his name to Akhenaten. According to this interpretation, construction may have stopped when the king rejected traditional religious practices, founded the new capital at Akhetaten (Amarna), and ordered the construction of a new royal necropolis there.

The theory remains unproven, but KV25’s unfinished state captures an important moment of change. It may represent an abandoned royal burial project from the years immediately before one of the most dramatic religious revolutions in ancient Egyptian history.

Centuries after its original abandonment, the tomb was reused for at least eight burials during the Third Intermediate Period. Their damaged mummies and funerary objects were discovered during the monument’s modern exploration.

• Structure: KV25, also known as WV25
• Location: Valley of the Kings, West Valley, Thebes West Bank, Luxor
• Owner: Unknown
• Possible Owner: Akhenaten, before the royal court moved to Amarna
• Site Type: Unfinished royal tomb

The tomb is traditionally numbered KV25, with “KV” standing for “King’s Valley.”

Because the monument lies in the western branch of the Valley of the Kings rather than the better-known East Valley, it is now also commonly referred to as WV25. The “WV” designation helps distinguish West Valley tombs from those located in the main royal necropolis.

Both KV25 and WV25 refer to the same monument.

Location

KV25 lies in the West Valley of the Kings, sometimes called the Valley of the Monkeys. It is situated near several other tombs associated with the later Eighteenth Dynasty, including:

• WV22, the tomb of Amenhotep III
• WV23, the tomb of Ay
• WV24, an unfinished and unidentified tomb
• WVA, a chamber associated with the construction and burial equipment of Amenhotep III

This concentration of monuments suggests that the West Valley was intended to become an important royal burial area during the later Eighteenth Dynasty.

KV25 is cut into a hillside near the floor of the wadi. Its entrance opens onto an unfinished descending passage that leads toward a large chamber.

Description

KV25 is unfinished and undecorated.

A broad entrance leads into a descending corridor or ramp. This passage continues into a large rectangular chamber containing the beginnings of structural features that were never completed.

The surviving architecture represents only the first phase of a much larger planned tomb. The intended burial chamber and subsidiary rooms were never excavated.

The scale of the entrance and principal chamber suggests that the monument was designed as a royal tomb rather than a private burial place. Its builders appear to have abandoned the project relatively early, leaving rough walls, incomplete surfaces, and no finished decoration.

Because work stopped before the tomb reached its intended depth, its final architectural plan cannot be reconstructed with certainty.

An Abandoned Royal Project

KV25 is generally regarded as the beginning of a royal tomb.

Its broad passages and large chamber are too substantial for an ordinary private burial. However, the absence of inscriptions, foundation deposits containing a royal name, or surviving original burial equipment makes it impossible to conclusively identify its owner.

Several explanations have been proposed:

• The intended owner died or changed burial plans before the tomb could be completed.
• Geological problems made the site unsuitable.
• Political events interrupted construction.
• The royal court moved away from Thebes.
• The king commissioned a new tomb elsewhere.

The final possibility has encouraged the theory that KV25 was begun for Amenhotep IV before he became Akhenaten and transferred his court to Amarna.

Was KV25 Intended for Akhenaten?

The most famous theory about KV25 identifies it as the abandoned Theban tomb of Akhenaten.

Amenhotep IV inherited the throne during the late Eighteenth Dynasty and initially ruled from Thebes. Early in his reign, he promoted the solar deity Aten before changing his name to Akhenaten and establishing a new capital at Akhetaten, now known as Amarna.

Akhenaten also created a new royal cemetery in the cliffs east of the city. A large royal tomb was excavated there for the king and members of his family.

If KV25 had been started at the beginning of his reign, work would likely have stopped once the court and royal burial program moved to Amarna.

Several circumstances make the theory plausible:

• KV25 appears to date to the late Eighteenth Dynasty.
• It is clearly royal in scale.
• It lies near the tomb of Amenhotep III, Akhenaten’s father.
• Construction ended before the monument was completed.
• Akhenaten is not known to have completed a royal tomb at Thebes.

However, no cartouche, inscription, foundation deposit, or funerary object bearing Akhenaten’s name has been found in KV25.

The monument should therefore be described as a possible tomb begun for Akhenaten, not as his confirmed burial place.

The Royal Tomb at Amarna

After founding Akhetaten, Akhenaten ordered the construction of a royal tomb in a remote desert wadi east of the city.

Unlike traditional royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings, the Amarna tomb included chambers intended for members of the king’s family. Its decoration emphasized the Aten, the royal household, and scenes of mourning rather than the traditional underworld books found in Theban royal tombs.

Akhenaten may initially have been buried at Amarna. His body or burial equipment was probably transferred after the city was abandoned, although the later history of his remains remains debated.

The existence of the Amarna royal tomb helps explain why an earlier Theban project might have been abandoned.

Foundation Deposits

Ancient Egyptian builders commonly placed ceremonial foundation deposits near the corners or entrances of important monuments.

These deposits could contain miniature tools, pottery, food offerings, plaques, and objects inscribed with the name of the ruler responsible for the construction. Their discovery can provide strong evidence of a tomb’s date and ownership.

During the twentieth-century investigation of KV25, archaeologists searched around the entrance for foundation deposits but initially found none.

A possible foundation pit was later identified on the eastern side of the entrance. It was empty, perhaps because its contents had been removed by an earlier explorer or robbed in antiquity.

The absence of an inscribed foundation deposit is one reason the tomb’s ownership remains uncertain.

Later Burials

Although the original royal project was abandoned, KV25 was not left permanently unused.

During the Third Intermediate Period, approximately eight individuals were buried inside the unfinished tomb. By this time, many older monuments in the Theban necropolis were being reused for new burials.

The later occupants were not placed within a completed royal burial suite. Instead, their bodies and funerary equipment were deposited within the available unfinished spaces.

The monument had been robbed and disturbed before its modern excavation. The mummies were dismembered, and their remains had become mixed with broken coffins and burial objects.

The identities of these individuals are unknown.

The Eight Mummies

Giovanni Battista Belzoni reported finding eight mummies when he entered KV25 in 1817.

The bodies belonged to later occupants rather than to the unknown individual for whom the tomb was originally planned. Their burial style and associated material indicate that they probably date to the Third Intermediate Period.

When archaeologists re-excavated the tomb during the twentieth century, they recovered scattered pieces of the mummies, fragments of coffins, funerary equipment, and other objects associated with these later burials.

Because the burials had been robbed and badly disturbed, it was difficult to reconstruct their original arrangement.

Late Eighteenth Dynasty Material

Excavation around and inside KV25 also produced pottery and artifacts dating to the late Eighteenth Dynasty.

These objects are important because they support the conclusion that the tomb was first excavated during this period. They may represent materials used by the original workmen, objects connected with the planned royal burial, or debris deposited during construction.

However, none of the surviving objects securely identifies the original owner.

The finds are consistent with the reigns following Amenhotep III, but they do not prove that KV25 belonged to Akhenaten.

Discovery by Giovanni Battista Belzoni

KV25 was discovered in 1817 by Giovanni Battista Belzoni, the Italian explorer who uncovered several important monuments in the Valley of the Kings.

Belzoni entered the unfinished tomb and found eight intrusive mummies inside. His exploration demonstrated that the monument had been reused long after its original abandonment.

As was common during the early nineteenth century, the excavation was not recorded according to modern archaeological standards. Objects may have been moved or removed, and important contextual information was lost.

Belzoni published an account of his Egyptian explorations several years later.

Early Visitors

After Belzoni’s discovery, several nineteenth-century travelers and Egyptologists visited or recorded KV25.

James Burton examined the tomb during the 1820s while preparing plans of monuments throughout the Valley of the Kings.

John Gardner Wilkinson also visited the site and included it in his surveys of the Theban necropolis.

These early records helped preserve knowledge of the tomb’s location and basic architecture, but KV25 did not receive a complete modern excavation until the twentieth century.

Excavation by Otto Schaden

KV25 was re-excavated in 1972 by the University of Minnesota Egyptian Expedition under the direction of Otto Schaden.

The team cleared the tomb, recovered the scattered remains of the intrusive burials, and investigated the surrounding area for evidence of its original date and ownership.

The excavation uncovered large quantities of late Eighteenth Dynasty pottery, together with objects associated with the later burials.

Schaden’s work confirmed that KV25 was an unfinished royal-scale monument that had later been reused, but it did not establish the identity of its intended owner.

Architecture and Dating

The tomb’s architectural design is most consistent with royal monuments of the Eighteenth Dynasty.

Unlike the long, richly decorated tombs of the Ramesside kings, KV25 belongs to an earlier tradition in which royal burial passages changed direction and descended through a sequence of chambers.

However, because the monument was abandoned so early, many diagnostic features were never completed. Its intended final plan remains unknown.

Its proximity to WV22 and the late Eighteenth Dynasty pottery recovered from the site support a date near the end of that dynasty.

Decoration

KV25 contains no surviving decoration.

The walls were never prepared with finished plaster, carved reliefs, hieroglyphic texts, or painted scenes. No funerary books or representations of the intended owner have been found.

This absence is consistent with the theory that construction stopped before decorators began their work.

The rough surfaces allow visitors and archaeologists to see the preliminary condition of a tomb before its walls were smoothed, plastered, and painted.

Objects Recovered

Objects recovered from KV25 include material from both the original construction period and its later reuse.

Finds include:

• Human remains belonging to approximately eight individuals
• Fragments of wooden coffins
• Pottery vessels and sherds
• Funerary equipment
• Scarabs and small personal objects
• Mummy trappings
• Late Eighteenth Dynasty ceramics
• Third Intermediate Period burial material
• Debris associated with tomb construction

The mixture of objects from different periods reflects the tomb’s complicated history.

Noteworthy Features

KV25 is notable for several reasons:

• It is an unfinished royal-scale tomb.
• Its original owner is unknown.
• It may have been begun for Akhenaten before the court moved to Amarna.
• It lies in the West Valley near the tombs of Amenhotep III and Ay.
• Construction stopped before decoration began.
• Eight later mummies were found inside.
• The tomb was reused during the Third Intermediate Period.
• Giovanni Belzoni discovered it in 1817.
• Otto Schaden re-excavated it in 1972.
• Late Eighteenth Dynasty pottery was recovered from the site.

Site History

KV25 appears to have been begun during the late Eighteenth Dynasty as a royal burial monument.

Construction was abandoned after the entrance, descending passage, and an initial chamber had been cut. No evidence indicates that the intended royal owner was ever buried there.

Centuries later, the unfinished monument was reused for approximately eight burials during the Third Intermediate Period.

The tomb was robbed and disturbed before its discovery in modern times.

Dating

KV25 was used during the following periods:

• New Kingdom, late Eighteenth Dynasty: Original excavation and construction
• Third Intermediate Period: Reuse for multiple burials
• Nineteenth century: Discovery and early exploration
• Modern period: Archaeological re-excavation and documentation

History of Exploration

• Giovanni Battista Belzoni, 1817: Discovery and initial excavation; found eight later mummies
• James Burton, 1820s: Visit, survey, and planning
• John Gardner Wilkinson, 1820s: Visit and documentation
• Otto Schaden, 1972: Re-excavation for the University of Minnesota Egyptian Expedition
• Richard H. Wilkinson, 2001: Investigation near the entrance and identification of a possible empty foundation pit

Conservation History

Modern work at KV25 has focused on clearing debris, recording the unfinished architecture, and protecting the entrance from natural deterioration.

Because the tomb contains no painted decoration, conservation concerns center primarily on the stability of the rock, flood protection, and preservation of its archaeological context.

Site Condition

KV25 is unfinished and undecorated.

Its surviving passages and chamber remain recognizable, but ancient robbery, later reuse, early exploration, and natural weathering have disturbed the site.

The tomb is not normally open as a regular visitor attraction.

Why KV25 Matters

KV25 is important because it preserves evidence of an abandoned royal burial project from one of the most transformative periods in Egyptian history.

If it was begun for Akhenaten, the tomb would represent a rare surviving monument from the years before he rejected the traditional religious establishment and created his new capital at Amarna.

Even without a confirmed owner, KV25 demonstrates how quickly royal plans could change. A monument substantial enough for a king was begun, abandoned, forgotten, and eventually converted into a burial place for people who lived centuries later.

Its unfinished walls preserve the moment when royal construction suddenly stopped, leaving Egyptologists with one of the West Valley’s most enduring mysteries.

Interesting Facts About KV25

• KV25 is also known as WV25.
• It lies in the West Valley of the Kings.
• Its intended owner has never been identified.
• It may have been begun for Akhenaten.
• The tomb was abandoned before its burial chamber was completed.
• No original wall decoration survives.
• Eight later mummies were discovered inside.
• The later burials probably date to the Third Intermediate Period.
• Giovanni Belzoni discovered the tomb in 1817.
• Otto Schaden re-excavated it in 1972.
• Late Eighteenth Dynasty pottery supports an early date for its construction.
• An empty foundation pit was identified near the entrance.