KV 46

Yuya and Thuyu

KV 46 belongs to Yuya and Thuyu, the parents of Queen Tiy, wife of Amenhetep III. Differences in their embalming techniques indicate that they died at separate times rather than as a couple. Evidence from the tomb suggests that it suffered multiple intrusions and Nicholas Reeves has suggested the following summarised timeline: (a) the separate interments of Yuya and Thuyu, with Yuya likely dying first; (b) an early intrusion a few years after the last burial, during which cosmetics and other valuables were taken, followed by official refurbishment and resealing; (c) renewed robbing during the reign of Ramesses III, leading again to a state-supervised tidying and closure; and (d) a final phase of plundering, possibly in the time of Ramesses XI, after which the burial was hastily rearranged and the outer doorway roughly blocked before the tomb disappeared beneath later debris. 

The tomb entrance was uncovered in early 1905 during the excavations of James Edward Quibell, Chief Inspector of Upper Egypt, on behalf of the American financier, Theodore M. Davis. The entrance, still partly sealed with ancient mud-plastered stones, had a narrow opening at the top showing that the tomb had been entered long ago. Peering through the gap, Davis and Quibell's successor in waiting, Arthur Weigall, were able to see inside and make out a steep passage. A small boy, the foreman's (reis') son was lifted through the gap to retrieve objects lying just within reach, and he returned with several remarkable items, including a gilded Scarab and parts of a chariot, confirming the tomb’s significance. News of these finds spread quickly, prompting the Director General Gaston Maspero to ensure he was present for the formal opening of the tomb. Weigall’s letters to his fiancé, Hortense Schleiter, describe the moment the group entered the chamber for the first time, finding a fully furnished, virtually intact Eighteenth-Dynasty burial - 'Maspero, Davis, & I stood there gaping & almost trembling for a time & I think we all felt that we were face to face with something which seemed to upset all human ideas of time & distance.' Once the lid of the first shrine was examined, the names of the occupants—'Prince Auai & his wife Thuai'  were read aloud in the lamplight. 

The days that followed were a mixture of intense archaeological labor and the social chaos that accompanied news of a major discovery. Weigall and Quibell worked long hours sorting furniture, packing objects, and documenting the burial, while a steady stream of visitors descended upon the site. 'Luxor at present teems with them,' Weigall complained—'foolish English and French Dukes, Marquises, etc.' One persistent visitor requesting to be taken below turned out to be the Crown Prince of Norway. The nights offered even less rest with concerns about potential looting, and Weigall often slept directly at the mouth of the tomb, sometimes joined by visitors looking for an adventure. Despite the interruptions, the clearance progressed steadily, culminating in the removal of the burial equipment to Cairo and the subsequent publication of the finds by Quibell.